That Secret Swimming Hole in Upstate New York

This is my favorite swimming waterhole in upstate New York by far!

It is located in a small town called Leeds in the Catskills, New York.

This location has been gate-kept for a long time as not many people would disclose or openly share about the exact location. Initially, I found this location by Googling around and reading Reddit threads as well as local travel blogs. I had it marked on my Google Maps since last year and forgot about it up until a couple of weeks ago when I saw someone posting a photo of it on their IG stories. My partner was also able to find it based on the photo screenshot I shared, so it’s not a hard-to-find location.

The spot was kinda packed when we arrived (around 3 pm) with lots of people (some kids, some families, but the majority of them are friend groups and couples.) There was a decent amount of people leaving at the same time, so it wasn’t too crowded. We didn’t stay as long as we wanted because it was very hot down there.

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LOCATION:

Behind the Inn at Leeds in Leeds, New York

DIRECTION:

Park on the street (free!) and walk to the back of the Inn at Leeds.

There’s a small pathway that leads you to the swimming area.

You should see people coming in and out. And that’s exactly what we did… follow the people.

PLEASE DON’T LITTER. PACK IN & PACK OUT!

WEAR WATER SHOES AND SHADES (SUNGLASSES, SUNSCREEN, BEACH/PICNIC BLANKET OR MAT)

BRING WATER, SNACKS, & A BOOK 🙂

WHAT I WORE:

BIKINI – JIL SANDER + (SIMILAR – HERE & HERE)| SHORTS: COMME SI (WEARING SIZE S) | FLIP FLOPS: ROTHY’S

Jil Sander+ Logo Swimsuit Review – BLOG POST

MY BEACH/PICNIC MAT

RUMPL (MINI SIZE)

EVERYWHERE MAT ALSO COMES IN REGULAR SIZE:

REUSABLE TOWEL: RUMPL

HAT: NO BRAND, FROM FRONT STREET GENERAL STORE (DUMBO)

From Brooklyn (where I live), it takes nearly 3 hours to get there. I’d recommend going early and making plenty of stops to break up the drive. We went to Phoenicia Diner in Phoenicia for a late brunch before heading to the swimming hole. It’s kinda off the way a little bit, so I don’t recommend it if you don’t have a lot of time. On the way home, we stopped at Saugerties for ice cream and had dinner at Ollie’s Pizza in High Falls. There’s an H-mart in Yonkers, so we did a quick grocery stop there and got home at around 11 pm.