101 Blue Hole

    I never thought we would be going swimming at the end of September, but it has been a long hot summer and with highs today predicted to be in the low nineties this may be our last chance this year.  Four days ago, we went on our first hike of the season and found Blue Hole, a beautiful swimming hole just upstream from river mile 78 and the Woolum landing.

    At that time, I promised myself to come back someday to go swimming, I just didn’t think it would be this soon.  We cross the Buffalo at the same spot as last week, I’ll call this ford the ‘relocated’ Woolum Ford.  The crossing today is just over a foot deep but there are a few bigger rocks we need to avoid, still an easy crossing.

    Up a short sandy hill on the south side of the river and we stay straight (west) where the road turns to the south and up another sandy hill.  Now we’re on a cobblestone road I’ve been calling 'Volunteer Road' which meanders along on the south side of the Buffalo a little over half a mile to Blue Hole, the road then continues another quarter mile or so before ending at Roughedge Hole.  We park in the shade at Blue Hole.

Blue Hole #6

    We set up our chairs about ten feet from the front of the truck in a sandy spot, everywhere here along the south side of Blue Hole has good shade, I’m sure earlier in the summer this is not the case.  We head for the water just 20-30 feet down the beach, which is a mix of sand and gravel, the hole gets deep pretty quick.

    Within twenty foot of shore the waters over my head, and it keeps getting deeper.  Out in the middle as hard as I may try, I can’t reach the bottom.  It’s hard to say how deep I can swim, but my estimate for Blue Hole is that it’s at least 15 feet deep, I should buy some swim-fins to give me a little more ‘power’ when trying to reach the bottom.

    I swim around exploring the entire hole for quite a while, at both the entrance and exit shoals I look around a little on shore.  Both shoals have a little beach area nearby, the exit shoal’s beach has no shade though.  In front of the beach at the entrance shoal is a faint whirlpool created by the point of Benton Bluff, which I didn’t even notice when I was swimming through it, not until I was standing on the tiny beach, did I see the whirlpool action.

lots of afternoon shade at Blue Hole

    Blue Hole is beautiful (I know I already said that, but it bears repeating).  Not very long I would estimate maybe 400-500 feet between the noisy little entrance and exit shoals, but much wider than most of the holes we’ve swam, approximately 100 feet wide or more.  These dimensions give the hole a pond appearance.

    A little below the entrance shoal, a huge rock is sitting at the river’s edge.   Known as Benton Bluff ever since Thomas Benton painted this scene back in the 1960's.  This huge rock has a deep split up to the top, a bear crack which could be climbed although very steep.  Protected by Benton Bluff is a very nice sycamore tree, many other mangled and deformed sycamore’s cling to the ground (and life) all throughout this flood plain.

    While slowly swimming back to our camp I see a snake swimming in the same direction about eight feet behind me.  It's not unusual to see snakes in the swimming holes occasionally, they usually keep their distance, this one seems to be following (or chasing) me to the beach.  And that’s not all, it has what looks like a deformed head or maybe its neck is broken.  Once close enough to shore where I can touch bottom, I quickly get out of the water with the snake still following me.

bottom of Blue Hole

    I can now see it doesn’t have a broken neck or deformity but has a small catfish in its mouth.    The fish is maybe 5-6 inches long and definitely a catfish with its flat head and whiskers.  The snake is 3-4 feet long and looks like a copperhead with its rings and bands, but the coloring is a little dark for a copperhead.

    Later after we get home Kat does a Google search for snakes that eat fish and finds that this is a Northern Water Snake which are pretty common everywhere east of the Rocky Mountains and one of only a few snakes that prey on fish, also non-venomous by the way.

    After lunch we hang out at Blue Hole long into the afternoon, swimming at least twice more after my snake encounter.  It’s a great day at a great place, everyone has a good time, and we’re glad we came even though ‘technically’ summer’s already over.  Blue Hole will be a top priority for a return visit next summer.

top of Blue Hole

    Although when the river’s high it would be impossible to drive here, today it’s not a problem.  You do have to ford the Buffalo River, so a score of 3 for accessibility is about the best I can give.  For amenities it doesn’t get much better: a big deep clean swimming hole with a nice shady beach and the whole place is gorgeous.  Blue Hole gets a solid 5 in the amenities category.

    We didn’t see a single person here at the hole today even though there were people camping back at Woolum, I think the river crossing keeps most folks from coming back here.  Popularity has to score a 5 as well, and with so much of interest right here at Blue Hole including Cash Bluff just upstream and Benton Bluff, the two noisy little shoals, the unique shape and depth of the hole all combine to make this a very special place... Blue Hole: 13+ it’s just too bad we waited all summer to find it.