The 46 Best Swimming Holes in Ohio

Alum Creek State Park Beach is enormous by swimming hole standards: at roughly 3,000 feet long, it is described as the largest inland beach in Ohio's state park system, stretched along the 3,387-acre Alum Creek Reservoir near Lewis Center. The swimming here is open, gently shelving lake water in a designated swim zone kept separate from the boats, which suits families and casual swimmers well.

There is even a smaller adjacent beach area set aside for dogs. Take the open water seriously, though: there is no lifeguard, and local news has reported drowning incidents at this beach, so stay aware of depth and keep swimmers close to shore.

If you want a big lake to swim in near Cleveland's east side, Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park puts you right on Lake Erie with a sandy beach and an actual lifeguarded swim area, which is rarer than it should be. Lake Metroparks runs this 21-acre park as a family beach first, with a playground, picnic shelters, and paved trails backing the sand.

Because it is open Lake Erie water, expect some wind chop rather than pond-flat conditions, and stay inside the marked swim area as the park instructs. The health department tests for E. coli daily during beach season and posts advisories, and the park recommends skipping a swim for a day or two after heavy rain.

Conneaut Township Park gives you a quarter mile of public Lake Erie beach in Ohio's far northeastern corner, just shy of the Pennsylvania line. The soft sand-and-stone shoreline looks out at Conneaut Harbor and its lighthouse, and the county health department tests the water three times a week all summer for E. coli and harmful algae.

This is open-lake swimming rather than a sheltered swimming hole, so wave and rip-current conditions matter; the park links to a NOAA beach-hazard dashboard, and no source confirms lifeguards on duty. Boardwalks run straight from the parking lot to the beach, and both parking and entry are free.

Huntington Beach Reservation gives the west side of Cleveland a proper sandy Lake Erie swim beach, set on the former estate of industrialist John Huntington and run by Cleveland Metroparks since 1925. Lifeguards staff the beach and use red flags to close the water when waves or weather make conditions unsafe, so you always know where you stand before wading in.

It works well as an easygoing family place to swim, with roughly 100 acres of parkland and about three miles of trails through beach, forest, and meadow behind it. Keep an eye out for the old water tower that now looks like a lighthouse, a leftover from the days when it irrigated the estate's vineyards.

Headlands Beach protects the longest natural sand beach on Lake Erie, a 35-acre stretch of wide open sand that pulls in an estimated two million visitors a year. You park, pass the restrooms, and you are on the lake, no hiking involved.

This is open Lake Erie swimming with no lifeguards, and the National Weather Service periodically issues high rip-current advisories for this shoreline, with currents that can pull along the breakwall and offshore sandbar. ODNR marks designated swim zones and runs a loaner life-vest program, so it is a managed swimming hole, just one that asks you to pay attention.

Walnut Beach Park is Ashtabula's city beach, an extensive stretch of sand on Lake Erie near the harbor. The city posts lifeguards during summer daytime hours, so this is supervised, family-style lake swimming rather than a hidden swimming hole, and the gently sloping sand makes wading in easy.

Outside swim season the beach has a second life as one of the area's best birding spots, with fall and early winter bringing migrant shorebirds, raptors, and big offshore flights of mergansers and gulls. For swimming, though, summer is the window.

Cowan Lake State Park, near Wilmington in southwestern Ohio, wraps around a roughly 700-acre reservoir created in 1950 when Cowan Creek was dammed. The park keeps a sandy public swimming beach about 1,000 feet long on the southern shore, plus a separate camper-only swim area near the campground, a short walk or bike ride away. Boats on this lake are held to idle speed, so the water near shore stays calm.

Visitors describe a casual, family-friendly scene, shallow water for wading, sandcastles on the beach, and sunbathing, more mellow lake day than deep-water swimming hole. The beach is a state-monitored bathing beach under Ohio's BeachGuard program, which is reassuring, though elevated E. coli readings have triggered posted advisories in past summers. Check the current BeachGuard status before you swim.

Olander Park is Sylvania's in-town swimming hole, a 28-acre spring-fed lake at the center of a roughly 60-acre community park, with a natural sand beach run as an official paid swim area. The beach caps out around 140 visitors at a time, first come first served, so on a hot Saturday it pays to arrive early.

The lake is shared water: rowboats, paddleboats, kayaks, and paddleboards launch nearby, and the park requires life jackets for paddleboarders and for any boat passenger under 11. The beach season runs from about June 1 through Labor Day, with weekends-only hours after mid-August.

East Fork State Park Beach is a 1,200-foot stretch of maintained sand on William H. Harsha Lake, a 2,160-acre reservoir about 25 miles east of Cincinnati. It is a drive-up swimming hole with a roped-off swim area, a gradual sandy entry, and soft sand underfoot, which is why it draws Cincinnati families all summer.

There is no lifeguard on duty at any time, and clarity varies with the season, with water-quality advisory signs posted in some past summers. It suits confident swimmers and closely supervised kids best, and it is worth checking Ohio's BeachGuard postings before the drive out.

Lakeview Park is Port Clinton's city beach, an official public place to swim right on Lake Erie at 1100 E. Perry St. The city claims more publicly accessible Lake Erie waterfront than any other town in Ohio, and this developed municipal beach is the centerpiece, set up for casual, family-oriented lake swimming with picnic areas and concessions alongside the sand.

It is a genuinely accessible spot too, with a free loaner beach wheelchair for getting into the water. Across the street, the park side offers gardens, sculptures, and walking trails. No lifeguard staffing was confirmed in official sources, so treat it as open Great Lake water and supervise kids accordingly. The seasonal facilities run May through October.

Lake Front Park and Beach is Huron's simple in-town swimming hole, a small city-owned sandy beach on Lake Erie at 310 Park St, a short walk from downtown. The views are the bonus here: the Huron Lighthouse and pier, Cedar Point's rides across the bay, and the Lake Erie islands on the horizon, with a playground and picnic area behind the sand.

Swimming is open Lake Erie off the beach, and the city is candid that this is swim-at-your-own-risk water with no lifeguards. Huron describes Lake Erie as a dynamic open body of water with rip currents and fast-changing weather, so treat it like the open lake it is and keep kids close.

Wallace Lake is a sandstone quarry that Cleveland Metroparks turned into a swimming hole back in 1941, and today the 17.6 acre lake anchors a lifeguarded sand beach inside Mill Stream Run Reservation in Berea. It is one of the district's official designated swim areas, which means summer lifeguards, a red flag system for unsafe conditions, and a no diving rule.

The setup around the beach makes it an easy full-day spot: picnic areas, a ball field, volleyball courts, and a fishing lake are all nearby along Valley Parkway. Swim season runs roughly May through September while the guards are on duty.

West Branch State Park keeps a 700-foot sand beach on the Michael J. Kirwan Reservoir east of Ravenna, a proper developed swimming hole backed by a shower house, change booth, and snack bar. The swim zone is buoy-marked and buffered from boat traffic by a 300-foot no-wake zone, which matters on a 2,650-acre lake that allows unlimited-horsepower boats and waverunners elsewhere.

Admission is free, like all Ohio state parks, and the reservoir's 40 miles of wooded shoreline give the place a bigger, wilder feel than the developed beach suggests. If you arrive by boat, there is even a second buoy-marked swim area in Silver Creek Bay southwest of the main beach.

This stretch of Lake Erie shoreline in Cleveland's North Collinwood neighborhood is the Villa Angela Park beach area, part of the Euclid Creek Reservation's chain of lakefront parks. Cleveland Metroparks describes the roughly 900 foot sandy beach here as a favorite spot for swimming, and it functions as the neighborhood's local lake swimming hole.

The setting is wooded lakefront parkland, with Euclid Beach Park just to the west, where remnants of the old amusement park that closed in 1969 are still visible, and Wildwood Park with its boat launch to the east. Entry is free, as Metroparks facilities generally are, and the park stays open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Portage Lakes State Park Beach is Akron's big free swimming hole, a 900-foot sandy beach on Turkeyfoot Lake that pulls several hundred people into the water on a hot day. The entry is gentle and shallow, the crowd is families and casual swimmers, and there is no entrance fee, which is why 100 to 200 cars a day roll through in summer.

Take the safety picture seriously here. There are no lifeguards, and the lake's dark, murky water has made it hard to spot swimmers in trouble; the beach saw three drownings in roughly a 10-month span ending in mid-2025, including a child in shallow water. Swim during daylight, stay close to kids, and watch for the occasional bacteria advisory posted under Ohio's BeachGuard monitoring.

Claremar Twin Lakes is a private family campground near New London, Ohio, built around a roughly 75-acre lake, and for registered campers it functions as a ready-made swimming hole with a recently upgraded sand beach. The water is calm and non-flowing, an easy lake to swim in, and the big kid magnet is a floating inflatable obstacle-course water park anchored on the lake, running weekends and holidays in season.

A lifeguard covers the beach, though one camper review reported the guard repeatedly leaving the station, so parents should plan to do the real watching themselves. Beach and water park access appear to be included for campers, with no separate day-use swim pass found, so this one is for people staying on the property.

Main Beach sits on the Ohio shore of Pymatuning Lake, a huge Depression-era reservoir of roughly 17,000 acres that straddles the Pennsylvania line, just south of the two-mile causeway near Andover. This is not a swimming hole in the creek-and-waterfall sense; it is a developed sand beach with a roped 500-foot swim zone and a proper bathhouse, built for a full day of sunbathing, picnicking, and casual swimming.

First-hand accounts describe a long stretch of shoreline with a classic lake-beach feel, and the roped swim area keeps you separated from the boat traffic that works the rest of the lake. No official source mentions lifeguards, so plan on watching your own crew.

Craig Beach has a great backstory: this 600-foot sandy stretch on Lake Milton sits on the site of an early-1900s lakeside amusement park that had its own swim beach, roller coaster, and midway. Today it is the designated swimming hole for Lake Milton State Park, a calm 1,685-acre reservoir on the Mahoning River, and it costs nothing to visit since Ohio state parks charge no entrance fees.

The beach itself is gently sloped and family-oriented, with sand volleyball and a playground right next to the swim area. There is no lifeguard on duty, and boat traffic on the reservoir can chop up the water surface on busy days, so watch your swimmers and pick your moment.

Genoa Quarry is one of the more distinctive places to swim in northwest Ohio: a spring-fed former quarry about a quarter-mile around, sitting inside the village's Veterans Memorial Park. The water is clear and cool, both the village and independent write-ups credit the springs for that, and Red Cross certified lifeguards staff the designated beach area all season.

What makes this swimming hole different from a pond is what lies beyond the ropes. The quarry reportedly reaches around 100 feet deep outside the swim zone, with cliff-like edges, which is exactly why the village built a shallow beach area that keeps younger kids away from the drop-offs. Stay inside the marked zone and bring water shoes for the rocky bottom.

Enon Beach is a private campground near Springfield built around two spring-fed, chlorine-free lakes, with a sandy guarded beach that works as a mellow swimming hole for campers and families. There is a designated shallow wading zone for non-swimmers and a lifeguard watching the swim area, which takes some pressure off parents.

Reviews are mixed on conditions. One visitor described the swim area as fed by a crystal clear spring with visibly clean water, while others reported low water in dry spells and a beach that needed maintenance, so expect it to vary with the season and rainfall.

Breakwater Beach is the swim beach at Geneva State Park, and the name tells you what matters: a man-made breakwater shelters about 600 feet of natural sand shoreline, knocking down Lake Erie's wave action. The result is calmer water than the open lake, which visitors consistently describe as well suited to families with young children.

Lake Erie is the shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes, and the water here is described as reaching comfortable swimming temperature by July and August. On calm days it runs blue-green and clear, making this one of the more inviting places to swim on this stretch of shoreline.

Old Field Beach is one of two official swim beaches at Indian Lake State Park, sitting on the north shore of a 5,100-acre reservoir that dates to 1860, when the Miami River was dammed to feed the Miami-Erie Canal. The swimming is sandy, shallow, and generally calm, the kind of easygoing lake swimming that works for families, though boat traffic on the lake picks up on summer weekends.

As swimming holes go, this one is closely watched: it is monitored under Ohio's BeachGuard water-quality program, and entry is free. A paved bikeway runs about 3.5 miles from the beach along the lakefront to Lakeview Harbor if you want to make a day of it.

Dillon State Park sits on Dillon Lake, a reservoir in the wooded hills about 6 miles northwest of Zanesville, where the Army Corps of Engineers runs the dam and Ohio's Department of Natural Resources runs the recreation. The swimming happens at a roughly 1,360-foot sand beach near the park office, a developed lake beach rather than a natural swimming hole, and that is exactly what makes it work for families.

There is a separate wading pool for young children right by the main beach, plus a bathhouse with showers, so small kids are not stuck negotiating open lake water. Both the beach and the wading pool operate seasonally in summer.

Buck Creek State Park Beach gives you roughly 2,400 feet of groomed sand along C.J. Brown Reservoir near Springfield, with a designated calm swim area near the boat launch. If the main beach feels busy, the park has a second, smaller place to swim, Autumn Beach near the campground, which is quieter and catches good sunset views.

One practical tip that comes up consistently: the sand ends at the waterline, and the reservoir bottom underneath is rocky, so bring water shoes. It is a free, family-oriented swimming hole surrounded by restored prairie habitat, at its best from late May through early September.

Main Street Beach sits at the north end of Main Street in downtown Vermilion, a sandy public beach on Lake Erie with a replica of the historic Vermilion Lighthouse standing right on the grounds. Officials note that only about 17 percent of Ohio's Lake Erie shoreline is open to the public, which makes a free, walkable downtown beach like this one genuinely rare.

This is an open Great Lakes beach rather than a secluded swimming hole: you wade or swim straight into Lake Erie, build sandcastles, and hunt for beach glass, with shops and restaurants a short walk away. The beach is monitored by the Ohio Department of Health's BeachGuard program, there are reportedly no lifeguards, and an ADA mobility mat and sand wheelchair make the gently sloping shoreline easy for everyone to reach.

Burr Oak State Park Beach is a 500-foot sand beach on the north shore of Burr Oak Lake, a 664-acre reservoir tucked into the forested ridges and hollows of Ohio's Appalachian foothills near Glouster. The roped swim area makes it an easy, official swimming hole for families, with sand volleyball courts right there when you need a break from the water.

The setting is the bonus: hardwood forest known for fall color, and a shoreline where bald eagles and great blue herons turn up. There is no lifeguard, and the state monitors water quality here seasonally, so check for advisories and keep an eye on your crew.

Lake Cody is a 15-acre stocked lake with a private swim beach at a family-owned RV campground in Elida, Ohio, and its origin story is a good one: the lake was created when U.S. Route 30 was rerouted through the Miller family farm. Campers have been using it as their local swimming hole since 1972.

This one is for registered campground guests, not drop-in day visitors, and swimming runs on a limited schedule, Fridays through Sundays from noon to 7 p.m., weather permitting. A mile-long walking path rings the lake, and fishing in the stocked water is the other big draw.

Fairfield Beach is one of only two officially designated places to swim on Buckeye Lake, and it holds the title of the largest stretch of natural shoreline with public access on the whole lake. This is a proper sandy swim beach on a roughly 3,100-acre lake, not a hidden waterfall, and that is exactly its appeal: easy shallow water, sand underfoot, and a lakeside walking trail along the shore.

The official swim season runs Memorial Day through Labor Day, and that is when this swimming hole is at its best. There are no lifeguards, so you swim at your own risk, but the Ohio Department of Health monitors the beach through its BeachGuard advisory program during the season, which is more oversight than most lake beaches get.

Edgewater Beach is Cleveland's urban swimming hole, a designated sandy swim beach on Lake Erie inside the 147 acre Edgewater Park, the westernmost piece of the Cleveland Metroparks Lakefront Reservation. The park carries about 9,000 feet of shoreline, so even on a busy day there is room to spread out.

This is open Great Lakes swimming rather than a secluded natural pool, and the beach comes with city conveniences: a play area, ADA beach wheelchairs, restrooms, and multiple parking lots off West 73rd Street and the Memorial Shoreway. The main swim beach is separate from the park's dog beach, so you will not be sharing the water with retrievers.

Maumee Bay State Park east of Toledo gives you two sand swim beaches for the price of none: one directly on open Lake Erie for waves and big-lake views, and a calmer beach on the park's separate inland lake when you want more sheltered water. Day-use beach access is free, and whether you want open water or a quieter swimming hole, the park covers both kinds of places to swim.

The setting is worth the trip on its own, with restored coastal marsh where the Maumee River meets Lake Erie and a 2-mile accessible boardwalk through the Crane Creek estuary. Two things to know before you swim: there are no lifeguards on duty, and this corner of Lake Erie sees periodic bacteria and algae advisories, so check the Ohio BeachGuard status before you go. Peak season runs Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Lake Snowden is the Athens area's easy answer for a lake to swim in: a 136-acre reservoir inside a 675-acre recreation park owned and run by Hocking College, about 5 or 6 miles from Athens. The official grass-and-sand beach has a roped-off swim area with a maximum depth of roughly seven feet, which keeps things manageable for families and casual swimmers, while the lake beyond the ropes, which reaches 42 feet deep, stays off-limits to swimmers.

The beach runs Memorial Day through Labor Day during daylight hours, and there is never a lifeguard on duty, so swimming is at your own risk and park rules require adults to supervise kids 12 and under. It is a straightforward, no-drama swimming hole with camping, fishing, and boating all on the same property.

Mill Creek Day Use Area is an Army Corps of Engineers park on Berlin Lake, a 3,590-acre reservoir with about 70 miles of shoreline in northeastern Ohio. Swimming is officially permitted here, but there's no groomed beach and no lifeguard, which makes it an old-fashioned swimming hole in the truest sense: you walk down the gently sloping bank and get in.

The setting is a big part of the appeal. Beech and maple trees shade the day-use grounds, and visitors sometimes spot nesting ospreys or the occasional bald eagle over the water. Since conditions and depth are unmonitored, treat it with the same care you'd give any informal shoreline swim.

Strouds Run State Park, just east of Athens, is built around 161-acre Dow Lake, and its designated beach makes the lake an easy, officially sanctioned place to swim rather than an off-the-books spot. The sandy beach slopes gradually into the water, gentle enough for small children wading in while teenagers dive off the swim area, and because Dow Lake is a no-wake lake capped at 10-horsepower motors, the water near the beach stays calm.

One visitor described the lake as emerald and mirror-calm, though conditions vary and the park does post algae advisories in warmer months, so it is worth checking before a hot-weather trip. There is no lifeguard, so you are supervising your own crew. June through August brings the warmest water and the biggest crowds, and the beach lot is known to fill quickly on summer weekends, so go early.

Nickel Plate Beach is Huron's big sandy public beach on Lake Erie, sitting near the mouth of the Huron River with the Huron Lighthouse in view at the end of the nearby pier. It's a proper lakefront swimming hole run by the city, though on a swim-at-your-own-risk basis with no lifeguards at any time.

Don't expect to see your feet. Visitors describe the water as blue-green and opaque, which is typical of Lake Erie's nearshore water in summer, but they also note the sand and facilities are well kept. The city flies a red-flag warning system for water conditions from Memorial Day through October 1, and its own safety page calls out rip currents, so take the flags seriously.

Cowan Lake Public Beach is the designated 1,000-foot swimming beach on the south shore of Cowan Lake, a 700-acre reservoir inside Cowan Lake State Park near Wilmington, Ohio. It is one of the area's most straightforward places to swim, and it has a quirk you will not find at most beaches: the lake grows abundant American lotus in its shallows, and one visitor described swimming here with lotus flowers in the water.

The whole lake carries a 10-horsepower boat limit, which keeps fast traffic away from the swim zone and the mood mellow. Swimming is allowed only in the marked beach area during daylight hours, within a 1,075-acre park of beech-maple forest with trails, a marina, and a nature center.

Delaware State Park Beach gives the Columbus area a proper swimming hole just 30 miles north of the city: an 800-foot sand beach on Delaware Lake, a roughly 1,330-acre flood-control reservoir built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1951. Visitors describe the designated swim area as calm and clean, and there is even a separate stretch of the lake set aside as a dog-friendly beach.

This is a developed, family-oriented lake to swim in rather than anything wild or secluded, surrounded by a 1,686-acre state park with picnic areas, a campground, and a seasonal marina offering boat rentals. Summer is peak season, and spring and fall bring thinner crowds. No lifeguard presence was confirmed, so supervise your swimmers accordingly.

Guilford Lake started life in the 1830s as a canal-feeder reservoir, and today its swim beach is one of the main summer draws of this small state park in rural Columbiana County. Campers describe a sandy, clean, shaded shoreline and comfortable water by mid-June, and with motorboats capped at 10 horsepower, the lake stays calm near the swimming area, a low-key lake to swim in rather than a busy powerboat scene.

Two caveats before you plan a trip. One source suggests the beach may be limited to registered campers, and another reports the lake was drawn down and closed to recreation for dam rehabilitation work expected to run to around 2027, though that could not be independently confirmed. Check the park's current status before driving out.

Turkeyfoot Beach is the official 900-foot swimming beach of Portage Lakes State Park, set on Turkeyfoot Lake, one of eight interconnected kettle lakes left behind by glaciers just south of Akron. As places to swim near Akron go, this is the well-developed option: a long sand beach with parking and vault latrines, open during daylight hours on a swim-at-your-own-risk basis.

It's a casual, family-oriented lake swimming hole rather than anything wild, though the surrounding park is more interesting than it first looks, with wetlands full of waterfowl and boggy corners growing tamarack and cranberry more typical of northern bogs. Turkeyfoot Lake also hosts motorboats and scheduled water skiing, so the swim area shares the lake with real boat traffic.

Big Bend Swimming Beach, as the Forest Service officially calls it, sits at the upper end of Lake Vesuvius in the wooded hill country of Wayne National Forest near Ironton. The swimming area is sandy, shallow, and maintained, more developed lake beach than wild swimming hole, and the calm reservoir water suits families who are comfortable supervising themselves since there is no lifeguard.

It is cheap and simple. Three dollars per vehicle gets you in for the day, the season runs roughly Memorial Day through Labor Day, and campgrounds and trailheads sit close by if you want to make a full day of it.

Atwood Lake Park Beach is the rare lake beach that thought about everybody. The roped swim area splits into a shallow section with volleyball nets and kids' inflatables, and a deeper section with big floating obstacle courses for stronger swimmers, with a grassy slope above the sand for blankets and a playground nearby. Visitors recommend life jackets for anyone not confident in the deeper water.

The lake itself is a 1,540-acre flood-control reservoir with 28 miles of shoreline in the rolling hills of east-central Ohio, run for recreation by the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. It functions as a developed, dependable lake swimming hole rather than a backcountry find, and at a reported $5 per carload ($3 on Mondays), it's a cheap family day.

Lakeside Dock is one of the more distinctive places to swim on Lake Erie: a roped-off swim zone along a small sand beach inside Lakeside Chautauqua, a gated historic Methodist assembly community of Victorian cottages on the Marblehead Peninsula. The swim area sits on the west side of the community's roughly 700-foot dock, between the I and L Docks, with a separate roped section just for inflatables.

The water is calm and family-oriented, though the open-lake area is posted swim-at-your-own-risk with no lifeguards, and kids under 12 reportedly must pass a swim test to use the deep end. A kiddie pool and splash pad sit right next door for the littlest swimmers, and a separate supervised pool is on the grounds if you prefer guarded water. Everything runs Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, and you will need a paid gate pass to get in.

Shoemaker Beach is the designated swimming hole on Paint Creek Lake, a 1,148-acre Army Corps reservoir inside Ohio's 5,652-acre Paint Creek State Park near Bainbridge. Ohio DNR maintains a full 1,000 feet of sand here, an unguarded but purpose-built swim area that suits families and casual lake swimmers, with the state advising ordinary caution in the water.

The setting adds some character: the lake sits in a valley with limestone bluffs and cliffs below the dam, next door to the Highlands Nature Sanctuary, in a landscape with a long history of Native American and early-settler use. Summer, Memorial Day through Labor Day, is the season here.

In Cleveland Metroparks' South Chagrin Reservation, Aurora Branch drops over a series of tiered sandstone and shale ledges into shallow pools near the Quarry Rock picnic area. Visitors describe wading and playing in the water below the falls all summer, and while some call it a popular swimming destination, this is really an informal wading and dipping spot rather than a deep swimming hole, and the Metroparks do not designate an official swim area here.

The setting is the draw: a hemlock-shaded ravine of sandstone ledges just off Solon Road, a short walk from the historic Henry Church Jr. Rock carving. Bring shoes with grip, because the wet shale around the falls gets slick.

Rocky Fork Lake has a handful of named access points scattered around its 31 miles of shoreline, but South Beach is the one that matters if you came to swim. It sits on the south shore of this 2,080-acre reservoir inside Rocky Fork State Park near Hillsboro, and it is the spot multiple sources point to as the park's designated swimming area, the park's swimming hole in everything but wildness.

The beach shares its stretch of shore with a lighted single-lane boat launch, and Rocky Fork is an unlimited-horsepower lake where water skiing is common, so expect boat traffic in the general area. The park's main swimming beach is described as roughly 750 feet long with lifeguards on duty in summer, and like all Ohio state parks, getting in costs nothing.

Pike Lake was hand-dug by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and its little 13-acre lake is still one of the nicer places to swim in south central Ohio. Visitors describe the water as clear and clean, one account even calls it one of the cleanest lakes in Ohio, and the roped-off swim area off the sand beach keeps things calm since only electric motors are allowed on the lake.

Campers also know about a separate, unofficial creek swimming hole near campsite 31, about 4 feet deep with a tree kids jump from, though it depends on rain and can dry up late in summer. The official beach is the reliable bet, with state forest all around and trails looping the lake.

Jefferson Lake Beach is the main swimming hole on a 17-acre lake tucked into the oak and hickory hills of Jefferson Lake State Park in eastern Ohio, about an hour from Pittsburgh. The lake itself has some history, formed by a dam a Civilian Conservation Corps crew built in 1934, and the state park keeps a 200-foot sand beach with a bathhouse for swimming and sunbathing.

The water is shallow and gently sloped with no current, but the beach is not lifeguarded, and visitor reports are mixed on conditions. Some describe a peaceful, clean park, while others say lily pads and seaweed have at times overrun the swim area, especially in late summer. Worth checking current conditions before you count on getting in.