|
Great places where you can take a dip, skip a rock
or make waves—when you get tired of swimming in the
pool
By Rina Rapuano
It’s a measure of just how pampered we are, but there
is such a thing as “swimming pool fatigue.” It happens
when you (and usually the kids) get tired of swimming
day after day in the pool, whether it’s in your back
yard, the neighborhood or at the country club. When
this happens, don’t despair. There are alternatives.
We found a variety of pool-less ways to get wet and
stay cool—all within two hours of Bethesda.
Rolling down the lazy river
Kevin and Olivia Easley of Bethesda fell in love with
the laid-back fun of tubing during their first trip
with River & Trail Outfitters in
Knoxville, Md., 90 minutes from Bethesda near Harpers
Ferry.
“We went with a big group with [Olivia’s] work, and
we enjoyed it so much that we went back with another
couple,” says Kevin, 34. “It was cool and refreshing—that’s
one reason why we went. It really was a hot day and
the water felt good.”
Tubers park their cars at the River & Trail Outfitters
Millville Campground, sign a waiver, pay the fee ($26.50
for adults, including taxes and fees) and hop on a shuttle
that takes them upriver. It can take anywhere from 45
minutes to 2 1/2 hours to drift along the Shenandoah
River—past the hills, trees, cottages and farms that
dot the shoreline—to the pick-up site downriver.
This is an unguided trip, during which you can dip
into and out of the water as many times as you want.
Alcohol isn’t allowed, but if you want to have other
drinks or snacks handy, an extra tube can be rented
for $9.20 to haul a cooler downstream, or a tube already
outfitted with a cooler and cup holders can be tethered
to your tube for an extra $12.50.
Most river outfitters also offer white-water rafting,
canoeing and kayaking.
But be careful—you might hear the call of the wild
and never come back. That’s what happened to Nancy Sottosanti,
a former Bethesda resident. A job moonlighting as a
camping guide first brought her to Shenandoah River
Outfitters in Luray, Va., in the ’70s, but falling in
love with the owner kept her there. Sottosanti, however,
gets to see plenty of people from the Bethesda area.
“More than half of our business comes from the Washington
area,” she says.
River & Trail Outfitters
604 Valley Road
Knoxville, Md.
888-446-7529
www.rivertrail.com/home.html
River Riders
408 Alstadts Hill Road
Harpers Ferry, W.Va.
800-326-7238
www.riverriders.com
Shenandoah River Outfitters and River Cabins
6502 South Page Valley Road
Luray, Va.
800-622-6632
www.shenandoahriver.com/rentalrates.html
Watch out for falling water
One nice thing about swimming in a wooded mountain
park is that the air naturally stays cooler up there,
making it the perfect escape from a sun-baked suburban
day. Shady pools covered by a canopy of ancient trees
are the hallmark of the 78-foot waterfall tumbling in
perpetuity in Cunningham Falls State Park
in the Catoctin Mountains. Once there, you won’t believe
that such a place could be located just a few miles
off I-270 and less than 60 miles from Bethesda. A half-mile
hike from the William Houck Area of the park brings
swimming-hole seekers to a boardwalk that juts over
the swirling water at the bottom of the falls. Because
swimming in the falls is unofficial, and no guards are
on duty, this area would be unsuitable for small children.
Cunningham Falls State Park
14039 Catoctin Hollow Road, Thurmont, Md.
301-271-7574
www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/western/cunninghamfalls.html
Up a creek
Rocks State Park, about a 90-minute
drive from Bethesda, is located in northern Harford
County, about 30 miles north of Baltimore. Here you’ll
find a series of swimming holes along the park’s main
road, which runs along Deer Creek. Pull into one of
the park’s two picnic areas along St. Clair Bridge Road
and walk down the steps of one of at least four paths
in each area that lead to the water. Depending on the
rainfall and water levels, you’re likely to find a swimming
hole or two that is 6 or 7 feet deep. But swim at your
own risk: Although the creek is popular for tubing and
swimming, there are no lifeguards.
The park, which encompasses 855 acres of rocky and
thickly forested land, offers many opportunities for
self-guided water activities: canoeing, kayaking, fishing
and tubing.
Rocks State Park
3318 Rocks Chrome Hill Road
Jarrettsville, Md.
410-557-7994
www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/central/rocks.html
Catching the quarry
The Beaver Dam Swimming Club sounds
like an exclusive and private affair, but this temple
to water fun is open to the public. The club is about
an hour from Bethesda, just north of Baltimore, and
families can splash the day away for $8 to $14 per person.
While the club has two swimming pools, the main attraction
is a large freshwater quarry with an average depth of
40 feet. As if swimming in a quarry isn’t adventurous
enough, the club has enhanced the experience with zip
lines, rafts, a “Tarzan swing” and diving areas.
Set on a 30-acre compound, the club also offers volleyball
courts, a basketball court, shaded areas with grills
and a snack bar. Lifeguards are on duty.
Beaver Dam Swimming Club, Inc.
10820 Beaver Dam Road
Cockeysville, Md.
410-785-2323
www.beaverdamswimmingclub.com
Water park frenzy
Cooling off in the shade or water in a state park is
tranquil and peaceful, like listening to a Beethoven
sonata. Going to a water park is not tranquil and peaceful;
it’s more like crowd surfing at a Def Leppard concert.
(Yes, they’re still around.) But this isn’t about you…it’s
about your kids. And given a choice, your kids are likely
to pick Def Leppard over Beethoven every time. That’s
the bad news. The good news is that there are several
water parks nearby, and unless your kids are small,
you don’t have to go in the water with them. You can
relax on a lounge chair, dream of canoeing in a state
park, and listen to Beethoven (or Def Leppard) on your
iPod.
The biggest and best known nearby water park is Hurricane
Harbor at Six Flags America, which is only
about 30 miles away in Prince George’s County. The water
park includes the Tornado, which drops riders through
a 132-foot tunnel; the Bahama Blast, which has rafts
that carry groups of four through 517 feet of twists
and turns; and many other attractions, including slides,
flumes, white-water rafting, a lazy river and themed
water courses. There’s also Hurricane Bay, a large wave
pool, and Buccaneer Beach, which boasts two pools with
play elements like water curtains for little ones and
lounge chairs on the sidelines where parents can try
to relax.
“The water park got a whole face-lift last year,” says
Karin Korpowski, the park’s public relations manager.
Entrance to Hurricane Harbor is free with the price
of admission to Six Flags, but if you’re in it just
for the water, you still have to pay the full park admission
price of $49.99 ($39.99 if you buy online).
If Hurricane Harbor is too crowded, frenzied and expensive,
then The Water Park at Bohrer Park
in Gaithersburg may be more your speed. While the park’s
attractions are humbler than those at Hurricane Harbor,
its location next to Gaithersburg High School makes
it fast and easy to find—and with ticket prices maxing
out at $6.75, it’s a bargain.
Tim Smith, the youth services director with the city
of Gaithersburg, has lived in the city his whole life.
His four children, ages 8 through 13, have grown up
visiting the park a couple of evenings a week during
the summer. Smith says the kids wait for it all day.
“It’s a big part of our summer,” he says. “The big thing
for the kids is getting to the age where they can go
on the slides.”
The 250-foot-long double water slides dump riders into
the splash pool after a series of curves. The slides
are thankfully color-coded: Those who want an adrenaline
rush should head toward the covered blue slide, while
those who want a softer landing should stick with the
uncovered white slide. The park also features many of
what the facility calls “activity pods,” including a
lap area and a raindrop umbrella.
After the family has cooled off at the water park,
practice your putt at the nearby miniature golf center.
A mere 20 minutes from Bethesda is Water Mine
Family Swimmin’ Hole in Reston. When Valerye
and Adam Strochak of Bethesda feel like taking a dip,
they pack their two kids into the car and go. “We try
to go the first day that school lets out; that’s been
kind of a tradition with us for the past three years,
and then we usually go at least once more during the
summer,” says Valerye Strochak, whose children are 10
and 12.
Water Mine Family Swimmin’ Hole has an old West theme.
Play features include twin slides jutting from “Pike’s
Peak,” sprays from water-filled ore carts and rattlesnake
floats. Gentle tubing is available on Rattlesnake River,
which circles the park.
Strochak adds that it’s perfect for families because
admission is inexpensive ($7 to $13 per person); you
can bring your own food; there are plenty of lifeguards;
and there are different areas for kids of varying ages.
“There’s enough to keep them busy, but it’s small enough
that the parents can be happy, too,” Strochak says.
Six Flags America
13710 Central Ave.
Mitchellville
301-249-1500
www.sixflags.com/parks/america/Rides/water.html
The Water Park at Bohrer Park
512 S. Frederick Ave.
Gaithersburg
301-258-6445
www.gaithersburgmd.gov/waterpark
Water Mine Family Swimmin’ Hole
1400 Lake Fairfax Drive
Reston
703-471-5415
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/watermine
What’s in it for you?
So you’ve taken the kids tubing on the Shenandoah,
dashing through waterfalls and plunging down slides
at the water park. That’s great for them, but what’s
in it for you? It’s your turn to relax, and a 90-minute
trip to Berkeley Springs, W.Va., might
be just what you need. OK, we admit that the 102-degree
water in the historic baths at Berkeley Springs State
Park might not sound refreshing, but it’s the air—and
vibe—that are cool at Berkeley Springs.
Deborah Schwartz, a Bethesda resident who often takes
the trip to Berkeley Springs with her husband, appreciates
the calmness of the town. “You sit on a stone wall beside
a canal and dangle your feet in the water,” she says.
“It’s a nice place to cool off and relax. It’s probably
10 degrees cooler up there in the summer. It’s such
a rejuvenating kind of place.”
The heated Roman baths are fed by—you guessed it—Berkeley
Springs, which flows at a constant 74.3 degrees from
the base of Warm Springs Ridge. The spring water is
rich with minerals such as sodium sulfate, magnesium
carbonate and calcium sulfate, which homeopaths believe
heals wounds, skin disorders, eczema and acne. The “walk-in”
private baths each contain 750 gallons of mineral water
and offer space enough to stretch out and read, or just
float. A 15-minute soak can be paired with a 60-minute
massage for up to $80. Without a massage combo, you
can soak for 20 minutes for $20.
John Schumacher, founder and director of Unity Woods
Yoga Center in Bethesda, often leads yoga workshops
in Berkeley Springs. He loves so many things about the
town, but admits that the special waters are the biggest
draw.
“I think it’s purifying for the body,” he says of the
mineral-spiked baths. “It cleans out the pores, and
we breathe through our pores, actually. It’s obviously
cleansing. And, without knowing a lot of chemistry,
it just makes me feel better.”
While the park’s offerings are akin to something more
clinical, the town of Berkeley Springs boasts a number
of luxury spas. The Inn & Spa at Berkeley Springs,
for example, offers three types of baths—including a
seaweed bath in a cedar-lined room—plus other spa specialties
not offered by the park, such as nail care and waxing.
Schwartz says she usually opts for one of the upscale
spas, but adds that the baths at the state park have
their charms. “It’s like a throwback in time. It’s not
the sophisticated spas that people in Bethesda are used
to, [but] I think it was kind of relaxing to be in the
waters.”
Berkeley Springs State Park
# 2 S. Washington St.
Berkeley Springs, W.Va.
800-225-5982
www.berkeleyspringssp.com/spa.html
Travel information: www.berkeley
springs.com
The Inn and Spa at Berkeley Springs
1 Market St.
Berkeley Springs, W.Va.
800-822-6630
www.theinnandspa.com
Atasia Spa
41 Congress St.
Berkeley Springs, W.Va.
304-258-7888
www.atasiaspa.com
Rina Rapuano is a freelance writer living in Washington.
|
