Metroparks Working with Partners to Offer FREE Swim Lessons

In partnership with multiple community organizations located within the five county area in southeast Michigan, your Metroparks are excited to bring swim lessons to you for FREE. Participants will learn basic water safety skills and get an introduction to swimming. No prior experience is needed, certified instructors will work with participants at their level with ease and understanding of their comfort in the water.

Each lesson is 30-45 minutes and participants should plan to attend all lessons in their registered session. Registered participants will receive a swimsuit, swim caps, goggles, bag, and a towel.

Swim lessons are geared towards children ages 5 to 13, however teens and adults are welcome too. Any child under 14 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.

Adult only swim lessons are offered as well. Adult students will receive 6 beginner level swim lessons. Each class is 45 minutes and will be held once weekly.

Lets Get Everyone in the Pool

Your Metroparks are committed to improving water safety so that all Michiganders can safely and confidently enjoy the pools, lakes and rivers our state has to offer. In 2021, the Metroparks worked with an external consultant to identify the barriers to swim instruction and the gaps in water safety. Thanks to responses from all across our communities, we learned that the cost of swim lessons were too high, particularly for people of color and for city of Detroit residents. The consequences are stark: studies show 70 percent of Detroit kids have little to no swim experience. So we began building partnerships and funding lessons to make them FREE for residents in communities across all five counties we serve.

In 2023 we announced and launched a 5-year plan to expand these efforts.

Learn more about those initial partnerships and their impacts in this short film.