A we've gone to few swimming holes in the near past. All are great, some are a little more family freindly than others.
Most recently we went to a swimming hole on the Nehalem river in Oregon. The river was beautiful, the water was a little warmer than most around here. There was a small beach area but most of it was kinda rocky. There was a bunch of salamanders in the water and I probably could have reached down and picked one up if i wanted. Atreyu liked stomping into the water and splashing. He enjoyed the pastime activity here of, throwing rocks into the water. The trail was pretty easy except for a small part where it was a little treacherous climbing down a small bank and our old dog needed a boost coming back up. I don't recommend a large picnic or a bunch of beach furniture, but what ever fits into a bag or a day pack would be fine.
We have been out to the Washougal river in Washington a few times, twice this year and once last summer. Atreyu and I headed out to a park on the river one day in late April, no swimming just a little toe dipping, the water was still too high and cold anyway but the hot day sure made the water look inviting. We have gone swimming a few times on the western bank of the river, we found a convenient and easy spot to go to right off the road and just a couple miles up from the highway. I'm sure this spot gets super busy on big hot days but it is nice, the water isn't too fast here and the hole is big enough and deep enough for actually swimming and there is plenty of shallow area for the little guys. Not too much beach space so don't bring too much stuff if you think it might be busy. I did take the first dip of the summer at this spot, man that was cold.
A great spot for a cold dip in Oregon is the "3 pools" area in the opal creek wilderness. I think this is a forest pass area but you could always park up the road and walk down if you don't want to pay the $5. This area is a pretty far drive from any major town, the nearest city is Salem and that's about an hour away. So definitely make a day of it. The distance doesn't sway people from using this spot though, it is pretty heavily used, but not totally trashed (the two times I've been there anyway) but I do recommend you bring an extra bag to pick up some extra litter.There is plenty of parking and the trail is easy down to the swimming holes. Wear shoes, I almost lost a Teva when jumping off the rocks here.
Do you have a spot you'd like to share? Feel free to comment with a story. Always looking for, and willing to trade, good (especially free) camping sites.
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