Partially In-ground: 5 Endless Pools Ideas for Your Home

The Original Endless Pool® gives you tremendous installation flexibility. The modular, steel-panel structure functions as a freestanding pool or fully in-ground. You can also install an Endless Pool partially in-ground, which offers some key advantages, as you'll see in these five dazzling installations!

1. A partially in-ground pool is the easiest to access. With the pool height set around seat level, you can just sit and move your legs over and into the pool. You don't need the exterior stairs or decking required by an aboveground pool, and people with mobility impairments appreciate the accessibility lacking in fully in-ground pools.
2. Partially in-ground installations cost less than fully in-ground. The deeper you dig, the greater the cost and the greater the risk of obstacles. Yes, aboveground installations cost the least, but the partially in-ground Endless Pool meets you halfway between simplicity and luxury.
3. For a better, more polished look, the partially in-ground Endless Pool can give you the most eye-catching visual. In locations with a notable view, the lower height permits better sight lines.

These five Endless Pools show the versatility and beauty possible with a partially in-ground installation.

How do you create a Mediterranean escape in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina? For this sunroom, the homeowners employ a lavish mural, rich green tones from the ferns and tile, and a partially in-ground Original Endless Pool.
Bonus: This Endless Pool features our hydrotherapy jets for additional spa luxury.

Nothing beats a pool with a view! The height of this partially in-ground Endless Pool maintains the room's airy minimalism – rather than obstructing the stunning arbor view, it's positioned to function as a reflecting pond for the trees outside.
Bonus: At the pool's front, the Underwater Treadmill permits low-impact running or walking while watching the (tastefully recessed) television.

This partially in-ground Endless Pool keeps open sight lines in a tight backyard. With our smooth current for in-place swimming, you get a big-pool feel where a big pool just couldn't fit! The granite perimeter functions as bench seating, while the skirting adds an organic design element – rough-hewn stacked stone.
Bonus: The greenery nearby will welcome any splashing: our state-of-the-art purification systems mean that the pool water has less chlorine than is allowable in tap water!

Why Lionel Sanders Will Exit Kailua Bay Faster than Ever

Lionel Sanders is about to be put to the test. Tomorrow, the 29-year-old professional triathlete will compete at the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Despite seeing himself as "a weak swimmer," he just upped his game: he's been training in his own High Performance Endless Pool® for two months, and already he's seen measurable results!

Bad Timing
"My first triathlon back in 2010, I was almost last place out of the water," Sanders recalls. His swim training was hampered by the mid-day or late-night hours at his nearest public pool.

"I'd rather swim first thing in the morning. I was swimming after both my bike and run. No wonder I wasn’t improving – I was always swimming tired! As a weak swimmer, you need to be firing at full potential.

"Most of my swimming is now done in this Endless Pool." Besides his early-morning ritual, "you need to swim when inspired. I can get in the pool immediately upon being inspired and can swim an extra 4 kilometers."

"I'm just a completely different athlete both physically and mentally," he says confidently. "I'm looking to have a much improved race."


Correcting the Crossover
Unlike training with his bike and run, "I hadn't been able to see myself swimming." That changed when he took an Endless Pools test-swim this spring.

By swimming in place, you can watch your stroke in the Endless Pools underwater swim mirrors. "I looked at myself in the mirror and said, 'Yup. One hundred percent!'"

Real-time stroke analysis in the Endless Pool has allowed him to make daily improvements to his swim technique. "I'd been crossing the centerline. That was the first thing I needed to correct.

"I crossed over both left and right at entry. So I didn't have a stable core, so my hips went the opposite way. To counteract, I'd do a scissor kick," This technique flaw created "a massive amount of drag. Look at any great swimmer: no one does that!"

Thanks to the Endless Pool he installed in August, "I've been able to correct that. There's no crossover. Really, my swim improvement started two months ago.

"I've got so many things to improve upon now that I know what I’m doing. Every single day I do a technical session, I can see clearly if I'm improving."

This pool has the best hours!! #justkeepswimming #indoor #pool #roadtokona @endlesspools

A post shared by Lionel Sanders (@lsanderstri) on Aug 13, 2017 at 7:41pm PDT

Out of the Water Faster
Just weeks after beginning his Endless Pools training, Sanders returned to the ITU Long Distance World Championship. As in 2016, he was up against the dominant Australian triathlete, Josh Amburger.

Amburger is a particularly strong swimmer, and Sanders is used to trailing him out of the water. This year, Sanders happily reports, "I had my least deficit ever to him by a significant amount. And I swam completely solo."

After a solid bike and an outstanding run, Sanders landed at the top of the podium; Amburger took silver.

Now in Kona, Sanders feels optimistic following a preliminary practice swim. Using the UK triathlete Harry Wiltshire as a metric, "I was 8:41 down" out of the water in the 2016 Finals. "This year, [at practice] I was less than 4 minutes down to the same guy.

The Week in Swimming

Can basic engineering concepts improve your swimming? (U.S. Masters Swimming) How about yoga tailored for swimmers? (Swim Swam, with video)

Don't miss these profiles of Olympic gold-medal swimmer Tom Shields (Digital Journal) and transgender Harvard swimmer Schuyler Bailar (NBC News).

Get inspired by the friendship between two young swimmers, one a 14-year-old blind Paralympic breaststroker. (ABC News, with video)

Traumatized by treacherous ocean voyages in search of safe haven, some refugees are now healing those wounds with open water swimming lessons. (PBS NewsHour, with video)

Swimmers, discover why a trip to the 'Devil's Pool' overlooking Victoria Falls should be on your bucket list. (Travel + Leisure, with video)

Get a little real-estate envy at these 17 jaw-dropping swimming pools from around the globe. (CNN)

Enter the pastel-coloured, symmetrical world of communist-era swimming pools, as photographed by Slovakian photographer, Mária Svarbová. (Calvert Journal)

?origins? __________________________________________________ #photography #architecturelovers #contemporaryartist #svarbova #design #culture #minimalism #minimal #colors

A post shared by Mária ?varbová (@maria.svarbova) on Oct 7, 2017 at 8:55am PDT

See you in #LA! Olympians Ledecky, Manuel, Murphy, Grevers & more will square off on Oct. 21-22 for #USAvsPac12! #swimming #losangeles #pac12 #usc

A post shared by USA Swimming (@usaswimming) on Oct 5, 2017 at 1:31pm PDT

Did you hear the news? ? Leah Smith is moving to Tucson to train with the University of Arizona ?? . . More info in our bio!

A post shared by Swimming World (@swimmingworldmag) on Oct 10, 2017 at 5:18am PDT

The Week in Swimming

World champion swimmers Simone Manuel and Caeleb Dressel scored six nominations each for USA Swimming's Golden Goggle Awards. Fan voting is now open.

A three-time Olympic swimming medalist ranks the top 5 mistakes triathletes make during the swim. (Team USA)

More answers to the persistent question, 'What's the appeal of cold-water swimming?'

Meet the 66-year-old grandmother of three who became the oldest woman to ever swim the English Channel this summer. (Purpose 2 Play)

3D modeling technology is paving the way for custom-fitted swimming goggles. (Kickstarter)

Take a closer look at that technology that allows the Apple Watch to track swimming. (Popular Science)

What were our oceans like a century ago? Check out these astounding images from a photographer swimming inside a 'fish tornado.' (National Geographic)

Day 1, #Doha: @chadleclos and @sarahsjo confirm excellence! All the results here! ?? https://t.co/PvLwb31Jhv

??????????#Airweave #SWC17 pic.twitter.com/9Cx1oaBZMr

— FINA (@fina1908) October 5, 2017

Last night @kimberleyswims received recognition from the @southendrowingclub (SERC) for her Oceans Seven swims, alongside her good friend Antonio Argüelles (@arguelles7mares), who was the evening's guest of honor. Just this month Antonio became the 7th person in history to complete the Oceans Seven challenge (Kim was sixth)! This incredible open water feat comprises the English Channel, Tsugaru Strait, Cook Strait, Molokai Channel, Catalina Channel, Strait of Gibraltar and the North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland. Congratulations, Antonio and Kim! #sietemares #canaldelnorte #oceansseven #swimming #southendrowingclub #catalinachannel #straitofgibraltar #cookstrait #molokaichannel #tsugarustrait #englishchannel #northchannel #kimswims #antonioargüelles

A post shared by Kim Swims - Film (@kimswimsfilm) on Oct 1, 2017 at 7:21pm PDT

Honoured to be going to my second Commonwealth Games in Australia this April! Wouldn’t be in this position without the support from everyone who has joined me on this journey, from people who have just started to people who have been there from the start. So much has changed in 4 years but the love is always there; a massive thankyou ???? Babyface ?

A post shared by Adam Peaty MBE (@adam_peaty) on Oct 4, 2017 at 5:33am PDT

The Week in Swimming

The high school swimming season in Idaho is different this year – the state finally recognizes it a sanctioned sport! (Statesman)

This college swimming preview considers how USA Swimming's Athlete of the Year, Caeleb Dressel, will boost the Florida Gators in his senior year. (Swim Swam)

A public pool has banned a young woman from swimming with a mermaid tail. (BBC)

A recent column recalling the now-retired requirement that boys swim nude in gym class inspired a slew of alternately painful and amusing memories. (Democrat & Chronicle)

After last week's earthquake forced the postponement of the World Para Swimming Championships in Mexico City, Swimming Canada stepped up with next month's "condensed" version in Toronto. (Swimming World)

Katrina Radke (Levu Tribe, Heroes) Age: 46 Hometown: Morris, MN Current Residence: Excelsior, MN Occupation: Olympian Why do you think you’ll “survive” Survivor? Because I can win! I know how to win. Just like I went from farm town girl to Olympic swimmer (swam for the USA 1985-1991, and 1988 Olympics), I am tenacious and great at convincing others to support me. They feel good about themselves around me and value me, thus being okay with me being the winner. #survivor #Survivor35 #21daystogo

A post shared by SURVIVOR (@survivoroncbs) on Sep 6, 2017 at 3:22pm PDT

1000 days to go to #Tokyo2020 – our emblem’s patchwork of squares will transform into fireworks, igniting spectacular #1000DaystoGo events! pic.twitter.com/2MeH36tptb

— Tokyo 2020 (@Tokyo2020) September 26, 2017

Congratulations to the season's first #ACCSD weekly honorees, all from @FSU_Swimming! #ACCWSD #ACCMSD https://t.co/or9EmeX152 pic.twitter.com/YhK4UbQERM

— ACC Swimming&Diving (@ACCSwimDive) September 26, 2017

Joe & Linda: 18 Years of Swimming at Home

"I live in it. I swim in it. I've had three total knee replacements, and I can seriously say that I can get up every morning and walk because of my Endless Pool."

That's what Linda B. told us. She and her husband, Joe B., installed their Original Endless Pool® in their New Jersey home in 1999. After 18 years in action, their pool just got its first major overhaul, with multiple new parts. Linda decided that it was time to speak with us about how much the pool has meant to her.

Linda's Rx: Get in the Pool
Linda's knee troubles started with a car accident in the early 1990s. "When I tell people I’ve had 3 knee replacements," Linda says, "they don’t believe me. And I attribute it to the Endless Pool. I never went to rehab. I came home and went in the pool."

As Joe recalls, that was against the doctor's advice … at least initially. After the doctor saw her continued progress, his new medical assessment of Linda's Endless Pools therapy was, "'You know what you’re doing.'"

"I’m in it probably five days a week," she says, mixing up her regimen to keep it fun and engaging. "I swim. I do exercises. I do pull-ups against the current. I do water yoga in it also. I walk. If I don’t feel like swimming, I get my book and sit in the back and read."

Joe keeps it simple. "I walk in it. We don’t have a treadmill, but I devised my own way of walking in the pool" against the swim current.

"The pool is very easy to maintain," Joe observes. "And my husband is not mechanically inclined," Linda quickly adds. He upkeeps the Endless Pool – seen here with their daughter and granddaughter – with assistance from our team. "Your customer service people are amazing. Not that I have many problems, but when you talk to them, they are so knowledgeable."

A Proud Swimming Grandmother
"When our children were young," Linda recalls, "we had an outdoor pool, and we never used it." The compact Endless Pool, with its signature swim-in-place current, made all the difference for their family.

"I have taught all my granddaughters to swim in my Endless Pool," Linda says with obvious pride. "My 18-month-old old granddaughter is in at least three times a week.

"When I tell you these kids go in it, they're in it until I beg them to get out; so they're in it for three or four hours at a time.

"I've been swimming my whole life," Linda reports, so she gets a particular thrill seeing her granddaughters follow in her footsteps by joining swim teams.

Their swimming skills also give her and Joe peace of mind. One of the younger ones recently jumped into the 8' deep end of a public pool, Linda recounts. "Everybody was like, 'Oh my God!' I just said, 'they're fine. Give them goggles and a bathing suit and they're happy.'"