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TheTwanger
01-07-2011, 20:21
Hello all!! I was recently browsing through the thread posted in the Class of 11 section asking what we will miss, and it made me think. One of the things I will miss most is cooling off on hot summer days in my favorite Tennessee rivers, lakes, ponds, and streams. So where are the best and most beautiful places to cool from Virginia through the lowlands?

johnnyblisters
01-13-2011, 17:03
Not sure about the middle sections but Sages Ravine on the CT/MA border has some fine swimming holes for cooling off after a hot day of walking.

fehchet
01-13-2011, 17:48
In 2005 I swam in a river, lake, or pond every day all the way SOBO through Maine.

TheTwanger
02-05-2011, 20:12
Now that sounds like my kind of hike. I never expected to have much trouble finding places, just wondering if any locals along the way had favorite spots to share like rope swings, bluff jumps, etc... Doesn't look like the "points of interest" section is very frequented though :rolleyes:

Blissful
02-05-2011, 23:12
Dismal Creek falls in VA

Hobbler
02-06-2011, 00:30
I may be a little biased, because I live so close, but the Tye River at Va.56 is the perfect cooling off place. NOBOs...come down from the Preist shelter some 3000 feet and you might think of refreshing at the Tye River on those Mid to late May warm days before making the run up to Harpers Creek Shelter W/Nice campsites across creek. Then you can attack the 3000 foot run up to Three Ridges (many sites with vistas). Or you can push on to Maupin Field Shelter (more great campsites). However, At the Tye there is awesome suspension foot bridge crossing, and on the other side, proximity to a few nice tempting campsites (though relatively close to the highway with the river in-between). The elevation drop and gain across the Tye is tasking on the body in the heat....Stop at the rocks below the bridge, cool off and Enjoy!

I am lucky to have the Tye within 25 minutes or so and go there often to chill when not hiking. Some times with trail magic. Maybe See ya there!

brian039
02-06-2011, 02:47
Virginia has several good places to swim. The mid-Atlantic states are slim-pickings for swimming holes. Water altogether is pretty scarce. Nuclear Lake is the only swimming hole that comes to mind for me in that section of trail. There's a place near Port Clinton that you can dive off of a cliff but I'm not sure how far it is from the trail. Prepare to drink from bathroom sinks, water spigots, and jugs that trail angels leave at the road crossings. Boiling Springs, Caledonia State Park, and Bear Mountain have swimming pools. There's lots of good swimming holes in Maine, just keep your fingers crossed that it will still be warm when you get there so you get to enjoy them.

Grampie
02-06-2011, 13:59
The Cabin at Upper Goose Pond has one of the best swimming holes on the whole AT. Don't miss this wonderfull stop when hiking the AT in Mass.:sun

TheTwanger
02-06-2011, 18:52
I may be a little biased, because I live so close, but the Tye River at Va.56 is the perfect cooling off place.

I'm looking for those places people are biased to, that are to others what the places I'll miss are to me. Thanks Hobbler!

As for Upper Goose Pond, I've already been planning a zero day to spend some time there after seeing it featured in Appalachian Impressions. I'll be looking forward to that for the whole walk, it looks like somewhere people would pay to vacation!

Thanks for all the help! Keep it comin! lol,.. I'll be adding all these into my notebook!

OldFeet
02-07-2011, 17:31
I also enjoyed taking a dip in Stratton Pond in Vermont after a hot day of hiking. There's also a shelter and tent sites there though there is a nominal fee of I believe $5. Little Rock Pond south of Stratton is another great place for a swim.

emerald
02-08-2011, 00:20
There's a place near Port Clinton that you can dive off of a cliff but I'm not sure how far it is from the trail.

Cross that location off your list. Several have been killed or maimed and it is discouraged if not illegal as I have posted with corroborating links previously.

TheTwanger
02-10-2011, 17:50
Cross that location off your list. Several have been killed or maimed and it is discouraged if not illegal as I have posted with corroborating links previously.

crossed off....:eek:

Dockmaster
02-13-2011, 11:44
Boiling Springs - right in front of the ATC Center, 50 degree plunge on a hot PA day was great. Nuclear Lake in NY - a good one. Dismal Falls is worth a night - we got a 12 pack of beer delivered there by some locals and spent the afternoon by the falls with some road-pops. Anywhere in Maine as long as it is warm enough.

Jeff
02-13-2011, 15:04
I also enjoyed taking a dip in Stratton Pond in Vermont after a hot day of hiking. There's also a shelter and tent sites there though there is a nominal fee of I believe $5. Little Rock Pond south of Stratton is another great place for a swim.

Little Rock Pond is indeed a great spot to swim...but it is 30 miles NORTH of Stratton Pond. In 2011 they built a large, beautiful shelter at Little Rock Pond and it is No Charge if you already paid at Stratton Pond shelter.

sir limpsalot
02-16-2011, 18:39
a bit down the cedar run blue blaze trail in SNP is a natural waterslide (about 30') that drops into a nice pool. check it on you tube.

OldFeet
02-17-2011, 13:03
Little Rock Pond is indeed a great spot to swim...but it is 30 miles NORTH of Stratton Pond. In 2011 they built a large, beautiful shelter at Little Rock Pond and it is No Charge if you already paid at Stratton Pond shelter.


Oops. Sometimes l get directionally challenged.

camper1121
04-11-2011, 14:25
Harriman State Park in NY has multiple opportunities. Island Pond by the Lemon Squeezer and Lake Tiorati has a beach and locker rooms with vending machines.

hikemikehike
04-11-2011, 22:50
james river in virginia and theres a bunch of water fall/swimming hole combos on the MAU-HAR trail running between maupin field and harpers creek

mirabela
04-12-2011, 21:07
There's that lake in New Jersey a few miles up from DWG. Been a long time, but I remember it as a good spot for a break.

dperry
05-01-2011, 15:54
There's that lake in New Jersey a few miles up from DWG. Been a long time, but I remember it as a good spot for a break.

Sunfish Pond. Not sure if swimming is legal there anymore.

MauriceReeves
05-03-2011, 10:42
In PA, south of Boiling Springs are two swimmable lakes that are a lot of fun: Laurel and Fuller. They're in the Pine Grove Furnace State Park, and I spent a lot of summers as a kid swimming there.

EJC
07-28-2011, 06:18
In PA, south of Boiling Springs are two swimmable lakes that are a lot of fun: Laurel and Fuller. They're in the Pine Grove Furnace State Park, and I spent a lot of summers as a kid swimming there.

I'm section hiking that in the middle of August. I'm sure it'll be hot out, glad there's lakes nearby :)

Lone Wolf
07-28-2011, 07:20
Sunfish Pond. Not sure if swimming is legal there anymore.never was legal there

fireneck
09-16-2011, 00:33
If you take a side trail to Chimney Tops and hike to Chimney Tops trail head you can jump/swim here...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85DPII6RAS4&feature=channel_video_title

After the swim you would have a good chance of getting a ride back into town as well.

Midnight Hole is also a great place to swim but is HAR off the AT, but if you are taking a few days off in the Smokies it could be worth it.

Berry Belle
06-22-2012, 01:41
Maryland--Potomac River where the AT follows the C&O Canal towpath between Weverton and Harpers Ferry. Do not try to swim if the water is high and swift. Many have drowned here under those conditions. Great riding the current downstream if water levels are normal to low. Wear something on your feet!
Pennsylvania--Pine Grove Furnace State Park has free swimming at Fuller Lake.

Marmaduke
08-29-2013, 08:53
+1 to Little Rock Pond in Vermont........ it has a not-so-little rock that you can leap off of, into the crystal clear and cool waters of this beautiful higher-elevation (for vermont at least) lake.

tpike2
12-30-2014, 04:59
I may be a little biased, because I live so close, but the Tye River at Va.56 is the perfect cooling off place. NOBOs...come down from the Preist shelter some 3000 feet and you might think of refreshing at the Tye River on those Mid to late May warm days before making the run up to Harpers Creek Shelter W/Nice campsites across creek. Then you can attack the 3000 foot run up to Three Ridges (many sites with vistas). Or you can push on to Maupin Field Shelter (more great campsites). However, At the Tye there is awesome suspension foot bridge crossing, and on the other side, proximity to a few nice tempting campsites (though relatively close to the highway with the river in-between). The elevation drop and gain across the Tye is tasking on the body in the heat....Stop at the rocks below the bridge, cool off and Enjoy!

I am lucky to have the Tye within 25 minutes or so and go there often to chill when not hiking. Some times with trail magic. Maybe See ya there!

That is one brutal section.

squeezebox
12-30-2014, 08:23
Be careful about cliff jumps, check the pool for rocks, they are the #2 reason for spinal injuries. Don't turn yourself into a quadraplegic.

Red Tail
04-15-2015, 20:43
Just a short slide downhill from the Fontana Hilton- the end of Fontana Lake was warm and luxurious in August.

srestrepo
09-07-2018, 16:06
maybe a mile heading nobo out of Sages Ravine in that little river there, (i dont know what it's called) but it had some pretty deep pools. i woudln't dive in it, but definitely a nice place to refresh yourself if you were so inclined. IDK if that's illegal there or not, but when i filtered water, it was cold and the air was humid and hot so uh, yeah. i "fell in"...

MuddyWaters
09-07-2018, 19:02
Your hot tired muscles can "not work " when immersed in cold water. A phenomena that can drown you.

AT thruhiker Parkside drowned in Pierce Pond in 2012

Waterfalls and slippery rocks are visible hazards
But they arent the only ones

1234
09-07-2018, 20:43
5 mile south of Bland Va. you cross a bridge and below that bridge is a great pool with a nice waterfall feeding it. Not icecold but not warm either, just refreshing.

zippyd8
01-12-2019, 23:16
I need to find some in the Denver area