The 24 Best Swimming Holes in New Hampshire

Saco River Tubing is really Saco Bound, an outfitter that has been floating people down the Saco River from Center Conway since 1972. The main route drifts from the company's own riverside put-in down to Weston's Beach, a large sandy swimming hole the outfitter describes as ideal for swimming, sunning, and picnicking, with a mild current of about 3 mph and a few small rapids along the way.

This is a gentle river to swim in and float, and it is built for families: the main route is rated for younger kids, roughly age 5 and up at normal summer levels, with life vests included in every rental. Late summer runs warmer and shallower, and the outfitter's own updates say fall brings fewer bugs and thinner crowds.

Bartlett Beach is one of Laconia's official public beaches, sitting on Lake Winnisquam near the Wildwood and Lakeport neighborhoods, close to downtown. It is a free, no-frills lakefront swimming hole: free entry, free parking, a seasonal bathhouse, and open lake water in the heart of New Hampshire's Lakes Region.

The trade-off for free is that it is unguarded. The city posts swim at your own risk, and this season Bond Beach is the only Laconia beach with lifeguard coverage, so treat this one as a self-supervised place to swim and plan your visit during the city's designated beach season.

Amherst Town Beach is the official, no-guesswork way to swim in Baboosic Lake, a 228-acre warm-water lake straddling the Amherst and Merrimack town lines. Run by Amherst Parks and Recreation, it is a staffed, lifeguarded beach with a designated swim area, a snack shack, and a charcoal grilling station, more organized swim day than wild swimming hole, and that is exactly the appeal for families.

The lake itself averages around 10 feet deep with a 26-foot maximum, and the rules keep the swim zone calm: boats must stay at least 30 feet from shore, and only Coast Guard approved flotation is allowed in the swim area. You can rent a kayak or paddleboard right from the town's rental window, or launch your own non-motorized boat for free.

Spofford Lake has a reputation to swim on: the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department once called it the cleanest lake in southwestern New Hampshire. Ware's Grove Beach on the lake's southwest end is the public way in. The town of Chesterfield runs two beaches here, but the other is residents only, which makes Ware's Grove the swimming hole of choice for anyone visiting this 732-acre summer resort lake.

The swim area is marked off with buoy lines, and the town posts swim-at-your-own-risk signage, so treat it as casual family lake swimming rather than an open-water adventure. It runs seasonally from Memorial Day through Labor Day, 9am to dusk, with a snack shack going in season.

Waukewan Beach is Meredith's town beach on Lake Waukewan, an officially designated swimming hole about 1.3 miles from downtown, so you get an easy lake to swim in without really leaving town. The town maintains a designated swim area and markets it as a quiet, family-friendly spot with scenic lake views, a calmer alternative in a busy Lakes Region summer.

Lake Waukewan itself is a roughly 928-acre lake shared by Meredith, New Hampton, and Center Harbor, and it doubles as the source of the town's drinking water. Parking is free and right at the beach, but there are only about 20 spaces and the town warns they fill quickly in peak season, so come early on hot days.

Just outside Keene, Surry Mountain Lake is a US Army Corps of Engineers flood-control reservoir on the Ashuelot River with a proper day-use beach: 600 feet of sand, a roped swim area, and views across the water to Surry Mountain. As swimming holes go this is the official, well-equipped kind, a dependable lake to swim in close to town rather than a hidden spot.

There is no lifeguard, so it is explicitly swim at your own risk, and the Corps issues periodic bacteria advisories after routine water testing, so it is worth checking conditions before you drive out. The beach is seasonal, opening in late May, with grassy areas behind the sand and a playground that makes it an easy family outing.

MacDowell Reservoir, officially Edward MacDowell Lake, is a 165-acre flood-control lake in Peterborough ringed by the forested, rolling hills of the Monadnock Region. The Army Corps of Engineers runs a day-use area on its shore with a designated swim beach, picnic shelters, a boat launch, and hiking trails.

This is a developed, family-oriented place to swim rather than a backcountry swimming hole, complete with a playground and a Junior Ranger program for ages 6 to 12. There's no lifeguard, though, so swimming is at your own risk, and beach advisories can be posted at any time for water-quality issues.

Jaffrey Public Beach, also called Contoocook Beach, is the town-run sandy beach on the eastern shore of Contoocook Lake, and unlike a lot of small New Hampshire town beaches it is open to residents and non-residents alike. The buoy-marked swim area goes in from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, making this a dependable lake to swim in for families and casual swimmers.

It is a swim-at-your-own-risk beach with staff present to enforce the rules, and the rules lean family friendly: kids under 12 need an adult with them, and floats stay in the shallow end with a grown-up within arm's reach. The lake's volunteer stewardship group has watched water quality here since the 1960s, though conditions can shift seasonally with occasional stringy green algae.

Brewster Beach is Wolfeboro's quieter lake to swim in, a free town-owned sandy beach on the south shore of Lake Winnipesaukee, just off Clark Road a short hop from downtown. It is a modest, classic New England town beach, sand up front, grassy picnic area behind, and it serves as the calmer alternative to the central town beach.

The swimming is open lake off a sandy, gradual entry, with clarity that shifts with wind and boat traffic the way Winnipesaukee always does: pretty clear on calm days, stirred up when the wind and wakes pick up. It is a family favorite, and it even hosts the swim start of the annual Wolfeboro Triathlon.

Windham Town Beach is the town's official swimming hole on Cobbetts Pond in southern New Hampshire, and it comes with one big catch: it's open only to Windham residents and residential taxpayers, with an annual beach pass picked up at the beach with proof of residency. For locals, it's about as easy as lake swimming gets, a small sandy beach with a roped-off swim area, a raft for confident swimmers, and lifeguards on duty from roughly mid-June through Labor Day.

The town's rules are built around families. Kids under 12 must be accompanied by an adult, babies stay within arm's reach, and the gradual sandy entry keeps the shallow area manageable. Outside posted lifeguard hours, swimming is at your own risk.

Bucklin Beach is New London's official municipal beach on Little Sunapee Lake, and as swimming holes go, this one is on the orderly end, a lifeguarded, designated swim area rather than a wild spot. Lifeguards are on duty 10am to 5pm from mid-June through Labor Day (no guard on Mondays), and kids 11 and under must be supervised at all times, all of which points to a calm, family-oriented lake swim.

The lake itself is a 486-acre beauty sometimes called Twin Lakes, because a long, narrow peninsula nearly splits it in half, averaging about 14 feet deep with a maximum of 43. One catch: access is limited to New London residents, taxpayers, and their guests under the town's beach ordinance, so this is not a stop-in spot for passing travelers.

Sanbornton Town Beach, also called Winnisquam Beach, is one of two town beaches Sanbornton runs, this one on the shore of Lake Winnisquam in New Hampshire's Lakes Region. Swimming stays inside a rope-marked area off the sandy beach, a sensible setup since Winnisquam is a busy boating lake and motorboats run outside the swim zone.

It is a straightforward town swimming hole with a few quirks to plan around. Boat wakes send waves to the beach that visitors say are more fun for bigger kids than toddlers, the site is carry-in carry-out with no trash service, and lifeguard coverage is not guaranteed. State monitors test the water for bacteria from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Northwood Lake Beach is one of three town beaches in Northwood, New Hampshire, a small, low-key swimming hole at 57 Lake Shore Drive on a lake better known regionally for bass and pickerel fishing. The entry is sandy and gradual with a swim line out in the water during the season, which makes it a comfortable spot for families who keep an eye on their kids, since there are no lifeguards.

This is a locals' beach in the truest sense: access is restricted to Northwood property owners and renters, who use a free beach pass, the town's transfer station sticker, for both the beach and the parking lot. It runs Memorial Day through Labor Day on a carry-in, carry-out basis, and the town posts advisories when E. coli testing comes back elevated.

Elkins Beach is New London's second official town beach, sitting on Pleasant Lake in the little village of Elkins at the lake's eastern end. It is a managed, lifeguarded swim beach with a rope-marked designated swimming area, set up for family swimming rather than the informal swimming hole experience, with mandatory adult supervision for kids 11 and under.

Pleasant Lake is classified as oligotrophic, meaning high-quality, clear water overall, but the lake has had cyanobacteria bloom concerns in recent years and a monitoring buoy was added in 2026, so check for active advisories before you swim. Like Bucklin Beach across town, access is restricted to New London residents, taxpayers, and their guests, so out-of-towners will need a local host.

Shakoma Beach is Enfield's small town swimming spot on Mascoma Lake, a narrow strip of sand and grass right off NH Route 4A near the historic Shaker Village area. The water is calm and sheltered, and the whole setup leans toward casual family swimming rather than a big resort beach. If you want a low-key swimming hole on a pleasant New Hampshire lake, this is it.

The state monitors water quality here monthly from June through September, so the swim season is a known quantity. The lake bottom is variable near shore, and the town boat launch sits right next door, so keep an eye out for boat traffic while you swim.

Bennett's Bridge Beach is a small, resident-only town beach on Bow Lake in Northwood, run by the town Recreation Department from Memorial Day through Labor Day. It is a modest local swimming hole right beside Bennett Bridge Road, with swim lines marking the designated area in the lake, the kind of easy, low-key lake to swim in that residents keep in their back pocket all summer.

There are no lifeguards, so the town's rules do the safety work: no swimming alone, kids under 14 must have an adult along, and jumping or diving from the bridge itself is flatly prohibited as dangerous. Access requires a free beach pass, the same transfer station sticker issued to Northwood residents and property owners, and the town Health Officer posts notices when E. coli testing runs high.

Baboosic Lake straddles the Amherst and Merrimack town line in southern New Hampshire, and the official town beach at 25 Broadway is the local swimming hole. It is a staffed operation done right: lifeguards from 9am to 7pm, a sand swim area, weekly water quality testing, and kayak and paddleboard rentals on site. Boaters have to stay at least 30 feet from shore, which keeps the swim zone calm.

The lake was once a vacation destination reached by the Boston & Maine Railroad, and a Jewish summer camp still operates on its shores. Clarity has been trending positive since 2006 per lake association monitoring, though algae and phosphorus concerns mean it can vary by season, with an alum treatment planned to help.

Sunset Lake Beach is Greenfield's municipal beach on the western end of Sunset Lake, a small spring-fed lake of about 33 acres with a maximum depth around 25 feet. Swimming happens in a roped-off area, and for those who can get in, it's a classic small-town lake to swim in, with mostly private homes ringing the southern and eastern shores.

The catch is access: the beach is restricted to Greenfield residents and taxpayers plus their guests, with a permit sticker required on vehicles. Town rules are also upfront that a lifeguard is not guaranteed, so swimming is at your own risk when the no-lifeguard sign is posted.

Otter Pond Beach is the kind of swimming hole you almost drive past, a tiny roadside strip of sand on Otterville Road with street parking and clean water, in visitors' words good for little kids and a quick dip. It is not an official town beach, but it is genuinely public and actively used, one of only two public shoreline access points on this 187-acre natural pond in the Lake Sunapee region.

The pond's stewardship group describes the water as clear and mesotrophic, though local reporting notes clarity can dip after storms, along with some shoreline erosion the community has been actively fixing with steps and native plantings to keep the spot open. There is no lifeguard, no restrooms, and no marked swim boundary, so this is a bring-nothing, expect-nothing quick-dip spot, which is exactly its charm.

Riverland Beach is Canterbury's official public beach on the Merrimack River, a low-key swimming hole tucked into the town-owned Riverland Conservation Area near the Concord line. A quarter-mile footpath brings you from the parking lot to a stretch of river frontage that a Concord Monitor reporter described as looking idyllic, and locals use it exactly that way, wading in to cool off on hot days.

The catch is what's under the surface. The town posted extreme-caution signage here after fatal drownings at a nearby beach on the same stretch of river: sudden drop-offs of 4 to 12 feet or more just a few feet from shore, plus strong currents. Families do wade here with kids and dogs, but this is a spot for careful wading at the water's edge, not open swimming, and town rules require kids under 12 to be supervised at all times.

Harrisville Pond is a mill-era reservoir on Nubanusit Brook, set in a village so well preserved it is a National Historic Landmark district, with brick mill buildings reflected in the water. The swimming happens at Sunset Beach on the eastern shore, a small town swimming hole with calm, sheltered, flat water and no real current, the kind of conditions paddling guides call beginner friendly.

One big catch: the beach is restricted to Harrisville residents, with a town parking sticker required. If you qualify, you get an officially recognized swim spot that New Hampshire's Department of Environmental Services samples for bacteria every week from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Mary Waldron Beach is Northwood's own little swimming hole on Bow Lake, a town-run beach with a designated swim area and a floating dock to paddle out to. The catch is right in the rules: this is a resident-only beach, open to Northwood property owners and renters who display a beach pass sticker on their vehicle, not to the general public.

If you qualify, it's a simple, honest lake swim from Memorial Day through Labor Day. There's no lifeguard, so it runs swim-at-your-own-risk, kids under 14 need an adult, and diving off the shoreline or back-diving off the floating dock is prohibited. The state monitors water quality here during the season, so check current advisories before you go.

Conway Lake Public Beach has been the Town of Conway's official swim spot since 1952, sitting on the shore of a roughly 1,316 acre lake just east of the White Mountains. This is calm, flat freshwater rather than a rushing swimming hole, suited to families and casual swimmers, and the state actively monitors water quality here through the summer.

One big catch for visitors: the town lot across the street requires a resident parking sticker, and daily passes are not sold to non-residents, so out-of-towners have no easy way to park. The beach also shares its site with a public boat launch, so expect canoes, kayaks, and motorboats coming and going.

Gilmore Pond Beach is Jaffrey's casual, local swimming hole near the base of Mount Monadnock, a small sandy beach on a pond of roughly 115 to 125 acres. Visitors describe clear water over a sandy bottom, shallow enough to wade out a long way before it drops off, and one July trip report put the water around 70 degrees.

It reads as a low-key town spot rather than a big developed beach, and it gets pretty packed on hot summer days. Paddlers and swimmers report views of Monadnock right from the water, which is a nice bonus for a quick swim.