Orange, in Central West NSW, has some excellent swimming options.
So if you find yourself here visiting the wineries, fruit picking or hiking and biking, it’s easy to add a swim or two into your timetable.
Orange Aquatic Centre
Corner Hill and Warrendine Streets, Orange NSW 2800
This 50 metre outdoor pool is an Aussie classic, surrounded by lawns and with a high diving board.
Whilst very busy on hot days, this pool can be quiet during the week and it’s not unusual to have a lane to yourself.
Here’s a wee video of my kids boldly daring the 10 metre diving board. I only made it to the 3 metre one myself.
The outdoor pool is open from October to April.
The indoor pools are:
- A 25 metre pool which always has lanes for laps
- A leisure pool with water fountains and spouts
You can have a look at the indoor pools on this video.
ย Read extracts from my memoir about swimming at Orange Aquatic Centre here.
Swimming at Lake Canobolas
Just a 10 minute drive from town, Lake Canobolas is a popular space for walking as there’s a track around the lake.
There’s also great play equipment there for kids.
There are two small beaches, one on each side of the lake, easily spotted from the car park and cafe area. Off each beach is a pontoon.
We swam at Lake Canobolas in the summer on a warm day and the water was chilly still. There’s quite a lot of weeds which freaked my kids out a bit as they swam.
The pontoons had been visited by many birds, so was covered in poo. We didn’t lie and sunbake as planned, just used it to dive in and jump in from.
The teenagers didn’t mind it, but the wee ones were not impressed.
You’ll see people swimming right across the lake here, so you can get a bit of distance if you fancy.
Orange is a delightful place to visit, at any time of year too.
Please do add in any other good spots you know about in and around Orange in NSW!
