Sandy Swimming Hole

🏊Swimming at Sandy Swimming Hole

Water is shallow and calm close to shore, gradually deepening to chest-to-overhead depth farther out (varies seasonally), over a pebbly riverbed. It is the warmest and most family-friendly swimming spot on the Washougal River, with summer water temperatures reaching roughly 70F in August, suiting waders, kids, and casual swimmers more than those seeking a remote or dramatic swimming hole.

📍How to get to this swimming hole

Located at 550 N Shepherd Road, Washougal, WA, at the upper end of the lower Washougal River Greenway, just off Washougal River Road near downtown Washougal.

Parking: Off-street parking lot at the park; overflow/street parking on Shepherd Road is restricted with posted 'No Parking' signs enforced by citation or towing, and the city has an active project to add on-street parking due to recurring parking constraints in the surrounding neighborhood.

🥾The walk in

No real hike here. The water is a short walk from where you park. Drive-up spot: flat walk of roughly 200-300 feet from the parking lot to the gravel beach, no trail involved.

📜Backstory

Sandy Swimming Hole has been used by Camas/Washougal families for generations. Remnants of the site's early restrooms and outbuildings are still visible in the beach gravel. In the early 1990s the Cities of Camas and Washougal received a Washington State Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account grant (funded by WA Department of Natural Resources revenues) that improved access, parking, and added new restrooms. In the 1940s, the local fire department used the site to give free swim lessons to area children.