Fun in the sun is around the corner, here are 7 swimming holes in New York that will make your summer epic. Lather up with sunscreen and throw on your bathing suit, because there’s a world of fun awaiting you. From waterfall splash pads to stunning blue holes, these swimming spots will make your summer memorable.
- Split Rock Falls, Elizabethtown
James St. John/Flickr
Mike/Flickr Located on the Boquet River in the Hammond Pond Wild Forest, you’ll find a nearly 50-foot tall waterfall that looks like something you wouldn’t expect to find in New York! Gorgeous waters that would make Emerald City envious, this waterfall is practically hidden in plain sight off US 9.
- Peekamoose Blue Hole, Denning
Lea Monroe / Only In Your State
Lea Monroe/ Only In Your State This is one of the swimming holes in New York that has sparked a great debate. Do we share our favorite spots with others or do our best to create the biggest invisibility cloak that anyone has ever seen? All we can hope for is that people see the beauty of places like Peekamoose and feel the internal desire to keep Mother Nature looking her absolute best. Doesn’t this place look like a fairy tale? With plenty to explore, this beautiful blue and green crystal clear mountain water will freeze you to your core and is the perfect place for those high temperature days.
- Enfield Falls, Ithaca
411Canuck/TripAdvisor
TryppAdams/TripAdvisor Located inside of Robert H. Treman State Park in the Finger Lakes, you’ll find an incredible swimming spot to bring the family. Also known as Lower Falls, this swimming spot is one of the best attractions inside the state park. While there are many gorgeous waterfalls throughout this park that you’ll want to cool off in, the bottom of Enfield Falls is the only area that has a lifeguard and an area where you can actually take a swim.
- Vernooy Kill Falls, Kerhonkson
Auslandsoesterreicherflickraccountinhaber/Flickr
Auslandsoesterreicherflickraccountinhaber/Flickr A 4-mile out and back hike will let you experience and explore the serene area of Vernooy Kill Falls. A gorgeous area to explore during the warmer months, the beautiful wooded hike gives you a tranquil area to cool off in before you conclude your adventure.
- Kaaterskill Creek & Falls, Tannersville
mike/Flickr
ScubaBear68/Flickr This gorgeous spot is a place our residents like to visit all year long, but once the hot summer months arrive that’s when the party really gets started. I’d like to tell you to take a day off from work during the week and cool off here on a less crowded day but realistically not all of us can do that, so be prepared to share! Luckily, it’s not just the actually Kaaterskill waterfall that offers a great place to swim. The entire half-mile hike you have to the waterfall brings you along Kaaterskill Creek, giving you plenty of places to set up and shop and enjoy the water.
- Stony Brook State Park, Dansville
la_salebete/Flickr
la_salebete/Flickr Inside the park from Memorial Day through Labor Day you’ll find a designated area for swimming. Open as long as a lifeguard is present, the swimming area provides a unique place to immerse yourself in New York water.
- Otter Falls, Sundown
Watershed Post/Flickr Roughly 8-feet deep, this swimming hole like many, is located in the Catskill Mountains. Not far from the parking area for Giant Ledge, this relaxing swimming hole is the perfect spot for explorers to cool off.
If you haven’t already pulled your bathing suits out of storage, now is the the time! How many of these swimming holes in New York can you say you’ve visited?
James St. John/Flickr
Mike/Flickr
Located on the Boquet River in the Hammond Pond Wild Forest, you’ll find a nearly 50-foot tall waterfall that looks like something you wouldn’t expect to find in New York! Gorgeous waters that would make Emerald City envious, this waterfall is practically hidden in plain sight off US 9.
Lea Monroe / Only In Your State
Lea Monroe/ Only In Your State
This is one of the swimming holes in New York that has sparked a great debate. Do we share our favorite spots with others or do our best to create the biggest invisibility cloak that anyone has ever seen? All we can hope for is that people see the beauty of places like Peekamoose and feel the internal desire to keep Mother Nature looking her absolute best. Doesn’t this place look like a fairy tale? With plenty to explore, this beautiful blue and green crystal clear mountain water will freeze you to your core and is the perfect place for those high temperature days.
411Canuck/TripAdvisor
TryppAdams/TripAdvisor
Located inside of Robert H. Treman State Park in the Finger Lakes, you’ll find an incredible swimming spot to bring the family. Also known as Lower Falls, this swimming spot is one of the best attractions inside the state park. While there are many gorgeous waterfalls throughout this park that you’ll want to cool off in, the bottom of Enfield Falls is the only area that has a lifeguard and an area where you can actually take a swim.
Auslandsoesterreicherflickraccountinhaber/Flickr
A 4-mile out and back hike will let you experience and explore the serene area of Vernooy Kill Falls. A gorgeous area to explore during the warmer months, the beautiful wooded hike gives you a tranquil area to cool off in before you conclude your adventure.
mike/Flickr
ScubaBear68/Flickr
This gorgeous spot is a place our residents like to visit all year long, but once the hot summer months arrive that’s when the party really gets started. I’d like to tell you to take a day off from work during the week and cool off here on a less crowded day but realistically not all of us can do that, so be prepared to share! Luckily, it’s not just the actually Kaaterskill waterfall that offers a great place to swim. The entire half-mile hike you have to the waterfall brings you along Kaaterskill Creek, giving you plenty of places to set up and shop and enjoy the water.
la_salebete/Flickr
Inside the park from Memorial Day through Labor Day you’ll find a designated area for swimming. Open as long as a lifeguard is present, the swimming area provides a unique place to immerse yourself in New York water.
Watershed Post/Flickr
Roughly 8-feet deep, this swimming hole like many, is located in the Catskill Mountains. Not far from the parking area for Giant Ledge, this relaxing swimming hole is the perfect spot for explorers to cool off.
For more fun in the sun, read This All-Day Float Trip Will Make Your New York Summer Complete. You’ll have a blast exploring the best swimming holes and floating through the Empire State’s waterways this year.
Before venturing out to New York’s best swimming holes, we need to go over a few basics first. When sharing our favorite getaways and pieces of Mother Nature with others, the hope is for them to have great experiences here as well, and for everyone to walk away with awesome, unforgettable memories. Unfortunately, as remote spots become more well known and explored by outsiders, we often end up encountering visitors who don’t have the same respect for these beautiful places as we do.
For most of our residents, the idea of cleaning up after yourself and respecting the nature around you is quite the comprehended concept. But often we find that this is more frequently becoming not the case. One of the places we’ve listed above is a prime example of what can happen when a natural wonder deals with a lack of respect. An article with pictures from over the last couple years, some as recent as this past August, shows a Catskill swimming hole covered in trash and heavily populated. I, myself visited last summer and while I didn’t experience it being horribly crowded, I sadly did experience having to clean up some broken glass. Besides my minor run in with the glass, I can honestly say I had the most wonderful day at this particular swimming hole.
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Address: Split Rock Falls, Elizabethtown, NY 12964, USAAddress: Peekamoose Blue Hole, Peekamoose Rd, Sundown, NY 12740, USAAddress: Enfield Falls Rd, Ithaca, NY, USAAddress: Trails End Rd, Kerhonkson, NY 12446, USAAddress: Kaaterskill Falls, Hunter, NY 12436, USAAddress: Dansville, NY 14437, USAAddress: Giant Ledge, Shandaken, NY 12464, USA
The OIYS Visitor Center
swimming holes in new york June 28, 2020 Kim Magaraci What is the hottest month of the year in New York? July is generally the hottest month of the year in New York. Average high temperatures range from 75°F to 85°F, and days in the 90s and crossing into triple-digit temperatures are not uncommon. Upstate tends to be cooler, and in the mountains, you’ll likely get lower temperatures than you will at lower elevations. New York City and Long Island tend to be the hottest spots in the state. What is the weather like in New York in the summer? New York’s summertime is known for being hot, humid, and with volatile and stormy weather. Afternoon thunderstorms, some severe, are common. When you’re planning a summertime adventure in the Empire State, keep an eye on the forecast and be ready to move to a safe shelter if you hear thunder. Severe storms tend to come with some warning, so carry a portable weather radio, or set up an alert system on your phone. Not every afternoon comes with a storm, though, and it’s easy to find days where the chances of rain are low, and the chances of summertime sun are high. What is there for kids to do in summer in New York? You can find fun things to do with kids all summer long in New York! Waterparks and splash pads are common in our towns and cities. Our parks and trails tend to be shady, so it’s easy to get a break from the brutal sunshine. Check out some of the best kid-friendly hikes right here.
The OIYS Visitor Center
swimming holes in new york
June 28, 2020
Kim Magaraci
What is the hottest month of the year in New York? July is generally the hottest month of the year in New York. Average high temperatures range from 75°F to 85°F, and days in the 90s and crossing into triple-digit temperatures are not uncommon. Upstate tends to be cooler, and in the mountains, you’ll likely get lower temperatures than you will at lower elevations. New York City and Long Island tend to be the hottest spots in the state. What is the weather like in New York in the summer? New York’s summertime is known for being hot, humid, and with volatile and stormy weather. Afternoon thunderstorms, some severe, are common. When you’re planning a summertime adventure in the Empire State, keep an eye on the forecast and be ready to move to a safe shelter if you hear thunder. Severe storms tend to come with some warning, so carry a portable weather radio, or set up an alert system on your phone. Not every afternoon comes with a storm, though, and it’s easy to find days where the chances of rain are low, and the chances of summertime sun are high. What is there for kids to do in summer in New York? You can find fun things to do with kids all summer long in New York! Waterparks and splash pads are common in our towns and cities. Our parks and trails tend to be shady, so it’s easy to get a break from the brutal sunshine. Check out some of the best kid-friendly hikes right here.
The OIYS Visitor Center
The OIYS Visitor Center
July is generally the hottest month of the year in New York. Average high temperatures range from 75°F to 85°F, and days in the 90s and crossing into triple-digit temperatures are not uncommon. Upstate tends to be cooler, and in the mountains, you’ll likely get lower temperatures than you will at lower elevations. New York City and Long Island tend to be the hottest spots in the state.
What is the weather like in New York in the summer?
New York’s summertime is known for being hot, humid, and with volatile and stormy weather. Afternoon thunderstorms, some severe, are common. When you’re planning a summertime adventure in the Empire State, keep an eye on the forecast and be ready to move to a safe shelter if you hear thunder. Severe storms tend to come with some warning, so carry a portable weather radio, or set up an alert system on your phone. Not every afternoon comes with a storm, though, and it’s easy to find days where the chances of rain are low, and the chances of summertime sun are high.
What is there for kids to do in summer in New York?
You can find fun things to do with kids all summer long in New York! Waterparks and splash pads are common in our towns and cities. Our parks and trails tend to be shady, so it’s easy to get a break from the brutal sunshine. Check out some of the best kid-friendly hikes right here.
