Summer Swimming Adventures
Rating criteria explained
While hiking we often come across a place on a creek or river that looks like a nice place to go swimming. But hiking season is during the cooler times of the year and swimming season of course the hottest part of summer, there is a little bit of overlap and occasionally a quick dip to cool off during the hike is great.
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| swimming hole found while hiking |
1- Accessibility, or the proximity from parking area to the water. We don’t want to carry our ‘stuff’ very far, the closer to the water we can park the better. This also often involves some questionable roads to get down to a swimming hole. So, accessibility is really a two-part consideration, first the drive to the parking spot then the walk to the beach.
2- Amenities, is what we find at the ‘hole’. Is the ‘beach’ area river rock, gravel, or sand? We usually find a combination of the three, river rock is rough not the ideal surface for walking or swimming. Gravel is most common, and sand obviously is the most comfortable. Gravel bars are usually located around the inside of river bends, and these seem to always be a good choice.
Also, what is it like entering the water, mud is not good, when you go in stirring up the mud makes the swimming hole a mess, and then coming out your feet get all muddy. Another valuable amenity is shade. In the heat of summer, you need your day camp set up where there’s at least partial shade. This usually is found back at the edge of the beach along the tree line. Some folks bring their own shade, if you want to be right at the water’s edge setting up a sunshade can be the way to go.
3- Popularity, this may not seem as important as other points of criteria, but is still something to be considered, especially when planning to go to a small area or on the weekend when the popular spots can quickly become ‘overcrowded’. Capacity should get considered when scoring popularity, because a large beach area with a small parking area would be considered overcrowded if there is nowhere to park, even though the beach itself may have lots of room.
Just the opposite also results in overcrowding, obviously. For lots of people a swimming hole is just some place to cool off on a hot summer day, for me it’s much more than that. Nothing beats a beautiful bluff overlooking a remote swimming hole where we can relax and blend in with nature. So naturally I’m always looking for the ‘less known’ swimming holes. Of course, popularity is directly related to accessibility, the easier a place is to get to the more popular it usually is.
4- Unique or Interesting Finds, this usually isn’t anything we know about in advance but is what makes a swimming hole ‘special’. While just swimming and relaxing in these beautiful places is all we're really looking for, finding something unique at a swimming hole is what sets it apart as a special place. I suppose if one looks hard enough and far enough you will probably find something interesting and unique at every hole out there, but in the heat of summer we never ‘explore’ very far from our chosen ‘day camp’.
For the three points of criteria (accessibility, amenities, and popularity) each will be rated on a scale of 0-5, five being best. Unique and interesting finds near a hole won't make or break the score for anyplace, therefore no points are given, these finds are a bonus or plus to the appeal of a place. Then the total score for the swimming hole will be the sum of the three ratings, along with a 'plus' for those 'special' places, meaning that a score of 15+ would be the perfect swimming hole.
For me then, the perfect swimming hole would be easy to drive down to a parking spot right on the beach, with a sandy area under a big shade tree. The hole itself would be clear and deep with small gravel or a bedrock bottom, and there would be few if any people around. Although we haven’t found this place, we have come pretty close.
All of the swimming holes we have swam in are on the Buffalo River. I have seen some nice swimming holes on Richland Creek, Big Piney Creek, Illinois Bayou and a few other places, and have heard about a lot more, for us the Buffalo is the closest, and arguably the most beautiful river in Arkansas so that’s where we start. I know we'll never visit them all but will continue to look for new places every summer.
In the discussion above when talking about accessibility I mentioned ‘carrying our stuff’. Our only rule regarding ‘stuff’ is to only make one trip from car to camp. It's important therefor to keep our ‘stuff’ to a minimum. Our folding beach-chairs have their own canvas carry-bags making them easy to sling over my shoulder, I also carry the cooler which isn’t very big. Kat carries her ‘floaty’ and a large shoulder bag, in it are beach towels, sunscreen, snacks and other small items. So, let’s get out there and see if we can find the perfect swimming hole, and even if we never find it, I'll bet we still have a great time looking.
Most of the names used for swimming holes come from Ken Smith who lists 237 'named holes’ in his Buffalo River Handbook, of course some of these are better suited to fishing than swimming. Most but not all of the holes are accessible by boat, about 30% can be accessed from nearby trails. Less than 15% can be driven to within 200 yards, these are located at the designated campgrounds and canoe launch areas, plus some other more remote gems.
Some of these remote gems that we have found a way into, I struggle with the idea of writing about them in the blog. That little streak of selfishness that runs through my psyche warns me about the consequences of a remote swimming hole becoming popular. My biggest concerns are trash and overcrowding, both of which are huge possibilities.
Most of these remote gems involve driving some pretty poor roads, that alone should take care of most overcrowding, of course everyone is welcome to visit these pristine places. But please don't leave any trash, and parents please teach your children the concepts of litter, 'pack it in, pack it out'. People who leave trash behind, even just a little trash ruin the natural beauty of our public places. If you think about it, people who leave trash are the ones who are selfish, stealing the natural beauty away from everyone else.
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| beat the heat in style |
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