It's that time of year again, and what better way to beat the heat than take advantage of all of the amazing places you can find to swim in Oregon. No matter if you've lived in Oregon forever and you are tired of going to the same places to swim every year, or you are a newcomer and just looking for a place to dip your feet in the lake, this app will help point you in the right direction.
I actually stumbled across this app when doing some research on a book known as Oregon's Swimming Holes. The book, written by Relay Colley, was first published in September of 1994, and apparently is no longer in print. The book boasts of featuring 231 lakes, pools, eddies, creeks and more throughout the Beaver State. Being the book is apparently that rare, the cheapest it sells on Amazon currently is around $95 for a used copy. Well after digging a little deeper, I then discovered there's an app that has been out for quite some time that provides all of the exact information provided in the book. I don't know about you, but if I can save my hard earned money and find an app with the same information for a fraction of the price, I'm going for the app.
The app was created by a local Portlander a few years ago, by Jacob Schirm. The app is all based on Relan's research of swimming holes in Oregon, which of course he has put a crazy amount of time into swimming in every one of these spots. The app also features a way to add pictures and comments for a great way for users to keep the content fresh and up to date.
Information on the app was a bit dated, so I took it upon myself to download the app. After checking it out, I can confirm it still works great and was worth every penny. The only downfall is, there doesn't seem to be an option for Android users at this time. As an avid Android user (my Galaxy S10 is absolutely amazing) I was a bit disappointed, although for now, I can use it on my iPad.
Oregon Swimming Holes allows you to search for a spot by name, region, rating, or use the map tool. The app provides helpful information like water quality, crowd size, and swimming skill—as well as detailed descriptions and driving directions for out-of-the-way locations.
Oh, and if you're headed out to explore and/or swim this year anywhere in Oregon, clean up your damn mess! I think I speak for all of us Oregonians when I say we are growing tired of the disrespect we have seen in recent years done to our beautiful trails. Just like your mommy taught you, clean up after yourself.
Oregon Swimming Holes is available for $5.99 from the iTunes store.
