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A 50-foot waterfall pouring into a limestone grotto, a natural granite waterslide, a spring-fed pool the color of turquoise glass — the swimming holes that justify pulling off the highway
Daniel Duran / Pexels
A good swimming hole, according to Pancho Doll, author of a series of books on the subject, needs a specific combination of elements: high rocks, water deep enough to actually dive into, and some sense of privacy, what he describes as "a vertical element" that gives a spot an almost architectural feel rather than simply a flat stretch of river.
This list ranks the U.S. swimming holes that clear that bar most consistently, prioritizing sites with a genuinely distinctive feature, whether that's a natural waterslide, a hidden grotto, or water cold and clear enough to justify the specific trip required to reach it.
