A Summer Dip, Part 1
Down South, the heat sends people indoors, scrambling to crank the A/C, sip ice tea, and fan themselves. If there’s a local swimming pool, that never hurts.
It’s a Norman Rockwellian New England thing to head another direction entirely (and to pretend A/C is the devil’s tool). When the temps head toward the triple digits and the humidity follows along, New Englanders trade swimming hole knowledge with a pride and secrecy to rival that of grandmotherly pie recipes. Seems like everyone has a favorite bend of a secluded river, and they dole out the location carefully, because there’s nothing worse than heading to your personal swimming hole to find a mob of belly-floppers with athlete’s foot and a cooler of bargain beer.
So look – we’re not gonna give away GPS coordinates to top-secret hibernian glades. Half the joy is discovering your own. But there are some reliable areas to cool down in that watery fashion New Englanders prefer. Find yourself a river, follow it, and when you see cars parked for no clear reason, you’ve generally found a popular place. Whether it’s officially allowed – well, that can be another question.
The Connecticut River is never too far away in the Valley, but it’s also not the best place for a swim, with its depth, rapid current, and boat traffic. The Deerfield River is a good spot for recreation in general, particularly the parts up in the hills near Charlemont, if you’re into rafting. That section includes whitewater. It also includes the well-named Whirley Baths swimming hole, near Route 2. Farther downstream, you’ll find a lot of less-travelled spots that are small, out-of-the-way, and best discovered via looking for those parked cars. (A caveat: the once-popular Glacial Potholes in Shelburne are no longer a place to legally swim.)
Near the center of South Deerfield, you’ll find Tri-Town Beach, just beside I-91 on a large pond. It’s a popular spot, all about the wide-open space and swimming – but it’s only open to residents of Deerfield, Whately, Conway, Hatfield, and Sunderland. That said, if sunbathing is your thing, it’s a much better spot than the typical forested glade that hides a pleasant pool.
In Amherst, you’ll find a less geography-bound welcome if you take your togs to Puffer’s Pond, tucked away a fair bit north of town. There the Mill River falls over a wall, and there’s a sandy beach to go with the big expanse of deeper water.
(to be continued)
