Authors Caroline Clements and Dillon Seitchik-Reardon edited down a monumental list of swims into what is now 60 of the best in their new book Places We Swim California.
After six months travelling around California in a 24-foot motor home with a 2-year-old, Caroline Clements and Dillon Seitchik-Reardon knew a thing or two about the best places to swim in the golden state. This is the Australian-American’s third book together (following Australian best sellers Places We Swim & Places We Swim Sydney). The couple are not hardcore swimmers, but writers (both) and a photographer (Dillon) who like to travel and document it. Based in Australia, they took on California as their first region away from home to base a book on, finding remote mountain lakes, steaming hot springs in the desert, and rivers flowing through redwood forests.
Choosing these five best river swims was “probably the hardest list to whittle down, but for that reason the strongest,” they say. “These rivers hold some of the most pristine water in the world. In our opinion, rivers are the best places to swim in California.”
Dillon Seitchik-Reardon
Driving along Highway 199 is an exercise in divided attention and self-control. Our awareness is constantly drawn to the shimmering form of the Smith River, in tantalizing glimpses that threaten to pull us off the road. The river is irresistible. Our favourite swimming holes are around the confluence of the North and South Forks. Locals call this area “Second Bridge”, but the official name is Nels Christensen Memorial Bridge, and its easily recognizable by the long rope swing that hangs from the arching space. Here, the relatively warm waters of the South Fork gently lap along the shallow, pebble beach as the river bends downstream. People of all ages howl with a mixture of joy and fear as they leap from blocky cliffs into the deep water below.
The first time we visited Grass Valley was to see Devendra Barnhart place at the Center for the Arts during the psychedelic-folk era of the early 2000s. This area has long had an allure for musicians and artists, offering the perfect balance of nature and culture. We swan under the bridge at Highway 49, strolling laps through Nevada City’s streets. Since that first trip, we’ve often used these two towns as a springboard to explore the nearby swimming holes. The stop at Highway 49 is part of the greatest hits collection. Just seven miles northwest of Nevada City, the old highway bridge forms a graceful concrete arch 120 feet about a large, inviting pool. Further upstream at Hoyts Crossing you’ll find Nevada City’s unofficial nudist beach.
Dillon Seitchik-Reardon
Dillon Seitchik-Reardon
On the outskirts of Yosemite National Park, Carlon Falls could be the perfect swimming hole: the clear, green water so clean you could drink it (yes, we may have filled out water bottles here); easy to access (a one-mile walk in) but just far enough that it’s not too busy; with shady spots to sit, but the water surface warm from direct sun. You can easily spend a whole day here. There are several places to swim at Carlon Falls. The first pool you arrive at is idyllic and shallow, but just a little way on, the second is the real jewel, where you can sit right under the tiered 35-foot waterfall. In between the pools, small circular tubs have been created by the water movement over thousands of years, an unsung work of nature’s genius
You could easily drive right past this spot in Big Sur, never knowing it existed. It’s not secluded or private, or even a secret. In fact, it’s very popular. IYKYK, and lots of people do know: they know to leave the coastal fog of summer behind and turn inland at Pfeiffer Big Sur State, a redwood forest along the Big Sur River, with an 11-acre campground providing 189 tent and RV sites as well as cabins. About a mile upstream a wet river hike will bring you to a glassy, freshwater pool. Here, the river flows through a narrow slot in the canyon to spill out and create a large, pebble-bottomed pool. The was is deep and shockingly clear. People jump off rocks, duck-dive for crawdads, and float on inflatable donuts.
Dillon Seitchik-Reardon
Dillon Seitchik-Reardon
Just off the highway, a one-mile drive from the coastal town of Gualala (pronounced “wa-LAL-la”) in ‘Mendonoma’ (a section of coast that straddles Sonoma and Mendocino Counties) is a secluded redwood swimming hole along the Gualala River. The fern-draped timelessness of a redwood forest takes over as soon as you arrive. Redwoods wrap the world in their soft branchlets life spongy insulation, their understory never emerging from an eternal twilight. To us, the Redwood Park campground offers the best swimming, and you do need to be staying here to access it, though there are public entry points to the river less than a mile up.
Places We Swim California is published by Hardie Grant Explore and is available from 16 April. It’s available right here on OSS Shop. For more swimming adventures, follow Caroline and Dillon on Instagram @placesweswim. Buy their books, photographic prints, recycled beach bags and illustrated t-shirts at placesweswim.com.