The 27 Best Swimming Holes in Virginia

North Bend Park is the largest recreation facility on John H. Kerr Reservoir, better known as Buggs Island Lake, and it takes swimming seriously. There is a big buoyed day-use beach open to the public, a separate swim beach on each of the four campground loops, and free loaner life vests at the beaches.

Visitors describe the water as clear lake water, and this is an easy, family-friendly lake to swim in rather than a wilderness hole. Just know the swim beach shrinks a bit in spring when reservoir levels run high.

Bear Creek Lake State Park wraps around a 40-acre man-made lake inside the wooded Cumberland State Forest, about an hour west of Richmond. For anyone hunting an easygoing swimming hole in central Virginia's Piedmont, this is it: an official designated beach on the lake, with camping loops, cabins, and picnic shelters in the trees nearby.

The beach is unguarded, and swimming anywhere else in the park is prohibited, so you are on your own for depth, footing, and conditions. That makes it best for confident swimmers and families who watch their own kids. The full experience, snack bar and boat rentals included, runs Memorial Day through Labor Day, but you can still swim whenever the park is open outside that window.

Twin Lakes State Park centers on two small man-made lakes in Virginia's Piedmont, and its designated swim beach sits on the east side of 15-acre Goodwin Lake. It is a free swimming hole in the best sense: no charge to swim beyond the day-use parking fee, a sandy beach with a gentle, shallow entry, and a fishing pier, playground, and seasonal concession stand right beside it.

A first-hand account calls the beach very popular with families looking for a summer cooling splash. The beach is unguarded, so watch your kids, and note that swimming anywhere else in the park is prohibited. Peak season runs June through Labor Day, when the concession and boat rentals operate, though swimming in the designated area is technically permitted year-round.

Lake Arrowhead is a 39-acre town-owned lake at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains outside Luray, close enough to Shenandoah National Park that you can spot it from several west-facing overlooks. Swimming happens at a designated sand beach that opens seasonally in summer, and the water is relatively clear with gradually sloping banks, which makes it an easy, low-stress swimming hole for families.

One thing to know going in: swimming is confined to the beach area, not the open lake, which reaches 43 feet deep. The surrounding park adds picnic shelters, a playground, and a roughly 1.4-mile loop trail around the water, so it works as a full afternoon rather than just a quick dip.

Sherando Lake is a 25-acre spring-fed lake in the George Washington National Forest, and it is about as classic as a Blue Ridge mountain swimming hole gets. The designated beach on the Lower Lake has sand, a roped-off shallow section for kids, and a small island out in the lake that stronger swimmers like to reach.

Visitors report water clear enough to watch fish swim past your feet while you wade, with a warm surface layer over noticeably colder spring-fed depths. There are no lifeguards, and the swim area can fill to capacity on summer weekends, so an early start pays off between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Chris Greene Lake Park is a 239-acre Albemarle County park a short drive north of Charlottesville, built around a 53-acre reservoir with about 2 acres of designated sand beach. Unlike most swimming holes on this list, this one comes with actual lifeguards: the county runs a staffed summer swim program with entry fees, and the guards will pull everyone out of the water when lightning threatens.

That makes it one of the more relaxed choices for families in the area. The water is a calm impounded lake with no river current, and outside the roped swim area the reservoir supports kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding, and fishing, with rentals available right on site for $15 an hour. The beach runs daily through the heart of summer, then weekends through Labor Day.

Walnut Creek Park, south of Charlottesville near North Garden, is built around a 45-acre lake impounded in 1990 and surrounded by 525 acres of deciduous forest. It is one of only three official swimming lakes Albemarle County operates, which makes it a genuinely managed swimming hole: a designated beach, staffed with lifeguards through the summer season, on calm flat water with no current to worry about.

That combination makes it one of the better family bets in the area. Kayak, canoe, and paddleboard rentals run about $15 an hour right beside the beach, roughly 150 bird species live in the surrounding forest, and 15 miles of trails give non-swimmers something to do. One note: the beach closed briefly in May 2025 after a harmful algae bloom, so it is worth checking current conditions before you drive out.

Smith Mountain Lake Beach is a 500 foot sandy swimming beach inside Smith Mountain Lake State Park, one of only two public places to swim on Virginia's second largest freshwater lake. Lifeguards watch the roped swim zone in season, and the park is clear that this beach is the only spot in the park where swimming is advised.

The entry is gradual and shallow with a concrete accessibility ramp, and a big playground sits in the picnic area next door, so it works well as a full family lake day. Heads up that the beach goes unguarded on Mondays and Tuesdays, when it is swim at your own risk.

Rudds Creek Recreation Area sits about 3 miles west of Boydton on Kerr Reservoir, with a designated, roped-off swimming beach of flat, open lake water suited to families and casual swimmers. This is easy-access lake swimming rather than a hike-in swimming hole, and a free life jacket loaner station sits right at the beach.

The day-use swimming area stays open year-round, while the shaded campground next door runs April 1 through October 31. No lifeguard is mentioned in the official listings, so it is unsupervised swimming, and dogs are not allowed in the swim area.

Goose Point Park is an Army Corps campground on Philpott Lake with a sandy day use swim beach near the entrance loop, backed by views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Visitors rave about the water clarity here, with one reviewer saying you can see the bottom everywhere, which is rare praise for a reservoir.

As a swimming hole it leans family friendly rather than adventurous. Reviewers describe a shallow, gradually sloping swim area, lifeguards on duty, and loaner life jackets for kids, with playgrounds and amphitheater programs close by.

Claytor Lake Swimming Area is the designated beach at Claytor Lake State Park, set on a 4,500-acre reservoir formed by damming the New River near Dublin, Virginia. Because it is flat reservoir water rather than river current, the roped-off swim area stays calm, and lifeguards watch the beach from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.

The park is upfront that this beach is the only sanctioned place to swim on the property, so treat it as the official swimming hole for the whole 21-mile-long lake. With a bathhouse, snack bar, and playground right at the day-use area, it is built for a full afternoon rather than a quick dip.

Longwood Park sits on the Grassy Creek arm of Kerr Reservoir near Clarksville, with a sandy-edged designated swim beach right beside the campground and picnic shelter. This is a developed, official swimming hole rather than a hidden one: calm, open reservoir water with no current to fight, which makes it easy with kids in tow.

Campers describe wooded, mostly shaded sites, several right on the water with steps down to the lake. No lifeguard is mentioned on the official listing, so supervise your swimmers.

Jamestown Beach Event Park puts a sandy public swim beach on the James River about a mile from Historic Jamestowne, which makes it easy to pair a history day with a river swim. Swimming is officially permitted right off the beach, the entry is sandy and shallow, and the county even provides an accessible floating beach chair so visitors with disabilities can get into the water.

There are no lifeguards, and the county's own signage warns that this tidal stretch of the James can turn up dangerous currents away from shore, so solo swimming is banned and kids under 12 need an adult 16 or older with them. As an easy, close-to-town place to swim it delivers, with picnicking, fishing, seasonal concessions, and kayak rentals rounding out the day. Locals park free year-round.

North Bend Park is the largest recreation area on John H. Kerr Reservoir, better known locally as Buggs Island Lake, a 50,000-acre Army Corps of Engineers reservoir near Boydton with roughly 800 miles of shoreline spanning Virginia and North Carolina. Anyone looking for a swimming hole here gets choices: a big day-use beach, a separate swim beach at each campground loop, and a Mays Chapel swimming area reserved for campers.

The swimming itself is friendly, marked-off lake swimming rather than anything wild. A camper review describes a clean beach with buoys marking the swim zone and life vests provided, and other reviews mention kids swimming and fishing at the campsite beaches with a playground nearby. From your car or campsite, you are in the water within about five minutes.

Salthouse Branch Park gives you a swimming beach on Philpott Lake, a 2,900 acre Army Corps reservoir in the Blue Ridge foothills of Franklin County, Virginia. The Corps lists swimming right alongside camping, boating, and picnicking here, so this cove works as a ready-made swimming hole whether you are staying at the campground or just in for a lake day.

Philpott's shoreline runs roughly 100 miles through mixed forest in a rural, sparsely populated corner of the state, so it stays quiet. No lifeguard or roped swim boundary is mentioned in the official listing, so keep an eye on weaker swimmers.

Falmouth Beach is a de facto swimming hole on the Rappahannock River just outside downtown Fredericksburg, a shallow, sandy-shored stretch where locals and families wade into water that turns pleasantly warm in summer. Be clear-eyed about it, though. Stafford County actively discourages swimming here because the current can rise quickly and the riverbed hides slippery rocks and storm debris, so treat this as a spot for cautious wading rather than serious swimming.

The county takes the risk seriously enough to run weekend water-rescue coverage, and University of Mary Washington researchers test the water weekly for bacteria during swim season, which has flagged elevated E. coli after some samples. Visitors say it is one of the more accessible spots in town for letting kids play in the shallows, but keep them close to shore, the current here has carried a child away from the bank before.

Cave Mountain Lake is a 7-acre lake in the Jefferson National Forest, built in the late 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, who used existing rock buttresses to form a 35-foot dam. It's a classic CCC-era swimming hole with a sandy beach and a roped-off designated swim area run by the Forest Service, backed by a grassy field that runs up to forested Blue Ridge hills.

The swimming here is calm and family-shaped. No motorized watercraft are allowed anywhere on the lake, and kayaks and paddleboards have to stay outside the swim zone, so the water inside the ropes stays quiet. There's no documented lifeguard, so keep an eye on the kids yourself.

Wake Beach is the kind of spot you only find at the end of a quiet residential road: a modest stretch of sand on the wide, tidal lower Rappahannock, with tall grasses at the entry and the Robert O. Norris Bridge standing in the distance as a scenic backdrop. Visitors describe the water as calm with gentle waves, and most people wade and let kids play along the shore rather than swimming out deep.

It functions as a low-key swimming hole rather than a formal facility, and it stays uncrowded for a simple reason, the informal parking at the end of Mill Wharf Road barely fits a handful of cars. There are no restrooms and no lifeguards, and the tide shifts the current and water level, so keep young kids close and pack out what you bring.

Horseshoe Point is an Army Corps campground and day use area on Philpott Lake, out in the forested Blue Ridge foothills of Franklin County. The swimming hole here is a large sandy beach with a roped off designated swim area, so you get lake swimming with clear boundaries on a 2,900 acre reservoir.

The lake was created between 1948 and 1952 when the Corps dammed the Smith River, and today it is ringed by 100 miles of wooded shoreline. Beyond the swim beach you have a boat ramp, picnic facilities, and camping if you want to make a weekend of it.

Lake Anna is a 13,000-acre reservoir created in 1971 to cool a nuclear power plant, and the sandy Swim Beach inside Lake Anna State Park is the sanctioned swimming hole on this very big lake. The 3,127-acre park around it opened in 1983 on the site of a 19th-century gold mining operation, and it still runs gold-panning programs tied to that history.

Swimming is allowed only at the designated beach, which is unguarded, so you swim at your own risk. The park reaches capacity on summer weekends and holidays, sometimes closing entry until lot space frees up, so the reliable move is an early start. The gate opens at 5 a.m., and the seasonal snack bar near the beach runs Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Beach 2 is one of five member beaches on Lake Monticello, a 352-acre man-made lake at the heart of a private, gated community near Palmyra. Fair warning up front: this is a private swimming hole, not a public park. Access is limited to Lake Monticello Owners' Association members, residents, and their guests through card-controlled gates.

If you do have access, it's a pleasant, low-key place to swim. Visitors describe calm lake water suited to casual, family-style neighborhood swimming, with a small sandy shoreline, shaded seating, and a picnic area. It's the kind of beach you wander down to on a Saturday rather than drive across the state for, and that's the point.

Jennings Creek runs through Jefferson National Forest just outside Arcadia, near I-81 Exit 168, and its calm pooled sections, the best known of which is the Blue Hole, have long served as a classic summer swimming hole for locals and Appalachian Trail thru-hikers cooling off after long miles. A 2020 trip report described plenty of families out swimming, with the pool deep enough that you cannot touch bottom in most places and visitors climbing the rocks to jump in.

Respect this creek's split personality, though. At higher water the same stream becomes a Class II-III whitewater run with strainers and a Class IV falls farther downstream, so check water levels before you go and save it for normal summer flows.

Fair warning up front: this one is closed. Blue Hole on the Dry River near Rawley Springs was a beloved, if sketchy, swimming hole for decades, a deep, cool pool right off US Route 33 where swimmers, including plenty of James Madison University students, jumped from tall streamside rocks and climbed a homemade ladder to reach a jumping ledge. One visitor estimated the water at roughly 10 feet deep.

Rockingham County, which owns the land despite the surrounding George Washington National Forest, permanently closed it to the public in August 2020 over parking and safety concerns. As of a July 2025 account, no-trespassing signs are posted and the old highway shoulder parking is now a tow-away zone enforced by the sheriff's office. It stays on this list as history, not as a recommendation.

Coles Point is a developed Forest Service day-use area on the south end of Lake Moomaw, a 2,530-acre reservoir on the Jackson River with 43 miles of shoreline in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest. The draw for swimmers is a designated beach with a bathhouse right beside it, set on a wooded hardwood peninsula that also holds two boat ramps, fishing docks, and picnic shelters.

Virginia's wildlife agency describes Moomaw as having clear, deep waters, cold enough to support trout, which tells you what kind of lake you are swimming in. This is a proper developed swim beach rather than a creek-style swimming hole, and the calm reservoir water suits families, just watch young kids near the boat-launch traffic since no lifeguard is mentioned.

Blue Hole is a free, Forest Service-managed swimming hole on the headwaters of the North Fork Shenandoah River near Bergton, tucked into a rural, forested corner of Rockingham County near the West Virginia line. It has served as a local community swimming spot for generations: a rock-lined natural pool with a mix of sun and shade, reached by a short walk from a small dirt-road parking area.

Temper your depth expectations. A 2017 news report found sediment and rock buildup had reduced the hole to about 5 feet at most, and signage explicitly warns against diving because submerged rocks can shift during floods. Rock jumping, not diving, is the main activity, and water shoes are recommended for the walk in over the rocks.

This Blue Hole sits on Passage Creek in the Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area of George Washington National Forest, in the Fort Valley pocket of the Massanutten range. It is reportedly marked as 'Blue Hole' right on USGS topo maps, and a regional outdoors publication calls it one of the deepest spots on the creek, a proper forested plunge pool with a rope swing hanging from a tree on the far bank.

This is an informal, unstaffed swimming hole, not a developed site: you park at a small unmarked dirt pull-off on Fort Valley Road and walk a few minutes down the creek bank. Regional coverage of these Passage Creek holes advises checking depth and the creek bottom before jumping, and a nearby hole on the same creek carries an explicit warning about hidden submerged rocks, so look before you leap.

Hydaway Lake is the 32 acre centerpiece of Liberty University's Hydaway Outdoor Center in Lynchburg, Virginia, freshly expanded from 6 acres in a two year renovation and reopened with a Beach Bash in September 2025. The sandy beach fronts a designated swim area, and the 2025 upgrade added waterslides, a splash pad with water jousting, and log rolling and King of the Hill platform games on the water.

This is a managed, student and family oriented place to swim rather than a secluded swimming hole, less than 5 miles from Liberty's main campus with campsites, ropes courses, and a pavilion on the grounds. Access works through the university community: guests of students, faculty, and staff pay $5 each, with family guests included free.