Uproxx
Water activities are fun. There’s no question about it. And, they all come with their own tropes. Hanging at a hotel pool demands looking good with a cocktail in your hand. A day at the water park means fighting hordes of children jacked on overpriced Red Ropes. And swimming holes are all about the feel of a rope swing cutting into your palms and the screams of people springing from rocks and plummeting into a pool of clear water below. The swimming hole experience isn’t just about cooling off. It’s about adventure.
As summer temps threaten your very sanity, we’re scouring the nation’s swimming holes to identify the best spots for thrill-seekers to get cool. Yesterday, we toured the American West. Today, we’re hitting the Southwest. Hop into the comments to offer up your thoughts on gems we missed and shout out your favs!
Texas: Hamilton Pool Preserve (Dripping Springs)
If you insist on being the only person at your swimming hole, Hamilton Pool Preserve may not be enough of a secret for you to get excited. However, if your only requirement for a swimming hole be that it is cool af, you will be thrilled because this spot is otherworldly.
Hamilton Creek drains over the limestone outcroppings, creating a 50-foot waterfall into the shaded box canyon below. The amount of water flowing varies, but even in drought, neither the jade green water in the pool nor the waterfall dries up. Sun is plentiful in parts of the pool, but we are all about the beautiful grotto.
Sometimes, high bacteria levels mean that swimming at Hamilton Pool Preserve is prohibited, so be sure to make a call before you drive out there filled with a raging desire to splash about.
Oklahoma: Bathtub Rocks (Tahlequah)
Though the oil may run in Oklahoma, water can be scarcer — as dryness and drought legit effect about half the state. But, we had the hardest time making a single pick for this state because it has so many awesome places to take dip when the water levels are riding high. Do you go rope swing? Waterslide? Waterfall? We considered them all, and Bathtub Rocks ultimately won our hearts.
Visitors to J.T. Nickel Family Nature and Wildlife Preserve will find a tiny geological water park. This isn’t a jumping off of cliffs scenario. It’s a series of depressions that are made of smooth rock, allowing for wading and sliding. Below the rocks are pools big enough to get fully submerged.
Nestled in the Ozarks, this is a real find. So, be sure to round out the day by visiting Tahlequah and grabbing an old-timey treat at the Tahlequah Drug Co Soda Fountain. You deserve it.
Colorado: Devil’s Punch Bowl (Independence Pass)
There are actually a couple of Devil’s Punch Bowls in Colorado, which we think speaks to the pervasive popularity of a good fruit beverage in Hell and not to the laziness with which settlers slapped that name on pool after pool of water. We suggest you start at the one that is roughly nine miles out of Aspen and surrounded by 20-foot cliffs that beg you to embrace adrenaline and leap from them.
If you are dying to hit both punch bowls, the other one is off of Schofield Pass near Crested Butte. But, you will have to traverse some 4-wheeling terrain and the cliffs are higher, increasing the chance that you could sustain a serious injury flinging yourself off of them.
Utah: Burriston Ponds (Mona)
Often referred to as the Mona Rope Swings, Burriston ponds is a pretty classic swimming hole with a couple of super fun (you guessed it) rope swings. Unlike other swimming holes featured on these lists, this requires no hiking. You just park, climb the wooden boards affixed to the trees holding the ropes, reach your desired height, and jump. These aren’t swanky ponds with waterfalls or natural water slides. Instead, this is the classic Americana swimming hole experience that probably involves a couple beers and some great picnic food. Plus, in the era of Instagram, a rope swing makes for some great images for your followers.
If rope swinging isn’t enough to fill a day in your estimation, drive twenty minutes to Genola and check out the Tintic Standard Reduction Mill — an abandoned mill with a ton of graffiti and its own medium-sized swimming hole.
New Mexico: The Jemez Falls Area (Santa Fe)
When we recommended the best microadventures in every state, our pick for New Mexico was The Blue Hole in Santa Rosa. It’s still awesome, so consider hitting it up. For this list though, we are suggesting the pool above Jemez Falls — which is much shallower and less trafficked. It’s also the kind of swimming hole that requires a bit of a hike on a dirt trail; we always love getting good and sweaty and a little grimy before plunging into water. It’s why they won’t let us use the pool at the community center anymore.
To make it a complete day, continue to the McCauley Hot Springs and let the warm water ease all the tension out of your body. You will return to your daily grind completely blissed out.
Arizona: Havasu Falls (Supai)
Let’s be real, there is no way this iconic spot wasn’t going to be our pick for Arizona. We know it gets a lot of attention and you have to win a lottery to access it, but it is such a sublime oasis that you cannot miss out on visiting. Total bucket list fodder.
The red rocks contrast with the startlingly blue pool at the bottom of the falls make the difficult hike to get there totally worth it. You are either going to trek ten miles or rent a helicopter like a baller, so you know that the area won’t be overrun with visitors taking advantage of the 72-degree waters. It’ll just be you and other diehard lovers of outdoor beauty.
Fun fact: the US Postal Services still uses mules to make deliveries to nearby villages, so don’t feel bad when the hike in kicks your ass a teensy bit. To ease things. pay to put your pack on a mule.
Nevada: First Creek (Las Vegas)
You may not know it, but many consider Nevada the hot spring capital of the world. Bet. There are also some totally epic swimming holes, like First Creek. Located outside of the Red Rock Canyon park entrance, this natural body of water varies from totally dry to decently deep in spring (depending on snow and rainfall). And, it boasts a waterfall, which makes everyone feel like an alluring water nymph, or so we have heard. The hike in and out is about two miles total, so you won’t be completely wasted after a day in the water.
While you are out and about, hit up Yard House, which is about five miles from the Conservation Area. Down some poke nachos and enjoy a huge selection of draft beers. Plus, it’s casual, so you can roll up post-swim without feeling like a doofus.
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