Splash Into Summer, Free Kids' Swim Lessons in NB and FR

If making sure your kids know how to swim is on your summer to-do list, the SouthCoast's biggest cities are here to help.

Both Fall River and New Bedford are offering free swim lessons for kids this season and registration is underway now.

From preschool to middle school ages and all levels of abilities, there are swim lesson opportunities for everyone to get in the water and feel swim safe this summer.

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Free Swim Lessons in New Bedford

In New Bedford the swim lessons are in the open waters of East and West Beach with lifeguards on duty.

Kids ages 5-12 can be signed up for beginner or intermediate lessons from July 8th - Aug 12th with classes both Saturdays and Mondays throughout the summer.

Interested parents and guardians can learn more and get signed up at NBPRB.com.

Free Swim Lessons in Fall River

In Fall River, lessons will be at the Veteran's Memorial Swimming Pool and are part of the Department of Conservation & Recreation's (DCR) learn-to-swim program.

This program offers three separate two-week swim lessons throughout the state, including Fall River where you can sign up children aged 4-12.

These two-week sessions include a 30 minute lesson each day Monday-Friday at 7AM.

Sessions I runs July 10-July 21, Session II runs July 24-August 4 and Session III runs August 7-August 18. All sessions can be registered for at mass.gov/learn-to-swim

Of course with these free lessons, space is limited and it is first come, first serve.

So if you are interested in having your child learn to swim for free this summer, don't wait to sign up and help them be safe.

Every Massachusetts and Rhode Island Pool Available to Rent Today

Swimply.com is a website that allows residents to list their private pools as available to rent by the hour for those who want to cool off this summer. Here is a complete list of the locations we found in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

LOOK: See America's 50 Best Beach Towns

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.