Editorial Policy

Secret Swimming Holes is committed to accurate, original, and responsibly sourced content. Listings are overseen by our founder & editor. We focus on natural swimming holes across the United States — how to find them, what to expect on the ground, and how to visit with respect for land, water, and local communities.

How we create content

• We build listings from public geographic and recreation data, official park and agency sources, and verified community tips.
• We write original summaries for each location — access notes, fee context, safety framing, and planning guidance — rather than copying text from third-party sites.
• We cite or link to authoritative sources when rules, closures, or fees come from a managing agency.
• When coordinates, fees, or access are uncertain, we state that clearly on the listing instead of guessing.
• Hub pages (near cities, regions, and water types) include editorial context explaining how spots were selected and how to plan safely — not only automated lists.

What makes a listing useful

We aim for each location page to stand on its own: an original description, practical visitor information, directions where available, safety notes, and a visible last-updated date. Generic boilerplate is minimized; location-specific FAQs and expanded “about” sections are preferred over repeated template text.

Readers can report corrections at any time. We review submissions before changing published content.

Review and updates

• Listings show a last-updated date when that information is available in our data.
• User-submitted corrections and new-location tips are reviewed for accuracy, safety relevance, and appropriateness before we change published content.
• We flag or revise entries when we learn of access closures, hazardous conditions, private-property disputes, or sensitive habitats that warrant extra caution.
• Source data is refreshed periodically; large updates are reflected across the directory over time.

Photo and data rights

We use original imagery, licensed media, or placeholders where photos are not yet available. We do not redistribute copyrighted photos or long excerpts from other publishers without permission. Map and coordinate data are used for location context in line with applicable open-data and platform terms.

Gear recommendations

Our trip gear guides compare outdoor essentials for swimming-hole days — water shoes, dry bags, sun protection, and similar items — using side-by-side tables and original write-ups. We only include gear that fits natural swimming and day-trip planning; commissions never determine which products we feature or how we rank them.

Some gear pages and editorial blocks link to Amazon with affiliate tags. If you buy through those links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. See our Affiliate Disclosure for full details.

Corrections

Spotted an error, outdated fee, or unsafe access note? Please contact us with the page URL and what you observed. We aim to correct material inaccuracies as quickly as we can.