(From The Herald’s SummerFUN supplement, published with this week’s paper. If you’re not a subscriber, call the office at 728-3232, and we’ll send you one!)

We all know that Vermont is famed throughout the East for its skiing, but here’s a summertime secret: Vermont also offers GREAT swimming.

And here’s how to take advantage of it: Stop swimming in the same old place! The glory of Vermont swimming is its variety.

There are lakes, of course—one huge lake, lots of middle-sized lakes, small lakes, and really some tiny lakes, and you can swim in most of ‘em. The real pleasure comes, however, when you supplement the lake swimming by stepping into running water and take your ease in one of Vermont’s rivers and mountain streams. Cold? Sometimes. But a river’s current adds unexpected variety, and the water in most Vermont streams runs so clear and pure it tingles.

In 2005, I decided, early in the summer, to make a note of each place I would swim throughout the summer. That, of course challenged me to try more places. I didn’t swim every day, or try to set any records, but by the end of the summer, I had swum in 18 different places—multiple times in some of them, just once in many. Now, three years later, as I read over the list, I can still remember each stimulating plunge.

Go ahead and try it your self: See our Swim Contest in the sidebar. But be safe about it. These swimming areas are not planned for your use. Rocks may be safe to jump from, or they may not—always check out what’s underneath the surface or observe what experienced swimmers are doing. A current that may be mild one day may the next day be dangerous to a weak swimmer.

The Summer of 2005

Here’s a summary of my 2005 summer, offered as an example of the watery delights all around us. It would have been easy to plunge in many more places. For instance, Silver Lake in nearby Barnard isn’t on the list, nor is any state park, for that matter, nor is the Randolph town pool, nor the Connecticut River or Lake Champagne or Lake Champlain—all of them well-recommended for swimmers.

The White River contributed three lovely spots, all different from each other. One was the group of rocks and deep pools just right off Route 107 in Gaysville; and another was the wonderful combination of shallows, rocks, and rapids which to a 20-foot deep pool beside Route 14 just north of South Royalton. Both of these are popular spots, but I found seclusion at the bridge near the Fox Stand in Royalton (and a well-worn path for a mile along the river, too).

There are, of course, any number of other spots on the White: West Hartford, two spots in Rochester/Stockbridge, under the bridge at the Stockbridge shortcut from Route 107, the Third Branch north of Randolph and the Second Branch in both Chelsea and Tunbridge. Find them yourself!

I tried out a much-loved swimming hole on the Mad River in Warren, which comes in several levels and was enlivened by a tree trunk that dared you to wander out over the ravine. But I didn’t happen to swim, that summer, at the great place in the Mad River north of Moretown, or the spectacular Bartlett’s Falls that beckons in Bristol after a climb up Mount Abraham.

Seeking still water, I swam in Lake Dunmore, at the floating bridge, at my next door neighbor’s pond, and at the other Silver Lake—the one near Lake Dunmore that you have to hike to—and which offers a swim in beautiful Sucker Brook on the way back.

Non-Vermont swimming counts, too, and when we traveled, I sought out brooks and ponds, discovering two little ponds in Maine, and sparkling Lake Ogontz in New Hampshire. When I climbed in the Whites early in the summer, I found good (though freezing) swimming at a muncipal pool nearby. This illustrates another good summer rule: . Always ask the local folk where to swim after you come off a mountain hike—they willingly share their secrets, and after a hike, the water feels twice as refreshing!

That was pretty much my swimming summer—although readers keeping track will note that I’ve still mentioned swimming at only 13 places. The other five were obtained in a swimming orgy during one long weekend at Ithaca, NY, with a son who knows every swimming gorge within 25 miles.

That’s right—Vermont has no monopoly on great swimming. But Vermont does have a huge, delightful resource of lakes, and ponds, rivers and streams, just waiting to refresh you. Keep your eyes open whenever you’re driving along a stream and look for telltale signs—a rocky shoreline, or a nice-looking pool, or a gravel pullout beside the road.

For instance, along one state route right in the middle of a central Vermont town, there’s a satisfactory six-foot deep swimming pool in a brook tiny enough to flow through a metal culvert beneath the road. Who would know about such a thing? The teenagers would, of course; so watch for their tell-tale bikes!

SIDEBAR

Tell Us YOUR Swimming Adventure

Try keeping track of your own swimming adventures, as the author did in 2005. You’ll find it will add spice to your summer, and it’s fun to compare notes. At the end of the summer, send The Herald a list of places you’ve found for swimming. (Illegal places don’t count; and when in doubt, ask permission.) Take a couple of photos, too, and send them with your list and any comments you may have about your favorite places.

The winner will have his or her swimming adventure published in next year’s Summertime supplement.

 

Go Swimming
Somewhere Else For a Change!