WARREN, Vt. (AP) â€" In the only New England state without an
Atlantic Ocean coastline, there are no ocean waves to bodysurf, no outdoor water parks to splash in.
But Vermont has no shortage of places to cool off: When summer's heat settles in, people head to the countryside to cool off in old-fashioned swimming holes that dot the state's rivers and streams. Clean and free, these hidden gems offer emerald-green water, boulders or rope swings to jump from and breathtakingly beautiful natural vistas. They're also so numerous (and often so hard to find unless you're a local) that they rarely become crowded.
There are downsides, however: No bathrooms, no parking lots. And with no lifeguards, tricky natural features and sometimes-difficult access roads or trails, they can also be dangerous.
Last week, a 12-year-old boy drowned at Bolton Potholes swimming hole in Bolton. The week before that, two swimmers had to be rescued from Huntington Gorge after being overcome by strong currents.
Vermont has dozens of swimming holes, which depending on your definition, can include lakes, backyard ponds and city or state park pools.
It's the natural ones that are the most alluring.
"It just offers people the opportunity to go out and explore these places and make them your own," said Dave Hajdasz, webmaster for New England states for www.swimmingholes.org, a website that maintains a state-by-state listing. "You can go to a swimming hole and often there's nobody there. Everybody has this fantasy of finding this bucolic place with a waterfall, so there's that kind of romanticism. There are no rules. There is no help. But people like that danger, they like that freedom. You just go to swim."
Among Vermont's most popular is Warren Falls, a spectacular gorge with waterfalls that cascade into pools for swimming and cliff jumping that's located on Green Mountain National Forest land, in Warren.
It's easy to miss. It's on Route 100 south of the village of Warren, and is unmarked, with just a pull-off parking area and no signs to direct you. Once you've stepped onto the trail, a steep, winding tree root-embedded path leads to the main swimming area.
"The three-tiered falls are just beautiful," said Steve Kahle, 42, of Austin, Texas, who visited with his wife and three young children earlier this month. "It's majestic."
Farther north is the Kenneth Ward Recreation area on the Mad River in Moretown, better known as Big Rock because of the 15-foot high boulder that regulars jump from. Unlike most swimming holes, it has its own parking area, but no signs say what lies down the staircase leading from it.
A rocky beach, a dozen or so smaller rocks to jump from and the shallow, slow-flowing Mad River make it a destination for sunbathers, families and thrill-seekers.
Beaches are the exception at Vermont swimming holes. Most barely have enough flat space to walk on, let alone put down a blanket or a beach chair. Typically, they're ringed by rocks, steep grassy riverbanks or woods.
Up north in the ski town of Stowe is a swimming hole known as Foster's that's formed by a mountain stream that flows down from Mount Mansfield, the state's highest peak. It's small and the water's cold, with only one safe spot to jump from, but the quick and easy access from Notch Brook Road, down a stone staircase, makes it a nice spot for a quick dip.
At swimming holes with waterfalls, fast-moving water or jumping, danger is never far away â€" but help can be.
Vermont's most notorious swimming hole is Huntington Gorge, a swirling maze of waterfalls, ledges and pools that's so treacherous it has a sign posted next to it listing the names, ages and year of death of the 20 people who've perished there through the decades.
Among them: Vermont State Police Sgt. Gary Gaboury, who drowned in 1992 while working to recover the body of a swimmer.
Still, they come: On July 7, two swimmers had to be rescued from the gorge after struggling against currents and then clinging to rock ledges, where they awaited rescue.
"That is what I want to say to everybody. Heed the warning because even for a strong swimmer and climber it was hard to keep my life down there," said Ryan Fazekas, 25, of Wolcott. "Thank God we are not another name on that sign right now," he told the Burlington Free Press after his rescue.
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