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Mapping 20 of LA's Awesomest and Douchiest Swim Spots

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Good Lord, it's hot, and there's no June Gloom in sight to ease the pain. You'll have to drown your sweaty sorrows in a pool and your own sense of superiority: Here are 20 of Los Angeles's best pools and swimmin' holes, rated on a five-point scale for difficulty of access (doormen, crowds, hikes, etc.), douchiness factor (Hollywood hotel pool party: high; public pool: low), and awesomeness levels. Have fun, stay cool, wear sunscreen.

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Hansen Dam Aquatic Center

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Difficulty level: 1 Douchiness level: 1 Awesomeness level: 5. It's like an inland, lined beach. Plus: waterslides!

Eastern Columbia Lofts

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Difficulty level: 4, unless you're down with a resident. Douchiness level: 3 Awesomeness level: 5

W Hollywood

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Difficulty level: 4. Hotel guests are supposedly allowed in, but everyone else has to deal with covers, doormen, and/or reservations.Douchiness level: 5Awesomeness level: 3. Fun setting, but it depends on how you feel about bad LA stereotypes. [Image via Renee Render-Kaplan]

Covina Castle pirate pool

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Difficulty level: 4. This is a private house, but we're sure someone knows someone whose cousin can get you into a pool party. Douchiness level: 5. It's 80,000 gallons. There's a drought on. Come on.Awesomeness level: 4.

Hermit Falls

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Difficulty level: 4. You'll have to drive to Sierra Madre and hike a couple miles. Douchiness level: 1 Awesomeness level: 5. Cliff jumping!

Mondrian Hotel

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Difficulty level: 3 Douchiness level: 5 back in its heyday, now more like a 4 Awesomeness level: 3. Great views.

Annenberg Community Beach House

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Difficulty level: 4. Reservations are open to everyone but can be hard to come by in the summer (and you still have to get there by 11 am). Douchiness level: 2. Westside parents getting cutthroat. Awesomeness level: 4. It was once part of the estate that William Randolph Hearst shared with his mistress Marion Davies and it got a great reno a few years ago with new buildings but original tiles.

Stahl House

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Difficulty level: 6. You can tour the house for a fee, but unless you're an actor or model on a shoot, good luck getting in the pool. Douchiness level: 1 Awesomeness level: 5. It may not appear in the iconic Julius Shulman photo, but it's still one of the best-sited pools in the city. [Image via Michael Locke/Curbed LA flickr pool]

Malibu Creek State Park Rock Pool

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Difficulty level: 3. It's a short and easy hike away. Douchiness level: 2 Awesomeness level: 5. The rock is volcanic; the original Planet of the Apes filmed here.

Culver City Plunge

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Difficulty level: 2 Douchiness level: 1 Awesomeness level: 2. There's a diving board, but really this is the place to get some serious swimming done.

1100 Wilshire

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Difficulty level: 3 Douchiness level: 4. Home of the red cup. Awesomeness level: 4

Château Marmont

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Difficulty level: 3 Douchiness level: 3 Awesomeness level: 4. Crazy setting above the Sunset Strip and oh if those lounge chairs could talk.

Millennium Biltmore Hotel

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Difficulty level: 2 Douchiness level: 1 Awesomeness level: 4. Loses points for being indoors, gains a ton for being all tiled and twenties-fabulous.

Bridge to Nowhere - Angeles National Forest

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Difficulty level: 5. You're going to have to hike about nine miles there and back. Douchiness level: 2Awesomeness level: 3

Los Angeles Athletic Club

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Difficulty level: 3. You have to be a member. Douchiness level: 2 Awesomeness level: 3. It's indoors, but the club has been in the building for 100 years and is packed with history.

The Standard, Downtown LA

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Difficulty level: 4 Douchiness level: 4 Awesomeness level: 3. Killer views and super fun (although possibly germ-ridden) waterbed cabanas.

Los Angeles Swim Stadium

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Difficulty level: 2Douchiness level: 1 Awesomeness level: 3. It was built for the 1932 Olympics but left to rot through the eighties and nineties before getting an overhaul in the early aughts.

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

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Difficulty level: 4. Some days they like to only let in reality stars.Douchiness level: 5. See above. Awesomeness level: 4

Hollywood YMCA

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Difficulty level: 2Douchiness level: 2. It has celebrity devotees, but only pretty low-key ones. Awesomeness level: 4. The whole campus is on the National Register, and the two pools are tiled.

Rose Bowl Aquatic Center

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Difficulty level: 2. Some people complain about the price and the crowding.Douchiness level: 3Awesomeness level: 3

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Hansen Dam Aquatic Center

Difficulty level: 1 Douchiness level: 1 Awesomeness level: 5. It's like an inland, lined beach. Plus: waterslides!

Eastern Columbia Lofts

Difficulty level: 4, unless you're down with a resident. Douchiness level: 3 Awesomeness level: 5

W Hollywood

Difficulty level: 4. Hotel guests are supposedly allowed in, but everyone else has to deal with covers, doormen, and/or reservations.Douchiness level: 5Awesomeness level: 3. Fun setting, but it depends on how you feel about bad LA stereotypes. [Image via Renee Render-Kaplan]

Covina Castle pirate pool

Difficulty level: 4. This is a private house, but we're sure someone knows someone whose cousin can get you into a pool party. Douchiness level: 5. It's 80,000 gallons. There's a drought on. Come on.Awesomeness level: 4.

Hermit Falls

Difficulty level: 4. You'll have to drive to Sierra Madre and hike a couple miles. Douchiness level: 1 Awesomeness level: 5. Cliff jumping!

Mondrian Hotel

Difficulty level: 3 Douchiness level: 5 back in its heyday, now more like a 4 Awesomeness level: 3. Great views.

Annenberg Community Beach House

Difficulty level: 4. Reservations are open to everyone but can be hard to come by in the summer (and you still have to get there by 11 am). Douchiness level: 2. Westside parents getting cutthroat. Awesomeness level: 4. It was once part of the estate that William Randolph Hearst shared with his mistress Marion Davies and it got a great reno a few years ago with new buildings but original tiles.

Stahl House

Difficulty level: 6. You can tour the house for a fee, but unless you're an actor or model on a shoot, good luck getting in the pool. Douchiness level: 1 Awesomeness level: 5. It may not appear in the iconic Julius Shulman photo, but it's still one of the best-sited pools in the city. [Image via Michael Locke/Curbed LA flickr pool]

Malibu Creek State Park Rock Pool

Difficulty level: 3. It's a short and easy hike away. Douchiness level: 2 Awesomeness level: 5. The rock is volcanic; the original Planet of the Apes filmed here.

Culver City Plunge

Difficulty level: 2 Douchiness level: 1 Awesomeness level: 2. There's a diving board, but really this is the place to get some serious swimming done.

1100 Wilshire

Difficulty level: 3 Douchiness level: 4. Home of the red cup. Awesomeness level: 4

Château Marmont

Difficulty level: 3 Douchiness level: 3 Awesomeness level: 4. Crazy setting above the Sunset Strip and oh if those lounge chairs could talk.

Millennium Biltmore Hotel

Difficulty level: 2 Douchiness level: 1 Awesomeness level: 4. Loses points for being indoors, gains a ton for being all tiled and twenties-fabulous.

Bridge to Nowhere - Angeles National Forest

Difficulty level: 5. You're going to have to hike about nine miles there and back. Douchiness level: 2Awesomeness level: 3

Los Angeles Athletic Club

Difficulty level: 3. You have to be a member. Douchiness level: 2 Awesomeness level: 3. It's indoors, but the club has been in the building for 100 years and is packed with history.

The Standard, Downtown LA

Difficulty level: 4 Douchiness level: 4 Awesomeness level: 3. Killer views and super fun (although possibly germ-ridden) waterbed cabanas.

Los Angeles Swim Stadium

Difficulty level: 2Douchiness level: 1 Awesomeness level: 3. It was built for the 1932 Olympics but left to rot through the eighties and nineties before getting an overhaul in the early aughts.

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Difficulty level: 4. Some days they like to only let in reality stars.Douchiness level: 5. See above. Awesomeness level: 4

Hollywood YMCA

Difficulty level: 2Douchiness level: 2. It has celebrity devotees, but only pretty low-key ones. Awesomeness level: 4. The whole campus is on the National Register, and the two pools are tiled.

Rose Bowl Aquatic Center

Difficulty level: 2. Some people complain about the price and the crowding.Douchiness level: 3Awesomeness level: 3