Outdoor swimming pools to open

Public outdoor swimming pools in the area will open this weekend. The majority of them are heated, and they usually stay open until September, if weather permits.

Public pools are divided into swimmers’ and non-swimmers’ pools, and they have extra pools for toddlers. Most facilities have water slides, playgrounds and little restaurants or bistros. Daily admission fees vary from €2 to €5. Season passes are also available.

The following pools are located in the KMC and nearby areas:

• Kaiserslautern: Warmfreibad, Entersweiler Strasse, noon to 8 p.m. Mondays; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays; 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays.

• Kaiserslautern: Waschmühle (not heated), Morlauterer Strasse, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily except Tuesdays when it opens at noon. Note: Waschmühle has one big basin, 165 meters long and 45 meters wide. It is one of the biggest swimming basins in Europe.

• Trippstadt: Warmfreibad (will open May 30), 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and German holidays; and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays and after a German holiday.

• Hohenecken: Strandbad Gelterswoog (lake on B270 — open already), 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, and noon to 8 p.m. Mondays.

• Hochspeyer: Warmfreibad (already open), noon to 8 p.m. Mondays, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.

• Otterberg: Schwimmbad (not heated; will open in June), 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

• Alsenborn, Freibad (open already), noon to 8 p.m. Mondays, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.

• Mehlingen: Freibad (not heated; will open in June), 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

• Winnweiler: Schwimmbad (already open), 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and weekends; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays.

• Rodenbach: Waldschwimmbad, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Every Friday in July and August, floodlight swimming is offered until 11 p.m. (if weather permits).

• Landstuhl: Naturerlebnisbad, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays and on German holidays.

• Miesau: Waldwarmfreibad, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

• Waldmohr, Warmfreibad, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

• Altenglan: Sport- und Freizeitbad, 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Some swimming pools have a combination of indoor and outdoor facilities, which is good for any kind of weather:

• Ramstein: Freizeitbad Azur, 1 to 9 p.m. Mondays; 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

• Kusel: Bade- und Freizeitpark, indoor opening hours: 2 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays; 6:30 to 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays; 6:30 to 9 a.m. and 2 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Outdoor opening hours:8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily.

Swimmers must obey specific rules:

• Don’t push anybody into the water.

• Avoid noise (in some facilities radios and stereo equipment is prohibited).

• Don’t pollute the water and don’t dirty any other areas of the facility.

• Don’t eat or smoke within the immediate swimming area.

• Children younger than 6 must be accompanied by an adult.

• Animals are not allowed in any facility.

• Lifeguards are allowed to ban visitors from the facility if they break official regulations.

• Common sense tells swimmers not to swim with a full stomach and not to go in the water when their bodies are overheated.