View the current open/close status of Grant McBride Baths
The iconic Grant McBride Baths is positioned along the pristine coastline at The Entrance and has long been a popular swimming spot for locals and visitors to the Central Coast. The ocean baths are free to use and open year-round (subject to maintenance and cleaning) and supervised with various patrolled hours throughout the season.
Accessible by pathway from Ocean Parade, the baths have a 50-metre outdoor pool, 22-metre lap pool, a children’s wading pool, as well as change, shower and toilet amenities.
Please note that due to these baths being tidal ocean baths, they are often required to be closed for cleaning and maintenance during low tide and following major storm events.
History
Formerly ‘The Entrance Ocean Baths’, the iconic ocean pool was renamed in 2018 to The Grant McBride Baths in recognition of the efforts Mr McBride (a long standing former State Member of Parliament) took to protect the baths for the benefit of the Central Coast community.
The baths were constructed in stages between 1938 and 1965 and in 2002, Mr McBride campaigned with local residents to save the coastal icon from potential closure.
Over 9,000 signatures were collected during the campaign, and in 2003 the baths were successfully placed on the New South Wales Heritage List.
Cleaning, maintenance, and water quality
Central Coast Council manages, cleans and maintains this facility and always tries to find the balance between availability and cleanliness. At present the baths are cleaned on a regular basis with scheduled maintenance being undertaken continuously throughout year.
Water quality testing is also carried out at this site and all of our other patrolled beaches, baths and lake areas with the results for the 32 sites tested then placed onto Beachwatch website each week for the community to view.
The cleanliness of this ocean baths facility is heavily influenced by the water temperature and usage. During the summer months warmer water accelerates algae growth resulting at times in an unsightly build up on the walls in the splash zone. While this results in the appearance of an unclean pool at times, regular weekly testing indicates that the water quality is acceptable for public swimming.
The water quality is also heavily influenced by the naturally occurring water quality of the ocean and the debris present within the ocean environment at the Entrance Beach and surrounding areas.
There is a continued balance between the need to flush out the water in the pool, keeping the water at an acceptable level and the risk of introducing discoloured water from the ocean. Council staff regularly monitor the cleanliness of ocean baths pools and work within the numerous constraints to achieve a balance between availability and cleanliness at this site.