One of the Best Swimming Holes in America is 2.5 Hours From Rochester
If you're looking to cool off, you'll find one of the best swimming holes in America only 2-and-a-half hours from Rochester.
Keeping your cool in the early-season Minnesota heatwave we have going can be tough here in Olmsted County, seeing as we're one of only four Minnesota counties where there aren't any naturally occurring lakes. (That's also the case for folks living in Mower, Pipestone and Rock counties too.)
Of course, Rochester DOES have several places you can swim, like Cascade Lake and Foster Arend Park. And admission is free this season at both Silver Lake and Soldiers Field pools. But if you're up for a quick road trip, did you know what one of the Best Swimming Holes in the entire country is only 2-and-a-half hours away from the Med City?
It's true. And according to this Travel Channel survey of the Best Swimming Holes in America, the swimming hole at Quarry Park & Nature Preserve near St. Cloud is one of the best in the country-- and it's the only swimming hole in Minnesota to land a spot on their list.
The Travel Channel survey had this to say about Quarry Park:
Quarry Park Nature Preserve has the highest concentration of quarries anywhere in the United States. The quarries' red granite, approximately 1.8 billion years old, has been used in famous buildings around the country, such as the FDR monument in Washington, D.C. Now, the red granite cliffs encompass two fun-filled swimming holes. Quarry 11 – recently opened in the summer of 2015 – has its own unique sandy beach, while Quarry 2 – 116 feet deep – features jumps that range from 10 to 24 feet!
According to Google Maps, a trip from Rochester to Quarry Park in St. Cloud is about 160 miles (depending on where in Rochester you leave) and will take you about 2-and-a-half hours to get there. So, it's definitely a day trip if you're going to check it out. But the park DOES look pretty cool. (You can get more info on it HERE.)
Of course, maybe you'd rather just chill out in a pool in your own backyard. But you don't have a pool at your house? Well, keep scrolling to check out 10 houses for sale in southern Minnesota that DO!
Listen to Curt St. John mornings from 6 to 10 on Quick Country 96.5
and afternoons from 2 to 6 on 103.9 The Doc
