Swimming Away
By Terese Schlachter
Summer vacation travel usually means a break from work and a welcomed change of scenery. But it also might mean you’re away from your exercise routine. If you’re a runner, that’s an easy fix—just bring the right pair of shoes and you’re off. Weights, stationary bikes and treadmills are often available, though downsized, at hotel gyms. Cyclists might easily rent a beach bike for a comfy, relaxed alternative to their sleek road bike back home. But if you’re a swimmer, finding an appropriate body of water is challenging.
Despite the luxurious looks of hotel pools in online photos, reality almost always disappoints the avid lap swimmer. The pool is inevitably too short or too round or too laced with obstacles like rope buoys, vacuums or small children. Some vacation spots have a multitude of what may appear to be excellent open water swim opportunities, but it’s anyone’s guess what may lurk below!
We did a little research and came up with a few ideas, all of them requiring a bit of planning before you travel.
U.S. Masters Swimming ( https://www.usms.org/) is one of the more obvious resources providing locations of pools and open water events around the country. The Masters membership fee is $75.00, but if you travel often, it’s worth the investment. (There is also a USMS Facebook page, full of demo videos and such.)
There are more than 2,600 YMCA (https://www.ymca.org/) facilities across the U.S. They generally require guests to be escorted by a member who has access to a set number of visitor passes annually. Some, like the YMCA of Greater Washington DC, issue guest passes which allow a person to use the facilities unescorted, for a $30.00 fee.
Less well known, is Swimply, (https://swimply.com/pools ) which is essentially an Airbnb-by the-hour for swimmers, but really, more for dippers. Say you’re going to Utah to hike Zion National Park and you’re thinking a swim would perfectly cap off a day hiking Angel’s Landing. You can use someone’s backyard pool – maybe 10- 15 miles from the park—for $35.00- 70.00per hour. But swimming pool drop-ins haven’t caught on like the home-rental craze. A search of Nashville revealed only one option and the same was true for Traverse City, Michigan. Very few of these rentals accommodate lap swimming but if budget allows, you could definitely get yourwater fix.
If open water swimming is on your vacation must-do list, there are a few ways of finding good, safe spots, but you’ll need to do some research.
The Swim Guide (https://www.theswimguide.org/) lists beaches, lakes, rivers and swimming holes at over 10,000 locations in the U.S., Mexico, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Ireland, France, Denmark, New Zealand, Australia and Kenya. A location search brings up all the swimming areas and sometimes provides water quality data, but doesn’t tell you much more, like whether there is a fee or a lifeguard on duty. The site is worth investigating if you are locked in on a travel destination.
Tripadvisor (https://www.tripadvisor.com/ ) is comprehensive but you’ll need to root around to find outdoor swimming rules and recommendations. For example, if you’re headed to Acadia National Park in Maine, a search for “swim” will bring up a couple of beaches, but accessibility is vague.
Anything you turn up on Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/) obviously requires a deeper dive, (see what we did there?) because many of the comments are dated and you can never be sure of their validity. But the local flavor is undeniable, like this observation about a hike to a lake inBozeman, Montana: Hauser Park. The trail starts just on the other side of the brown shingle house. Super secluded, only downside is minimal parking + sorta steep trail. Other advice: Drive to any bridge over a river or creek, walk up stream or down as far as you want so long as you stay below the high-water line. try not to interfere with someone fishing.
Anyone who uses AllTrails ( https://www.alltrails.com/) knows how handy it is for finding hikes, and, depending on your vacation spot, might offer information on hikes that lead to swimming holes. We suggest seeking other sources to confirm whether it’s worth jamming swim trunks into your backpack.
No matter where you go, we think it’s prudent to pack a swimsuit, a cap, goggles and if you anticipate an open water opportunity, don’t forget your swim buoy.
Lastly, a sound in from Coach Traci revealed a favorite site to look for open water events and races in Ray’s Notebook. So many happenings to plan excursions alongside!
If you’re a Crossing Currents Aquatics local you know you live in one of the best swim destination areas in the country. Don’t forget to check out our Open Water Swim Schedule and sign up!
