Pool supervisor Gaye Brooks said ''at least 48,000'' people had visited the pool since the season began on October 1 last year.
That was 6000 more than last year's figure and higher than at any other time she could recall, although exact numbers were still being collated.
Mrs Brooks said the pool's popularity was a reflection of Dunedin's great summer.
''It's a weather-orientated pool, so because we have all had a wonderful summer, our numbers have been really impressive ... which is fantastic for a pool by the southern ocean,'' she said.
The season officially ended when the pool closed its gates yesterday afternoon, but not before swimmers enjoyed a final dip.
Among them were Ariki (8) and Nga Waiwera Moseley (7), who splashed in the heated salt water while grandmother Barbara Dixon-Grant kept watch while enjoying a book, a vacuum flask of tea and some warm autumn sun.
''I love it because I can sit here and read and relax while they are having fun,'' she said.
Mrs Brooks said the pool now opened three weeks earlier than in the past, but the closure was timed to coincide with a drop-off in numbers as mornings grew darker and students - who helped staff the facility - got busier.
It would reopen on October 1.
