Lake swimming holes in Arizona

Where the lake swimming is in Arizona

The water is in the canyons — Oak Creek and West Fork near Sedona, Fossil Creek and the East Verde near Payson, Salt River tubing reaches east of Phoenix, and travertine pools on tribal land.

In this directory, Clear Creek and Roper Lake are among the lake spots we document in Arizona. The full list below reaches Winslow, Flagstaff, Safford, and Tucson.

Spring-fed canyon creeks run cold and startlingly clear even when air temperatures top 100°F.

Reading conditions before you go

Lakes are the warmest natural water in most states, typically reaching the mid-70s°F by late July, which also makes them the most likely to grow cyanobacteria.

Look before you get in. The CDC describes harmful algal blooms as foam, scum, mats, or spilled paint on the surface, often bright green. Discolored or smelly water means stay out — and keep dogs out, since they are far more often the fatal cases.

Many reservoirs are drinking-water supplies where body contact is illegal regardless of how inviting the shoreline looks. Check the posted rules rather than assuming.

In Arizona, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality publishes the water-quality and algal-bloom advisories that apply to these waters. Check them alongside the live gauge data rather than instead of it.

Lake safety in Arizona

Lake drownings cluster away from beaches — at drop-offs just past the swim line, off docks, and around boat traffic. Swim parallel to shore rather than out toward open water.

Thermoclines catch people out: the top few feet are warm and the water beneath is sharply colder, which can trigger the gasp reflex on a dive.

Swimmer's itch, from a parasite in shallow warm shoreline water, is common and harmless but unpleasant — towel off briskly rather than air-drying.

Flash flooding is the defining Arizona risk. Monsoon storms from July through September can send a wall of water down a slot canyon under a blue sky miles from the rain. Never enter a narrow canyon when storms are forecast anywhere upstream.

Cold water deserves more respect than most swimmers give it. The National Weather Service notes that cold shock can be as severe at 50-60°F as at 35°F, and that the involuntary gasp reflex can be triggered by water as warm as 77°F — which is why entering slowly matters even on a hot day.

When to go

Arizona swims april through october, with the most reliable water may to september. Low-desert creeks are pleasant as early as March; high-country water above the Mogollon Rim does not warm until June.

Lakes warm last and stay warm longest — they are usually the best choice in late August and early September when creeks have dropped.

2 of these listings carry their own best-time note from the land manager or from reader reports — open them for the specifics rather than relying on the state-wide window alone.

What to bring: A tow float for open-water swims, and sandals for hot sand and zebra-mussel shoreline.