Pools, Beaches and Cooling Centers for a 100-Degree Weekend

Baby it's hot out there. But rather than hole-up with your air conditioner or fan, why not get out and have some fun in the weather?Here are our picks for pools, beaches and cooling centers near Prospect Heights.

While Prospect Heights has no public pools, there are quite a few in Brooklyn. Our top picks for outdoor pools are Boerum Hill's "Double D" Pool, Fort Greene's Clermont and Commodore Barry Park pools, Bed-Stuy's Kosciuszko Pool and the Sunset Park and Red Hook pools. See our full list .

While there are no public pools in Prospect Heights, there is an awesome cooling center -- Grand Army Plaza's . Grab a book, find a chair and settle in. When you get hungry, there's even a cafe. You can see the library's hours, as well as find out about other .

3- Hit the Beach

Did you know Brighton Beach is only about 25 minutes on the (air conditioned) Q or B train? If you head there after work, you'll usually find a somewhat empty beach, and sometimes a nice partial sunset as well. If you go late enough, the nearby apartment buildings actually shade the beach. After you've cooled off, head to a nearby cafe for an air-conditioned Russian feast. On cooler days, here are ; thanks to Eastern Parkway, Prospect Park and Ocean Parkway, nearly the whole trip is by bicycle path.

For a less urban experience, head to the Rockaways. If you have a car, the family friendly Jacob Riis Park is a 30-45 minute trip (unless there's heavy traffic). By train, take the C train in Fort Greene to the A train, and get to Rockaway Beach's hipper, surfer area in about an hour.