Woonona Rock Pool is a 50 m pool with lane markings, diving blocks and a historic pavilion on Collins Point, north of Wollongong. Opened in 1929 after volunteers began digging it, it is free and usually good for a swim even at high tide.
Key facts
- Type
- Rock pool
- Length
- 50 m
- Good to know
- Toilets, Showers, Change rooms
- Facilities and access
- Diving blocks, historic pavilion with viewing platform, toilets, change rooms, showers; Kurraba Road
- Managed by
- City of Wollongong
- Cost
- Free
- Lifeguards
- No
- Best time to go
- Mornings; usually swimmable at high tide
- Water quality
- GoodWoonona Beach, 0.3 km away. Sampled 24 Oct. Source: NSW Beachwatch.
- Cleaning
- Not stated
- Town
- Woonona, NSW
What it's like
Woonona is one of the few rock pools set up like a proper swimming pool: 50 m long, with lane markings and starting blocks. It sits on Collins Point with a pavilion and viewing platform above it. Council notes that even at high tide it is usually a good place for a swim.
Locals swam in earlier baths here, but by 1924 they were no longer usable, and volunteers led by local lifesavers began excavating a new, bigger pool. Contractors finished the job and built the pavilion, and the pool opened on 26 January 1929. The current pavilion, with amenities and club rooms, opened in 1986.
When to go
Mornings for laps. Council publishes estimated cleaning dates that can change with the sea and weather.
Getting there and facilities
The pool is on Collins Point, off Kurraba Road, Woonona. There are toilets, change rooms and showers in the pavilion.
Good to know
There are no lifeguards at the pool. Council planned sewer works at the amenities in late 2025, with portable toilets on site while they ran.