Rainbow Rock Swimming Hole

Chester · Okemo Valley

A short-walk Williams River stop with bedrock shelves, a deep pool, and an easy summer payoff.

Swimming

Easy swimming and…

Access

Short riverside path

Parking

Limited

Water

Moderate

Footing

Slick

Light

Bright

Difficulty

Reward

Risk

Open On Map Conditions Nearby

Good fit

Quick family swims with almost no approach

Dogs that love water and fetch

Warm-weather lounging on bedrock ledge

Skip

You want solitude on hot weekends

High water makes the river pushy

You need cell service at the water

Before you go

The pull-off is small and fills fast.
The bedrock shelf heats up on sunny days.
Scout the main pool before kids jump in.
Dogs are allowed and often present.
Water shoes help on rocky edges.

Photos

Wooded buffer and riverside bank above Rainbow Rock Swimming Hole in Chester.

Nearby Spots

Brockways Mills Gorge4.6 mi awaySwimming Holes
Brockways Mills Road lot at Williams River dam reach—USGS 01153550 is near Rockingham on the same river; secondary catalog coordinates keep the gage pin for editors only.View Guide
Cavendish Gorge9.1 mi awaySwimming Holes
Black River gorge near Route 131—USGS 01153000 is North Springfield upstream proxy; dam and utility corridors add hazard beyond any graph.View Guide
Saxtons River Falls9.1 mi awayWaterfalls
Saxtons River Falls gives the southern Vermont catalog another named falls page tied to a village users can actually place. It belongs as a quick-stop regional waterfall page rather than a flagship draw.View Guide
Felchville Falls14 mi awayWaterfalls
Felchville Falls is a roadside Reading waterfall that is more about honest coverage than blockbuster access, since the best-known view is partly from the road and the public approach remains limited. It still earns a page because it is a real named falls in a corridor that already matters to the catalog.View Guide
Twenty-Foot Hole14 mi awaySwimming Holes
Twenty-Foot Hole is a Reading swimming hole on the North Branch of the Black River, with three cold pools and a short walk from Tyson Road. Storm sediment has changed old jump depth, so scout every pool and treat it as a swim-and-wade stop, not a blind cliff-jump spot.View Guide
Jamaica State Park River Swim Area14 mi awaySwimming Holes
Jamaica State Park River Swim Area is the easier West River cool-off option in the park corridor, with broad river access, family visibility, and a better public-access posture than many informal Vermont river holes. It is still a flow-dependent river page, but it works well when you want a real state-park stop instead of guessing at roadside access.View Guide