Best New Hampshire Swimming Holes
Ten ranked swimming holes in New Hampshire—Saco pools, Kancamagus dips, and a few lake beaches people build weekends around.
Memorial Day weekend is busy and the water is often still cold. Use the map for drive order, then open each guide for parking, seasonal flow, and whether the stop is a real swim or a short gorge cool-off.
Rank 1: Diana's Baths — Conway
A ~1.2 mi RT granite cascade-and-pool system on Lucy Brook in Conway, from the WMNF lot on West Side Road.
- Can you swim?
- Conditional swim or wade access. Check flow and signage
- Walk
- 10 min
Rank 2: Lower Falls (Swift River) — Albany
The iconic Swift River ledge-and-pool swim stop on the Kancamagus Highway in Albany.
- Can you swim?
- Conditional swim or wade access. Check flow and signage
- Walk
- 10-15 min one way
Rank 3: Franconia Falls — Lincoln
A ~6.5 mi RT Pemi Wilderness hike to a natural granite-slide-and-pool system from Lincoln Woods on the Kancamagus.
- Can you swim?
- Conditional swim or wade access. Check flow and signage
- Walk
- 2 hr
Rank 4: Jackson Falls — Jackson
An iconic series of Wildcat Brook ledges and pools right through Jackson village on NH 16B.
- Can you swim?
- Swimming allowed when posted rules and staffing say it is open
- Walk
- 10-15 min one way
Rank 5: Rocky Gorge Pools — Albany
Swift River pools above and below the Rocky Gorge on the Kancamagus — upstream / downstream of the viewing-only gorge.
- Walk
- 10 min
Rank 6: Emerald Pool — Chatham
A famous green plunge pool on Charles Brook at the foot of the Baldface Circle Trail in Chatham.
- Can you swim?
- Conditional swim or wade access. Check flow and signage
- Walk
- 10 min
Rank 7: Champney Falls — Albany
Viewing only, not a swim stop
A ~3.4-mile round-trip Kancamagus waterfall on Champney Brook under Mount Chocorua, from the Champney Falls Trail on NH 112.
- Can you swim?
- No swimming. View only
- Walk
- 2 hr
Rank 8: Arethusa Falls (base) — Hart's Location
Viewing only, not a swim stop
Flagship long plunge in Crawford Notch State Park, reached by a ~3-mile round-trip mountain hike off US 302.
- Can you swim?
- No swimming. View only
- Walk
- 2-3 hr
Rank 9: Beaver Brook pools — Colebrook
Viewing only, not a swim stop
An 80-ft roadside waterfall at a 7-acre NH state wayside on Route 145 north of Colebrook.
- Can you swim?
- No swimming. View only
- Walk
- 5 min
Rank 10: Swift River — Albany
A Swift River swim stop near the Jigger Johnson Campground on the Kancamagus Highway.
- Can you swim?
- Swimming allowed when posted rules and staffing say it is open
- Walk
- 5-10 min one way
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