Summer Swimming Holes

When the heat is on, lower the thermostat! Seek out hidden pools where you can swim, splash, picnic, and relax. Naturally, we’re talking au naturel—swimming holes in beautiful natural settings. Where the cool get cool!

Week: 07.19.2018
Regions: Southern CA

Cool Pool in the ’Bu

Hiking to Rock Pool in Malibu Creek State Park

Best place to cool off on a hot LA day? Our vote goes to Rock Pool in Malibu Creek State Park. A completely natural swimming hole reached via a short and easy trail (2.4 miles round-trip), Rock Pool is perfect for a dip and a splash in a glorious setting. From the parking area, f
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British Columbia's Top Five

Five Amazing Summer Adventures in British Columbia

Wine touring by bike along the Kettle Valley Railway
1) Hello, Sunshine! Hike BC’s Sunshine Coast Trail, Canada’s longest hut-to-hut trail system—and the only free one! Hikers from around the world come to do this 111-mile journey along the coast, through old-growth forests and up to panoramic mountaintop views, all with the comfor
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Heavenly Devil's Hole

Hiking to Devil's Hole in the San Bernardino National Forest

Recipe for the perfect swimming hole: cool pool in a mountain stream, remote mountain setting, great approach hike. Just add a few friends and a sunny summer day, then hike, stir, and splash! You’re at Devil’s Hole in the San Bernardino Mountains. From Splinters Cabin Trailhead i
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No Rapids in This Whitewater

Cooling Off at Whitewater Preserve

Here’s a little desert hideaway that’s a surprisingly cool escape, even when the weather’s hot! Whitewater Preserve in Sand to Snow National Monument is an oasis in a rugged stretch of land just northwest of Palm Springs. The former trout hatchery was recently renovated into a tr
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Trending Stories NorCal

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  1. Aloha from California

    Say Aloha without leaving California with a 7-mile out-and-back hiking adventure to Lake Aloha in El Dorado National Forest. You can also camp here, a premier place for stargazing.

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  2. Sequoia Re-opens Crystal Cave

    Step inside Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park's hidden world by visiting the newly re-opened Crystal Cave—the only cave in the parks open to the public. Closed for four years, this rare marble karst cavern is welcoming visitors once again, but only through the summer season!

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  3. Easiest Best Hike in the World

    Choose the easiest and most view-rewarding hike in Yosemite. Okay, we’ll go first: the combination of hiking to Sentinel Dome and Taft Point. Both of these lookouts are within a couple miles of each other on Glacier Point Road

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  4. Hiker in the forest at Mount Sutro in San Francisco

    San Francisco's Middle Earth

    No need to travel to New Zealand to visit Middle Earth. San Francisco’s Mount Sutro Open Space is practically Hobbiton—a hidden “shire” in the middle of the city. Okay, maybe not quite as magical, but still an incredible place to take a hike in city limits.

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Trending Stories SoCal

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  1. Can't Top This

    San Francisco’s Presidio was already a fantastic place to hang out for the afternoon, a beautiful site within the largest urban national park in the United States (the Golden Gate National Recreation Area). And Presidio Tunnel Tops is like a cherry on top. Make that two cherries on top, with the newly opened (July 2025) Outpost Meadow, a 1.5-acre green space located at Old Mason Street across from the Crissy Field Marsh in the Presidio.

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  2. Underground Garden

    Looking to escape the summer heat? Head to Fresno and discover its cool secret: the Forestiere Underground Gardens–an enchanting garden and architecture oasis like no other.

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  3. Volcanic Activity

    Northern California is home to one of the most unique ecosystems in the country: Lassen Volcanic National Park. The region features geothermal areas, including the largest dome volcano in the world, Lassen Peak. Hike to the top of this active volcano on a 5-mile out-and-back.  

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  4. Oh Ryan

    Sure, it’s those whimsical trees that give Joshua Tree National Park its marquee billing; but this beautiful landscape also has surrounding mountains and its night sky—one of the darkest in Southern California and designated an International Dark Sky Park. Joshua Tree has four allowable stargazing parking lots, and a newly opened haven for spending the night nearby...

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