Along Route 209, between Ellenville and Kerhonkson, several swimming holes can be found on Sandburg and Rondout Creeks. Some of these swimming holes can be seen from the road while others are tucked further away. These swimming holes being so close to several towns and one major road make them easily accessible areas to cool off on a hot summer day. Swimmers should always exercise caution when swimming in creeks. 

Rondout Creek has beautiful blue water with green trees along the rocky banks. This beautiful creek is a sanctuary for many types of birds and fish which can often be seen from the water or the shore.

Fishing is also allowed on Sandburg Creek and Rondout Creek. This area is a popular fishing spot because the tidal portion of Rondout Creek is a spawning area for migratory fish, as well as a wonderful area for catching bass year round. Fishers must follow state and local fishing guidelines. 

Split Rock Hole is a unique swimming hole in the Mohonk Preserve. The beautiful landscape and variety in depth make this the perfect adventure for explorers of any age.

Split Rock Hole gets it's name from the ten foot chasm in the short cliffs leading to the waterfall. The water between these cliffs is crystal clear and about 5 to 8 feet deep. This allows swimmers to enjoy a proper swim while being able to clearly view the water all around them. The chasm leads to a 12 foot waterfall with a 3 foot deep pool beneath it. The pool is the perfect place to wade and play while enjoying a view of the picturesque waterfall and rocky cliffs. The cliffs are flat on top and allow for the perfect area for picnicking, sunbathing and viewing the water from above.

It is a short easy and beautiful hike to Split Rock Hole. Visitors should follow clove road and look for a sign that says "Coxing Entry". Here you will find a parking area where visitors will pay the Mohonk Preserve's entry fee. There is a picnic area and a bridge across the road, from which the swimming hole should be visible. 

The forest, rocks and water here create uniquely stunning views that will make the perfect backdrop for your next adventure.

Lake Minnewaska is a beautiful family friendly place to swim in the summer months. With views of a stunning forest and towering white rock formations mirrored in the lake, the beautiful view makes this Lake Minnewaska a stunning place to see year round. 

Swimming is open at a public beach here during the summer months between 11:15 am and 6:45 pm. The beach is made up of gravel beds that extend into the lake. The lake has three separate depths of swimming areas off, with roped the shallowest being only a few feet and the deepest being twenty feet deep. Swim shoes are reccommended for this rocky experience. 

Lake Minnewaska is uniquely acidic, allowing for a different kind of aquatic and land animal life around the lake. Though the lake lacks actual fish there are several aquatic life species that are interesting for visitors to see. The species and water are all safe for swimmers. 

Lake Awosting is the largest and most remote of the four glittering "sky lakes" strung along the quartz-white cliffs of the Shawangunk Ridge in Minnewaska State Park Preserve, high above the Hudson Valley near Kerhonkson, New York. A sky lake is fed almost entirely by rainwater rather than streams, and Awosting is the purest example in the park: the water is startlingly clear and clean, a deep blue-green held in a basin of white conglomerate ledges and pitch pine. At roughly a mile and an eighth long, about three times the size of nearby Lake Minnewaska, it is big enough to feel like wilderness, and its designated swimming beach ranks among the most beautiful in the state.

Earning it is central to the experience. There is no parking at the lake itself; you reach the beach only on foot or by bicycle along the preserve's wide, nearly level carriage roads, a trip of roughly three to five miles each way from the main parking areas off Route 44/55. The most direct route follows the Upper Awosting Carriage Road, while many visitors make a longer loop that also passes Lake Minnewaska and Awosting Falls, a graceful sixty-foot cascade near the park entrance. Bring water, food and sun protection, because there are no concessions at the lake and the white rock throws back a lot of light.

Swimming is allowed only at the designated beach and only during the summer season, typically mid-June through Labor Day, with staffed hours around 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; outside those dates and hours, or anywhere off the beach, swimming is not permitted, so it is worth checking the park's current schedule before making the long walk in. The reward is a cliff-rimmed swimming hole that feels a world away from the crowds: cool, crystalline water and sun-warmed slabs of white rock to stretch out on.

The setting is what sets Awosting apart. The same Shawangunk conglomerate that draws rock climbers from around the world rings the lake in pale cliffs, and miles of carriage roads and cliff-top footpaths spider out from the shore toward overlooks like Castle Point and the Hamilton Point cliffs, so the swim can be the centerpiece of a big day of hiking or riding. Sections of the carriage roads occasionally close for restoration, which can lengthen the approach, and the preserve charges a per-vehicle entry fee at the gate and enforces a carry-in, carry-out policy. For clear mountain water, white cliffs and a genuine sense of effort and reward, Lake Awosting is one of the finest swimming destinations in the Northeast.