If you’re like us, the joint you’re sleeping in doesn’t have the greatest pool, or a pool at all. Maybe there was once a pool, but they filled it in with concrete and covered that with tattered artificial grass and a couple of broken chairs. Or maybe the pool is in the parking lot, with diesel trucks backed up to it, spewing black smoke, and a kid in a soiled swim diaper is smearing poop on the slide.
Not to worry because there are ways to swim free in Las Vegas, or lounge by a nice pool among the kind of people who normally won’t associate with us. For those seeking sun and swim, there are three ways to get into nice pools. First, can you climb high fences and evade security? Second, can you lie to the teenager checking room keys? If the answer to either is no, or maybe, the third and best way is for you. Head for the pools listed below that are open to the public for FREE.
We encourage everyone to do a John Cheever-esque swim of the Strip, taking a lap of each free pool before walking, wet-suited, to the next one until you’ve hit them all.
Updated August 3, 2025 – We do what we can to keep this up to date, but please verify these swimmin’ holes before making a trip. And tell us what you learn by calling our Stinkline ((775) 400-2941) or by emailing us.
THE STRIP
| Joint | Hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Flamingo | 9 AM – 6 PM | Only the “Go Pool” portion of the pool area is open to the public, but it’s quite nice (and quite crowded and deafeningly loud). Bring ID and DON’T bring outside drinks (including water) they won’t let you in with one. |
| Horseshoe | 9 AM – 5 PM | Maybe??? It was closed when we visited on a very hot July day. It’s just a big rhombus, but it may be the last pool on the Strip with a 12′ deep end, a vestige of old Las Vegas, before all the lawsuit-happy lawyers. |
| The Linq | 9 AM – 6 PM | A small rectangular pool in the hotel tower shadows. It’s not nearly as nice as at Paris or Flamingo. It’s free, though, and not as popular. Bring ID and DON’T bring outside drinks (including water) they won’t let you in with one. Although, there was no security when we visited, just a kid checking IDs. |
| Paris | 9 AM – 6 PM | A lovely, large, roundish pool under the Eiffel Tower with a view of the Strip. DON’T bring outside drinks (including water) they won’t let you in with one. |
OFF-STRIP
| Joint | Hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Palms | 10 AM – 6 PM | A pool made more for lounging than swimming, but there is water and it’s free to swim in. You just have to navigate all the day beds, which–of course–cost extra. |
| Rio | 9 AM – 7 PM | A wonderful pool area with multiple swimming areas, a lot of real estate, a waterfall, and hot tubs. It’s also open the latest of any free pool in Vegas, even if 7 PM isn’t saying much. |