A 2–3 minute read · Alpine Four Season

Now is the perfect time to discovery swimming holes close to Belleayre mountain. Let's be honest: once July shows up in the Catskills, anything that isn't wet, wild, and 62°F feels like a personal attack. Good new, the mountains are stitched together by creeks, cloves, and glacier-green plunge pools that have been cooling off sweaty hikers since long before anyone invented the pool float.

Grab a towel, toss the sandals in the car, and let's get you introduced to four of our very favorite Catskills swimming holes. Alpine Four Season guests, consider this your unofficial to-do list.

1. Peekamoose Blue Hole — The Famous One

If the Catskills had a cover girl, this would be her. Peekamoose is that impossibly blue pool you've seen on Instagram, and yes, the color is real, not a filter. Rondout Creek runs through a shady hemlock gorge and just… stops to show off for a minute. Indeed it is unreasonably cold! You will gasp. You will go back in.

How to get there: Peekamoose Road (County Route 42) in Sundown, about 75 minutes from most Catskills basecamps. A permit is required on weekends and holidays between May 15 and September 15, book it through NY DEC before you go or it's a very pretty 75-minute U-turn.

2. Fawn's Leap — The Drama Queen

Kaaterskill Clove's showstopper. A 30-foot waterfall tumbling into a dark, deep plunge pool ringed by mossy cliffs that look straight out of a Hudson River School painting. Bring a good book. Stay for the echoes.

How to get there: From Palenville, head west up Route 23A. Look for the small pull-off on the north side of the road — a short scramble drops you right in. More ideas at visitthecatskills.com.

Heads up: Fawn's Leap is gorgeous and genuinely dangerous. People get hurt here every summer. Float, don't fling yourself off things. You'll live longer and your mom will thank us.

3. Diamond Notch Falls — The Secret Handshake

Want something quieter? Diamond Notch is the spot you mention only to people you actually like. A mellow 0.7-mile walk along the West Kill gets you to a tiered little waterfall with a shallow pool underneath, perfect for sitting, soaking, and pretending your group chat doesn't exist.

How to get there: Drive to the end of Spruceton Road (County Route 6) in West Kill, park at the Diamond Notch trailhead, and follow the blue markers. Trail info: nynjtc.org.

Discover how mountain water carves is own path in the Catskills..

A Few Friendly Rules of the Swim

Arrive early. By 10 a.m. the good lots are gone and the rangers are cheerful but merciless (check if a permit is needed before arriving)
Take everything home. Every snack wrapper. Every sock. These places stay magical because we don't trash them.
Respect the rain. Mountain creeks go from dreamy to deadly fast after storms — when in doubt, scout first.
No lifeguards out here. Know your swim, bring a buddy, skip the cliffs.

Ready to Get Wet?

Every one of these swimming holes is within easy striking distance of Alpine Four Season, trailheads out the front door, trout streams around the corner.

👉 Beat the crowd and book your escape at Alpine Four Season. Book directly on our website for the best lodging rates now.

Daniel & The Crews
32 Galli Curci Road, Highmount, NY 12441

Got a favorite Catskills swimming hole we missed? Tell us in the comments — we're always collecting recommendations for guests.

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