PLEASE
ADD US TO YOUR
BOOKMARKS/FAVORITES NOW!
Your
guide to over 1,000
beautiful,
natural places for a dip in the US and Canada. A refreshing swimming
hole or warming hot spring in a river, creek, spring or
waterfall is the perfect complement to your favorite outdoor activity -
be it hiking, camping, canoeing, tubing, rafting or just exploring.
Come back and visit us often, we are always adding new places.
750,000
VISITORS TO THIS PAGE IN 2009 - 14 YEARS ON THE WEB
Are you a camper? Try our new "sister" site www.USCampgrounds.info
- Guide to ALL US and CANADA Public Campgrounds.
Have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch? You can take all these
same campgrounds with you- see
"campwhere" - then get "campwhere" (link opens in
Itunes).
PLEASE
DO NOT GO TO THESE BEAUTIFUL, NATURAL PLACES IF YOU CANNOT RESPECT
THEM. GARBAGE, ROWDY BEHAVIOR AND TRESSPASSING ON PRIVATE
PROPERTY ARE CAUSING US TO LOOSE ACCESS TO MORE OF THEM EACH
YEAR..
Read this - YOU CANNOT ALWAYS RELY ON YOUR AUTO GPS OR GOOGLEMAPQUEST DIRECTIONS!
Read
this before you PRINT swimming holes!
SwimmingHoles.info
should work well on your Iphone, Ipod touch or other handheld
internet device - give it a try. For when you are NOT
connected
to the internet try Read It Later .
CLICK ON
STATE/PROVINCE BELOW
SAFETY
FIRST!
Remember
that lazy, little swimming hole you jumped into last August - well it
is a whole different animal this May - DO NOT JUMP IN - FIRST WALK IN
AND BE SURE YOU CAN HANDLE THE SPRING WATER LEVELS!
Most
drownings in natural swimming places are due to strong currents, diving
and/or alcohol.
Do not let carelessness or peer pressure get you into a situation you
cannot deal with. Each
time you go, wade in gradually and check the current. Do
not
jump
in until you have checked both the depth AND the current first. NEVER
dive in head first. Do not go in if you see
any tree branches or other debris in the water.
Large rivers have
hidden
currents below the surface - assume
large rivers are NEVER safe to swim regardless of how
calm they look on the surface. If
you find yourself being swept away in a current, DO NOT PANIC
AND DO NOT FIGHT THE CURRENT - float feet first downstream on your
back. Let the current carry you until it becomes more gentle
and/or until you calm down. Then, staying on your back and stil
feet first downstream, gradually use your arms to swim to shore.
If you swim or boat in creeks often, you should practice this maneuver
until it becomes familiar.
PLEASE,
NEVER, EVER: Dive
headfirst (paralysis, death)
Swim
alone
Drink alcohol
and swim
Go barefoot
(glass, sharp rocks)
Stand
directly under a water fall (rocks wash over falls)
Swim in upper pools of a waterfall
(you wash
over falls)
Climb
above or alongside a waterfall (many deaths from this)
Try to stand up in strong currents
(feet get
trapped in
bottom rocks and current holds you down.) Instead, float on your back
with feet downstream until current subsides.
FOLLOW THESE
ADDED CAUTIONS:
Don't put your hands
or feet into places you can't see (snake
dangers)
Be
careful when on a rope swing (rope
dangers)
Be
careful when swimming where alligators may be present (alligator safety)
FOR YOUR HEALTH:
A very rare but
sometimes fatal aomeba infection has occured in Florida waters
recently where stagnant mud on the bottom of warm water is stirred up
and gets into a
person's nasal passages. Avoid waters like this - but if you go you
should: 1) not submerge your head, 2) wear a nose clip, 3) pinch your
nose closed if you jump into the water. THIS PRECAUTION SHOULD BE
FOLLOWED WITH ALL NATURAL HOT SPRINGS AS WELL!
If the water runs through farms,
pastures or
developed areas, do not get it in your mouth, eyes, ears or
nose.
If you
get in poison ivy, put some rubbing alcohol on a tissue and wipe the
skin as soon as possible.
DISCLAIMERS:
SAFETY
Swimming in natural places can be dangerous.
There are risks to life,
limb and health
involved. Caution can minimize but not eliminate these risks. The
Webmasters assume no responsibility for sickness, injury or death
resulting from use of information contained herein.
LEGALITY
Much of the information on this web site is
derived from other sources
- such as hiking and travel books, magazine articles, publications,
emails from visitors and other Internet sites. Our intent is to relay
this information as accurately as possible; we do not direct the public
to use these swimming holes. The existence of private property or other
matters of legality may have been inadvertently omitted or may be
inexact in some cases. We are not able to do an on-site visit to each
place, and even when we do property ownership or legality is sometimes
not evident. It is not our intention to cause negative impacts to
private property owners or to increase their liability. When this is
brought to our attention by bona-fide sources, we act promptly to add
this information to the listing or otherwise resolve the matter on a
case-by-case basis.
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Remember
the "old swimmin' hole"? Well, many are still there and they are still
lots more fun
and naturally beautiful than a chlorinated swimming pool!
SwimmingHoles.info
focuses on moving, fresh water spots - like creeks,
rivers, springs and waterfalls. Also listed are some selected hot
springs (in the west) and other swimming places on lakes, quarries or
bays which have unique features that make them especially beautiful or
fun for swimming. (Click on pictures below for listing.)
You may
need to get into some cold water to enjoy many of these (but
not the hot springs!), but the cold doesn't
last while the warm memories of a swim in a beautiful setting certainly
will.
THE FINE PRINT: This web page
is operated as a
hobby only, with no income to the authors. The information presented is
compiled from many sources with varying degrees of reliability. Local
conditions also change over time. Accuracy of the information and the
safety and legality of visiting these places cannot be assured. Our
intent is to relay this information as accurately as possible; but we
do not "direct" the public to use these swimming holes. Each visitor is
personally responsible for safety and legality (including observance of
private property)
each
time a place is visited. Also, inappropriate
behavior continuously reduces our access to these special
places - don't contribute to this tragic loss!
RELATED
LINKS
See our HUGE collection of links to other web pages, books, articles
and other information related to swimming places, hot springs,
waterfalls, hiking, camping and other outdoor activities. |
| We have latitude and longitude
in the listing for every swimming hole. See GPS and GOOGLE MAPS TIPSfor
how to get these into your GPS.
|
| Do you visit
several swimming
holes in a couple of days as we do? Do you want to spread ROCK SNOT? We
thought not! ABOUT
ROCK SNOT Note the section on "Preventing the Spread".
|
This
summer, grab your
map and GPS and join in the great American BLUE HOLE HUNT!
|
WALDEN'S
PONDS
Swimming holes that are safe and fun for
the whole family. |
BEST
SWIMMING HOLE
SCENE IN A MOVIE:
"A Walk On The Moon" (rated
R). Rent it at your video store. |
PRINTING
TIPS
This material is copyrighted but you can print from it for your own
personal use. |
| BEST
SWIMMING
HOLE DESCRIPTION IN A BOOK: "Little Altars Everywhere" by
Rebecca Wells, see
chapter titled: "Skinny Dipping". Borrow it at your local library. |
|
EMAIL
US
 mail@swimmingholes.info
If you have a new swimming hole or hot spring for us, or better
information about one we have - PLEASE - Good directions are VERY
important, refer to a MAP to give directions!
COPYRIGHT
All the material on this web site is registered with the U.S.
Copyright
Office (Registration
Number TX6-245-508, Date 5/23/2005) and may not legally be reproduced
except for personal use without permission of the WebMaster.
Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Hillegass
.
ABOUT
THE
WEBMASTERS
Tom
Hillegass has explored natural areas both near and far
from his home in
Alexandria, Virginia for over 35 years. With a patient wife and
enthusiastic children, he has
learned by experience how to have exciting (but comfortable) outdoor
experiences. A
pleasant swimming hole has cooled many a warm day for him. Tom is a
retired engineer and a dabbler in idle
pursuits far and wide; in the East- canoeing, hiking and camping; in
the West - exploring deserts, mountains, river rafting and soaking in
hot springs - and electric bass rock/blues whenever possible.
Dave Hajdasz owns
and operates a financial services firm in
Connecticut.
He's an avid outdoor enthusiast who has enjoyed exploring fun and
unique
places such as caves, waterfalls and remote forests for the past 25
years.
He's an experienced rock climber, kayaker, hiker, mountain biker and
trout
fisherman, though he always manages to get in a bit of swimming no
matter
where he goes. He holds the unusual distinction of swimming in 12
different natural bodies of water (one each month) in New England
during the course of a year.
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