Getting ready forthe Kiwanis Recreation Center Wave Pool.
The indoor, heated wave pool at the Kiwanis Recreation Center in Tempe's Kiwanis Park, with 3-foot waves in varying patterns. The City of Tempe is a Certified Autism Center, and its IBCCES sensory guide scores the pool for touch, taste, sound, sight and smell. The pool is closed for a refresh until Winter Waves, December 27 to 30, 2026.
Sensory supports. Indoor wave pool with a city sensory guide.
Hours
The pool is closed for a pool refresh through December 26, 2026. Winter Waves: December 27 to 30, 2026, 1 to 5 pm (Snack Shack 1 to 4:30 pm). From January 2 to April 4, 2027, Fitness and Fun, calm water open swimming in the 0 to 4 foot shallow area, runs Monday to Thursday 5 to 8 pm and Saturday 8 to 11 am (closed Friday and Sunday). The pool is closed January 1, January 18, February 15 and March 31, 2027, and closes at 9 am January 19 to 21, 2027, for lifeguard training. Waves season is April to August. Lap swim hours and the recreation center's building and holiday hours are on the city's pages.
6111 S. All-America Way, Tempe, AZ (inside Kiwanis Park)
Stay close“Children seven (7) years and under must be within arm's reach in the pools by someone at least 16 years of age with a ratio of 1 adult to 4 children”
Stay close“Children under the age of six who are not registered participants of programming at the facility must be accompanied by an individual 16 years of age or older.”
Stay close“Only U.S. Coast Guard-Approved Life Jackets are permitted in pools”
“For your safety, there is a maximum weight capacity of 250 lbs. and a minimum height requirement of 48 inches to use the slide.”
“During a wave session snorkels and scuba masks that cover the nose are not permitted.”
The guide's scale runs from 1, low sensory stimulation, to 10, high sensory stimulation. The pool also scores TASTE 3: “May get chlorinated water in mouth.”
The rest of the recreation center has its own guide: touch 5, taste 1, sound 3 (some background noise from equipment, background music in some areas), sight 3 (fluorescent lighting indoors in some areas), smell 3.
The City of Tempe earned Certified Autism Center designation from IBCCES, and more than 900 city employees completed the IBCCES training.
The city publishes an IBCCES sensory guide for the pool: sound 5 and touch 6 out of 10, with an echo indoors and a periodic wave pool buzzer.
Fitness and Fun and lap swim: under 2 free, ages 2 to 12 $3.00, 13 and up $4.00. Wave pool: under 2 free, ages 2 to 12 $5.00, 13 and up $7.00, spectator $4.00. Tube rental during waves only: single $5, double $7. For wave sessions, all sales are final, no refunds.
Children seven and under must be within arm's reach in the pool of someone at least 16, one adult to four children.
Louder
The wave pool: sound 5 of 10 in the city's sensory guide (sound may echo indoors, a buzzer for the wave pool periodically, background noise)not stated
The indoor, heated wave pool has 3-foot waves in varying patterns. Lap swim is available year-round in the deep end, with 7 lanes.
Paid tube rentals are available during waves. Tempe lists the slides as open during waves but also lists the slide as closed for maintenance until further notice; call 480-350-5201 before promising it.
The Snack Shack is open during wave sessions, 1 to 4:30 pm.
