Backpacker Magazine – Online Exclusive

Swimming Hole Hikes

Time to cool down. Hike to these refreshing swimming holes and settle right into summer.

by: the Backpacker Editors

VIEW ALL SWIMMING HOLE HIKES
Rocky Mountain National Park: Sandbeach Lake Loop
Follow this 9.9-mile loop through vibrant wildflower displays and past snow-fed streams to a huge alpine lake with unbeatable campsite views of Mount Meeker.


Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Big Creek Loop
Climb Mt. Sterling and hike through history on this 16.9-mile loop through the eastern  Smokies.


Boundary Waters: Eagle Mountain
Tag the highest peak in Minnesota on this 6.6-mile hike, which courses under a coniferous forest and past a glacial lake with nice backcountry campsites.



Yellowstone National Park: Agate Creek via Specimen Ridge Trail
This 13.3-mile backcountry trek in Yellowstone National Park travels to a rocky beach (and campsites) in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.



Seattle, WA: The Enchantments
Trek through a glacier-carved basin filled with turquoise lakes and jagged peaks on this challenging, 22.2-mile backpacking trip in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.


Oregon Coast Trail: South Jetty to Gearhart (Section 1)
This 14.7-mile section hike of the Oregon Coast Trail starts at the mouth of the Columbia River and explores sandy beaches and the remains of a 100-year-old shipwreck.



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