Find Swimming Holes Near You
1,216 natural swimming holes, lakes to swim in, and rivers to swim in across 48 states. Every spot is checked against official records before it earns a page here.
- 1,216
- verified spots
- 48
- states covered
- 6+
- sources per spot
Find swimming holes by state
Every state page lists its verified swimming holes with photos, access notes, fees, and directions.
- Alabama5
- Alaska4
- Arizona16
- Arkansas15
- California75
- Colorado9
- Connecticut12
- Florida22
- Georgia33
- Idaho28
- Illinois39
- Indiana21
- Iowa11
- Kansas14
- Kentucky9
- Louisiana6
- Maine19
- Maryland3
- Massachusetts73
- Michigan119
- Minnesota72
- Mississippi11
- Missouri31
- Montana18
- Nebraska3
- Nevada7
- New Hampshire24
- New Jersey19
- New Mexico4
- New York59
- North Carolina23
- North Dakota1
- Ohio46
- Oklahoma13
- Oregon22
- Pennsylvania52
- Rhode Island8
- South Carolina4
- South Dakota6
- Tennessee18
- Texas22
- Utah14
- Vermont17
- Virginia27
- Washington75
- West Virginia11
- Wisconsin74
- Wyoming2
The most popular swimming holes in America
Ranked by real visitor reviews, these are the swim spots people travel for.
Devil's Lake State Park
Baraboo, Wisconsinlake
🛶🏄🚤
★ Top verifiedRainbow Springs State Park
Dunnellon, Floridaspring
🛶🛟
Gooseberry Falls State Park
Two Harbors, Minnesotariver
⛺🛶🏄
Taughannock Falls State Park
Trumansburg, New Yorklake
⛺🛶🏄🚤
Lake Perris State Recreation Area
Perris, Californiareservoir
⛺🛶🏄🚤
Sand Harbor State Park
Incline Village, Nevadalake
🛶🏄🚤
Swimming holes you hike into
The best swimming holes rarely have a parking lot next to the water. These spots take a real trail to reach, and every listing breaks the hike down: distance to the swim, difficulty, and time on foot.
Lakes to swim in
1,014 lakes and ponds with real swimming, from lifeguarded state-park beaches to quiet coves you mostly share with the loons.
Browse swimmable lakes →Rivers to swim in
147 river and creek swimming holes: deep pools below waterfalls, slow bends with rope swings, and rocky runs where the water stays cold all summer.
Browse river swimming holes →Hot springs
30 natural hot springs, from roadside soaking pools to hike-in pools in the mountain West.
Browse springs & hot springs →Swimming holes near campgrounds
630 of our verified spots have a campground on site or minutes away, ideal for making a weekend of it.
How to find a swimming hole near you
Start with your city or ZIP code
Type your city or ZIP code into the search box above and we'll show every verified swimming hole within 100 miles, closest first, on a map and as a list. You can also search a specific lake, river, or spot by name.
Or browse your state
Each state page lists every verified spot with photos and a quick-facts strip covering water type, access, fees, and season. Filters let you narrow to lakes, rivers, waterfalls, springs, or spots with camping nearby.
Check the listing before you go
Every listing includes directions, parking notes, fees, rules, live weather, and a safety brief written for that specific spot. Natural water changes with weather and season, so give the conditions a glance the morning you leave.
How we verify a swimming hole
Anyone can drop a pin on a map. Before a spot appears here, it has to survive our verification pipeline: confirmed on natural freshwater in USGS hydrography, matched to public-land records, cross-checked against federal and state recreation databases, and researched by hand for real evidence that people actually swim there. What you see on each page comes from cited sources, not guesses. Where we couldn't confirm a detail, we say so.