Good Ole Local Swimmin Holes???

[Komoroski]

I am on a quest to find some good ole local swimming holes to take the wife n kids this summer. I am tired of the Cholrine stinging my baby girls' eyes, plus you just don't find many crawdads, tadpoles, minners or skippin rocks at the neighborhood pools 'round here! The authorities also tend look down upon teaching basic canoeing anywhere near a diving board! Who knew!
The closer to LR / NLR the better, with gas prices and all. Many thanks for any suggestions.

[Jim Krueger]

The main suggestion I could make for the Caddo River would be the swiming bar at 'The Narrows'. It's about 35miles West of Hot Springs. Go West on Hwy. 8 from Glenwood about 7 miles or so. The pool there is about 1/4 mile long and plenty deep all Summer. Caddo River Canoe rentals in Glenwood maintains the gravel bar/access just upstream of the Hwy 240 bridge. They have a nominal fee of $1 to park and swim/put-in.
The Saline River has a public access here in the Benton area, at Riverside Gro&Sta., but they have had some water quality problems last Summer that curtailed the swimming later in the Summer as the water flows subsided.
JimM.

[Richard]

Conway has swimming at Lake Beaverfork. Lat 35.1406N Lon 92.4541W

This looks like an interesting possibility: Lat 34.822N Lon 92.411W

[Komoroski]

Lake Beaverfork is a beautiful little lake. However, last time I went it seemed a little overpopulated and generally busy, with boats fresh out of last years' storage being revved up to impress this years' girlfriend....
Maybe it's calmed down by now since the schools are out for the summer and all of last years' acrid fuel has been burned outta the tanks by now.
I'll try it again soon.

The coordinates you suggested, plugged into Google maps, popped up on 12910 County Farm Rd between Maumelle River Park and Two Rivers' Park.
Is this correct?

One of my all-time favorite swimmin / lounging / fishing / camping spots is the AR123 bridge over the big Piney. Somewhat secluded, all natural, with cool waters and that really imposing steel truss bridge looming overhead. Catch it at just the right time and you can witness the bass jumping OUT of the water trying to catch dragonflies. AAAAAHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhh.....

[Richard]

I double checked:
In Google Earth, put "34.822N 92.411W" in the "Fly to:" box and it should take you to a sandbar in the Arkansas River. By canoe it would be 1.25 miles downstream from the Maumelle public use area.

You are right about Beaver Fork. But it is chlorine free. It has become a popular latino swimming hole.

Along the line of Big piney, I was driving back from BSA Camp Rockefeller across the Hwy 285 bridge that crosses the Cadron. 35.285N 92.472W. There were a lot of cars parked there. That might be a swimming hole similar to the Big Piney.

If you are willing to go that far, I would suggest places like Greers Ferry.
And then of course . . . there is the Buffalo.

Best of all, go to the Ouachita with Jim and Marlo. Kids love it.

[Cowper]

If you plug the coodinates into Google Earth, you get one set of cross-hairs on the sandbar.

If you plug the same thing into maps.google.com, it tries to find the "nearest road" to the location you put in. So you get a marker with an "A" at the street address you mentioned, which appears to be on private property, just across the river from the sandbar. But if you zoom out slightly, you will also see a green arrow marking the sandbar, just North of the "A".

I've seen the same sort of thing with DeBo's I-phone - you can plug in GPS coordinates just like a street address, but if there is no street at that location, the mapping program tries to "help" you by moving the dot to the nearest road. Which doesn't help at all if you're trying to find something out in the woods, or like in this case, out on the river.

[Minna Ulmer]

I like lake Degray and Greeson. Minna

[fishhomer75]

Lake Sylvia is usually pretty quiet. It has a roped off swimming area, a little cave the kiddos can explore, and allows kayaks and canoes. Also has a small playground and picnic tables. Plus a bathroom. It also has a pretty good population of small bass/bream/catfish for beginning fishermen. My kids love it, my son paddled his kayak there the first time, my daughter caught her first fish there.

[Komoroski]

I didnt realize Lake Sylvia was open again. Last time I swung by there it was closed for some reason. Good to know! Thanks!

Hwy 285 near Damascus looks promising. Maybe if a can get the wife n kids moving today we will make the trip and check it out. Thanks!

[Karla]

270 West of Hot Springs. Camp Charlston. Water is cold, nice for hot summer.

Karla

[DeBo]

Nice deep clear pools can be found on Cadron Creek and the South Fork of the Little Red at Gulf Mountain WMA. The Saline is also good. There is a beautiful swimming area at Sugar Loaf Mountain on Greers Ferry Lake. You can swim in the designated area at the park or you can make a short paddle to the mountain and have it pretty much to yourself most days. There is also a hiking trail to the top with a great view!

http://www.swl.usace.army.mil/parks/gre ... hiking.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[philllll]

if traveling, i've found this site to be very helpful... we've had some fun days using the beta.

http://www.swimmingholes.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Clif]

n35.688580 92.652434 a bit upstream of the tiny bridge. Local crowd somtimes

[Jeremy Walter]

285 bridge over Cadron also has a rope swing upstream one rapid. Late afternoons it's busy with teens but they're intertaining to watch them "impress" their lady friends! Middle fork little red crossing between Arlburg and Shirley is one of my favorites. Its a bit of a drive though...

[Richard]

BSA summer camp scouts taking the "Extreme Aquatics" will be paddling to Sugar Loaf Mtn every Friday for the next 4 weeks.