Quarry swimming holes in Ohio

Where the quarry swimming is in Ohio

Hocking Hills gorges in the southeast, the Mohican and Clear Fork corridors, quarry parks such as Nelson Ledges and White Star, and Lake Erie beaches.

In this directory, Nelson Ledges Quarry Park and White Star Park are among the quarry spots we document in Ohio. The full list below reaches Cleveland, Youngstown, Warren, Garrettsville, Delaware, Columbus, and Sudbury.

Quarry water is clear and cold below the surface layer; lakes warm into the upper 70s°F.

Reading conditions before you go

Clarity is the appeal: with no inflow carrying silt, quarry water is often the clearest freshwater in the state. That same lack of flow means it stratifies hard.

The temperature difference between the surface and ten feet down can be dramatic. Diving through the thermocline is a common trigger for cold-water shock and cramping.

Legal status is the first thing to check. Most quarries are private property with real enforcement, and the permitted ones — such as the supervised dive parks — have posted hours, fees, and rules.

In Ohio, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency 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.

Quarry safety in Ohio

Quarry walls are vertical or undercut, so there is often no shallow exit anywhere along the perimeter. A swimmer who tires has nowhere to stand.

Submerged equipment, cable, rebar, and cut ledges are routinely left behind when a quarry floods. Never dive head-first into water you have not surveyed.

Quarries have a disproportionate fatality record relative to how many people swim in them. Prefer documented, permitted sites over fenced pits.

Hocking Hills has a blanket swimming ban in the state park gorges that is enforced. Lake Erie posts frequent bacteria and microcystin advisories in the western basin from July onward.

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

Ohio swims june through early september, with the most reliable water july to august. Late May and mid-September are usable at lakes.

Quarry surface water warms through July and August, but the deep layer stays cold all year.

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 wetsuit top if you plan to go deep, plus a tow float — visibility from the rim is poor.