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A Swim in the Woods
Dive (or cannonball, or belly-flop) into summer at these seven backcountry water holes and hot springs.

By Anne Goodwin Sides

Utterly unlike a dip into a chlorinated cement pond, that first plunge in a swimming hole is an initiation into the soul of summer. There's the thrilling sensation of a river's current, the electrifying possibility of brushing up against something green and furry or of drifting smack into a school of fish.

The perfect swimming hole, whether it's fed by river or hot spring, should present something of a challenge—getting there should involve amphibious hiking, some light bouldering, a bit of bushwhacking—to work up the necessary preswim sweat. A worthy sink is also secluded, with a few key physical attributes: cliffs for cannonballs, a waterfall for background music, scum-free water, maybe a wedge of sandy beach. Here I've solicited personal favorites from friends of the magazine. Add them to your own list. Pack the kids in the car. Leave the mountain bikes, the ropes and carabiners, the kayaks and mega-packs in the garage, and savor the simple joy of a swim in the woods.

ARKANSAS
Unlike rapid-choked rivers in the West, the Buffalo National River is very much a lollygagging, langourous river—perfect for family canoeing—that flows for 150 miles beneath natural arches and towering limestone bluffs, past caves and box canyons, and over a 175-foot waterfall. There are hundreds of swimming holes along the way—clear, deep pools fed by underground springs, some accessible only by canoe or inner tube. But there's a particularly stunning little bend at the Steel Creek primitive campground. Shallow and warm enough for little kids, Steel Creek sports a sloping gravel beach facing a glorious fern fall where maidenhairs cascade down a hundred-foot bluff—the centerpiece of the longest canyon in the Ozarks.

Getting there: From Arkansas 7 take Arkansas 74 west for 11 miles. Turn right at the Steel Creek Campground sign. Hike down and splash in.

CALIFORNIA
Along Yosemite's Chilnualna Falls Trail (near Wawona) lie a series of smooth, granite-walled swimming bowls that look as if they were shaped by a potter's hands. The first features thoughtfully placed underwater ledges but requires some scrambling to get to. The second is a primo spot even for preschoolers. You'll likely have this transcendent hole to yourselves, since it's not visible from the trail. Here, enormous sculpted boulders resembling water-filled dinosaur bones offer diving ledges and graduated basins. Bring insect repellent—stagnant pools just above the second bowl grow ferocious mosquitoes. And be careful: the granite can be slick, making the tubs hard to get in and out of, and spring runoff makes for swift-moving water.

Getting there: Hike a mile in from the Chilnualna Falls trailhead. Where the switchbacks take a wide turn to the left, peel off right toward Chilnualna Creek, and follow it a quarter-mile upstream.

FLORIDA
You have to take a boat or canoe to get to Rock Bluff Spring, since the land around it is privately owned. Once you get there, you'll discover a shallow sink—only about three feet deep and perfect for little ones—except for a four-foot-wide fissure that leads to an underwater cave. And towering above the pool is a huge cypress with broad wooden steps nailed in. People are rumored to have dived from the rafters of that cypress—60 feet up—down into the pinched mouth of the crack, but don't give your kids any ideas.

Minus the daredevils, Rock Bluff Spring is a sultry Southern hole where you can wade in the clear shallow water, swim down that crack into the aquifer, or nap the afternoon away.

Getting there: It's about a half-mile paddle north of the Gilchris County Highway 340 bridge that crosses over the Suwannee River just outside Gainesville.

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Anne Goodwin Sides is an occasional contributor to Outside.