# Swim Guide

> Free water quality data for beaches, lakes, and rivers globally. (iPhone/iPad app by Swim Drink Fish Canada.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/swim-guide/id435811871 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Swim Drink Fish Canada](https://appshunter.io/developer/1593229299)
- Category: Reference, Travel
- Price: Free
- Rating: 3.60/5 from 39 App Store ratings · 71 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.1 · 62 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2011-05-10
- Data updated: 2026-08-18
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/swim-guide/id435811871/reviews.md

## What is Swim Guide?

** As seen on USA Today, CBC, CBC Radio, Radio Canada, Huffington Post, LA Times, Water Canada, ABC News, Men's Journal, National Post, and Mashable. **

Swim Guide is a website and smartphone app for iPhone®. Swim Guide delivers free up-to-date water quality information for over 8,000 beaches, lakes, rivers, and swimming holes in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the Bahamas, Australia and New Zealand. 

Swim Guide provides you with current recreational water quality information for your favourite beaches and swimming holes. Every beach is marked with a Green or Red icon so you know when the water at your favourite beach is clean for swimming and when the water quality is failed to recreational water quality criteria. 

As of 2019, Swim Guide is the most popular beach information service in the world, with over 4-million all time users.

Finding a beach with clean, swimmable water for you and your family is easy with Swim Guide:

- Find the cleanest closest beaches to you by browsing the map or by searching
- Beach descriptions tell you about amenities, lifeguards, where to park, and everything else you need to know to enjoy a day at the beach.
- Green icon tells you your beach passed water quality tests
- Red icon tells you the water quality failed water quality test 
- Date/time stamp tells you when a water quality status was last updated in Swim Guide
- Historical status tells you percentage of time that a beach passed water quality tests in the last year
- Source information section tells you who samples the water at each beach and what recreational water quality guidelines apply
- Discover a wide variety of beaches, ranging from city parks to remote lakes ideal for camping
- Get directions to the beach of your choice
- Bookmark your favourite beaches for easy access
- Use the app to share beaches with your friends and family
- Original descriptions of 8,000+ different beaches, so you can learn a bit of history and geography as you explore

Get involved! Use the Swim Guide to report pollution, support your local water organizations, and learn about the issues facing your homewaters. 

Swim Guide is the only charity app of its kind, made by Swim Drink Fish Canada (formerly Lake Ontario Waterkeeper). 

Visit us online for more info: www.theswimguide.org

## Key features

- Real-time water quality status
- Beach amenity and parking information
- Map-based beach discovery
- Searchable beach database
- Directions to beaches
- Bookmark favorite beaches
- Share beach information

## Recent user reviews (10 of 71)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/swim-guide/id435811871/reviews.md

### 2/5 — Define “Up to Date”!!!!

*2026-05-15, version 3.7.4*

App claims to provide up to date information but on the locations I sampled on the NC coast have not been updated since July of 2025 even though it reports that the sites are sampled bi weekly.

### 2/5 — Outdated info

*2025-07-31*

Lake Winnipeg rating is from 2 years ago and beach info is very old (ie no Piping Plovers here for about a decade!)

### 1/5 — How are you going to be a swim app w/no recorded data?!?

*2025-07-31, version 3.7.2*

In So. CA, literally not one beach I clicked on has data, reviews, or anything on water cleanliness… waste of space and time

### 5/5 — Super helpful

*2025-07-12*

I always check it before going to a beach!

### 2/5 — Beach Finder not water quality monitor

*2025-06-30*

Good at listing beach info, but no explanation of water quality or whatever the colours status refers to. When you click on the beach its just tourist info. Water quality is vague . Why is it red? Why is it yellow? What do those colors mean? Did someone see what they thought was waste and report it as red? More akin to yelp for beaches.

### 5/5 — amazing app

*2025-06-19, version 3.7.1*

super helpful, very informative. always check this app before going to the beach!

### 1/5 — Please update for newer phones

*2024-09-06, version 3.5.3*

The back button is not functional on iPhone 15

### 1/5 — Not updated for modern phones

*2024-07-21, version 3.5.3*

The app is long overdue for an update to fix obstructed header info and unresponsive navigation buttons at the top of the screen.

### 1/5 — Saw on the news - believed the lies

*2024-06-30, version 3.5.3*

Gloria Reuben - president of the company behind this app - went on the news and raves about this app. Downloaded it and every single beach’s status is unavailable and in the gray, yet they claim to check the water quality weekly. So just not reporting the findings? Lol

### 4/5 — Difficult to reach back button on iPhone 15

*2024-06-23*

App is fantastic, but could use some usability improvement. The back button is small and difficult to tap. Many apps also allow a swipe from left gesture which doesn’t work here.

## Frequently asked questions about Swim Guide

### What does the Swim Guide app do?

Swim Guide provides free, up-to-date water quality information for over 8,000 beaches, lakes, rivers, and swimming holes across Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the Bahamas, Australia, and New Zealand. It helps users find swimmable locations by indicating whether the water quality meets recreational standards.

### How does the app indicate water quality?

Each beach is marked with a Green or Red icon. A Green icon signifies that the water quality has passed recreational water quality tests, making it safe for swimming. A Red icon indicates that the water quality has failed to meet these criteria.

### Is the Swim Guide app free to use?

Yes, the Swim Guide app is completely free to use. It is a charity app developed by Swim Drink Fish Canada and does not have any in-app purchases or advertisements.

### What kind of information is available for each beach?

Beyond water quality status, beach descriptions include details about amenities, lifeguard availability, parking information, and historical water quality data. You can also find source information about who samples the water and the guidelines applied.

### Can I use this app to find beaches near me?

Yes, you can easily find the closest beaches with clean water by browsing the map or using the search function. The app also provides directions to your chosen beach and allows you to bookmark your favorites for quick access.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 3.7.7 — 2026-07-28

Improved "Suggest a Beach": Easily submit new beaches directly through our updated web form.

### 3.7.6 — 2026-07-15

We've added Beach Action Value (BAV) alerts to beach details. When a beach is under investigation due to higher-than-expected sample results, a highlighted BAV card will now appear on the beach profile with full context and a link to the official source. Swim restrictions are not affected.

### 3.7.5 — 2026-06-23

You'll now get notified when your bookmarked beaches have new water quality results, and when sampling seasons start or end. No more checking manually — Swim Guide keeps you in the loop.

### 3.7.4 — 2026-04-02

This change ensures the app's continued security and stability, and paves the way for future features.

### 3.7.3 — 2025-11-29

Optimized for a better and more reliable performance.

## Apps similar to Swim Guide

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [German Learning For Beginner](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/german-learning-for-beginner/id1672905620) | 5.0 (2) | Free | Reference |
| [INDOT Trafficwise](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/indot-trafficwise/id1581840840) | 3.0 (192) | Free | Reference |
| [Bosnian-English Dictionary](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bosnian-english-dictionary/id6450719140) | 5.0 (6) | Free | Reference |
| [Indonesian/English Dictionary](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/indonesianenglish-dictionary/id6450359920) | 5.0 (5) | Free | Reference |
| [Greater Bragg Cr Trails Assoc.](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/greater-bragg-cr-trails-assoc/id985078220) | — | $10.99 | Reference |
| [Mordovian Dictionary Free](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mordovian-dictionary-free/id1034695480) | — | Free | Reference |

## Related topics

[swim guide](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/swim-guide) · [beach report card](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/beach-report-card) · [swimming holes](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/swimming-holes) · [lbi beach guide](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/lbi-beach-guide) · [ontario shores](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/ontario-shores) · [montenegro beaches](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/montenegro-beaches)

---

*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-18.*