Swimming Holes in the Adirondacks

Take a Swim

There are some really great places around the region to take a dip, from public beaches to hidden swimming holes, and they are all worth checking out!

Swimming Hamilton County
Swimming Hamilton County

Public Beaches

Each town has its own public beach where you can enjoy the sun and the water. In Wells there is a great public beach with a diving board and a nice shaded pavilion for a little picnic lunch. Lake Pleasant's beach is located right next to a large pavilion, a basketball court, baseball diamond, and an awesome playground for the kids! (King of the Frosties is also within easy walking distance!) Indian Lake's public beach offers a nice sandy spot to lie out and a dock to jump off of. Bring a volleyball and a few friends to play a little pickup game with the net provided!

Inlet Arrow Head Park Beach
Inlet Arrow Head Park Beach
Check out Arrowhead Park in Inlet for a nice, refreshing swim. Here you can play a game of tennis, make a little lunch on the provided hibachis, or walk to the shops and restaurants. Long Lake has a great public beach with two swimming docks that have a rope swing, trampoline, and slide! 
Long Lake Public Beach
Long Lake Public Beach

Swimming Holes

When it comes to swimming holes, I have my own personal favorite, but we'll get to that in a minute. There are lots of great swimming holes, and many that even coincide with our awesome Waterfall Challenge! Bray House Falls in Piseco (better known as Potholers) has a nice, very quiet spot to relax in the water.

Potholers Bray house Piseco
Potholers Bray house Piseco

Buttermilk Falls in Long Lake is just a short 0.1 mile walk from the pull off on North Point Road. It's a great spot to take a dip a little ways downstream and there are lots of nice places to have a picnic! East Jimmy Creek Falls, just a few hundred feet off of Route 8 in Wells, also offers a great place to go swimming with an amazing view! There are two falls here, and the swimming hole is located at the base of the second one. Another great (non-waterfall) swimming hole is in Indian Lake. Just follow Pelon Road until it forks, then follow the left fork on Benton Road. Follow that and you will reach a nice picnic and swimming area!

Christine Falls 
Christine Falls Speculator Dallas Erb
Christine Falls Dallas Erb

OK, now on to my favorite swimming hole. This one is located in Speculator and I've been going there since I was a teenager. Christine Falls is located just off of Route 30, south of the Welcome to Speculator sign. It is a well kept secret as it can be slightly difficult to find. Heading south from Speculator, the parking area is about .3 miles passt the entrance to Old Route 30 on the left side of the road.

Christine Falls Speculator Dallas Erb
Christine Falls Dallas Erb Speculator

Christine Falls is a beautiful spot to sit and relax or take a plunge! There is a spot here for those not faint of heart to jump from a small cliff into a deep pothole in the water. I could never bring myself to take the jump!! This is really not a great place for kids for safety reasons, but as an adult it's great!

Check out any one of these great swimming spots and grab some lunch to go to make a nice little picnic! As with any swimming venture, please use caution especially when venturing out to the waterfall swimming holes.


This week we're talking awesome ADK swim holes:

Three on 3

Hot stone massage

Cannonball

Hole other side of Tupper

Five places to wet your pants

River runs through it

Dip into the Coast