Best Swimming Holes in the South
20 natural swimming holes · 2026 guide
From Texas limestone pools to Florida's 72-degree springs to Tennessee waterfall plunge pools, the South has the most swimmer-friendly water in the country — warm, abundant, and swimmable for half the year. These are twenty of our favorite southern swimming holes.
Top swimming holes
- Barton Springs Pool
Austin's beloved 68-70 degree spring-fed pool sits in the heart of Zilker Park and draws crowds year-round.
- Blue Hole - Greeter Falls Trail
Along the Greeter Falls trail, this spring-fed blue hole glows an almost tropical turquoise against the sandstone gorge.
- Blue Hole - Rock Island State Park
Below Great Falls Dam, the Caney Fork swirls into a deep, blue swimming hole that locals have jumped into for generations.
- Blue Hole at Florida Caverns
The Blue Hole inside Florida Caverns State Park near Marianna is a spring-fed swimming hole reported around 35 feet deep, surrounded by bluffs and hardwood forest.
- Cashiers Sliding Rock
Cashiers' own natural waterslide, where a smooth rock chute drops swimmers into a mountain pool.
- Cummins Falls State Park
Tennessee's most beloved waterfall swim, Cummins Falls tumbles 75 feet over limestone ledges into a wide, bench-filled plunge pool made for summer afternoons.
- Foster Falls - Fiery Gizzard State Park
A 60-foot curtain of water in a rock amphitheater, Foster Falls is the Cumberland Plateau's favorite waterfall swim and a world-class climbing crag to boot.
- Greeter Falls - Savage Gulf State Park
Savage Gulf's star swimming hole, where a 50-foot lower falls lands in a rounded, photogenic plunge pool.
- Hamilton Pool Preserve
A collapsed limestone grotto with a jade-green pool fed by a 50-foot waterfall, one of the most photographed swimming holes in Texas.
- Hippie Hole - Little River Canyon
Hippie Hole on Little River is Alabama's legendary swim - a deep canyon pool in Little River Canyon National Preserve.
- Jacob's Well Natural Area
A 140-foot-deep artesian well opens like a blue eye in Cypress Creek, one of the longest underwater caves in Texas.
- Krause Springs
Thirty-two springs feed a natural swimming pool, a manmade pool, and a chain of waterfalls and grottos across 115 private acres.
- Midnight Hole - Big Creek
The Smokies' most famous swimming hole, where Big Creek plunges into Midnight Hole - a deep, dark, impossibly clear pool ringed by boulders.
- Ozone Falls State Natural Area
Ozone Falls plunges 110 feet off a sandstone caprock into a deep, boulder-strewn amphitheater, then vanishes underground before re-emerging downstream.
- Sliding Rock - Pisgah National Forest
A 60-foot natural waterslide down a smooth rock face into a 7-foot-deep pool, Sliding Rock is the Blue Ridge's most famous summer thrill.
- Turner Falls Park
Oklahoma's tallest waterfall drops 77 feet into a natural swimming pool in the Arbuckle Mountains.
- DeSoto Falls - DeSoto State Park
DeSoto Falls' 104-foot cascade is Alabama's tallest free-falling waterfall, in DeSoto State Park on Lookout Mountain.
- Ginnie Springs
Seven crystalline springs along the Santa Fe River on private land, Ginnie is the spring country's party headquarters - tubing, snorkeling, and cave diving by day, and a…
- Ichetucknee Springs State Park
Florida's classic tubing river, the Ichetucknee strings eight major springs along six miles of impossibly clear water.
- Wakulla Springs State Park
One of the deepest freshwater springs on earth, Wakulla gushes a river of gin-clear 70-degree water beneath moss-draped live oaks.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to swim in the South?
May through September — and in Florida, nearly year-round. Southern springs stay 68–72°F all year, which feels perfect in August and bracing in January.
Do Southern swimming holes require reservations or permits?
The famous ones increasingly do: Hamilton Pool requires advance reservations, Ginnie Springs books out on summer weekends. Check each listing before you go.
Are Southern swimming holes safe?
Watch for the usual natural-water risks plus a few Southern specialties: alligators in Florida (rare at busy springs, but real), and venomous snakes near any Southern riverbank. Swim in groups and don't swim at dawn or dusk in gator country.
⚠️ Verify before you go. Conditions, fees, reservations, and access can change — confirm details with the official link before visiting. Last verified: September 2026