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Open Water Swimming Locations

Silver Lake, Wilmington (Map)

On the Wilmington/Tewksbury link, Route 38 - this is Wilmington's town beach.

Lake: Silver lake is approximately .25 miles across. The water quality is generally good, its tested every week by the board of health, the results are posted on the town of Wilmington's web site, usually on Friday the results will be listed.

Temp: Mid April -- June 1st range from 50-65 degrees June 1st--Sept 15th range from 65-83 degrees wetsuits would be required for any temp under 70 degrees to avoid a hypothermia situation.

Time: The earlier the better, as this is the town beach, you are technically suppose to be a Wilmington resident, but they don't check until after 11:00am from June 15-August 20th. The sun can be tough on the eyes, on the early morning west to east crossing.

Parking: Park at the beach only, there is no parking signs on the surrounding streets. A beach sticker is not required. Please note, if you plan to swim between the hours of 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m you need to obtain a parking permit. See the Yahoo emails about how to obtain permission from the Wilmington Recreation Department.

The Swim: Start at the end of the roped off area, and proceed straight across the lake, looking for several landmarks which are a small group of stores, in a white building and a blue house, aim for the middle of these two. The water depth does drop of right after the end of the sandy beach. The swim back, you should aim for the blue beach house, very easy to see even in cloudy/foggy conditions. Swim back to the roped off area. across and back is .5 mile An occasional group weeds maybe encountered, but less of a chance if you are right in the middle of the lake. Once in a while several small fish maybe seen, but there is nothing in this lake that will eat or hurt you.

Misc: Beware of the fisherman on both sides of the lake, you don't want to run into there lines. Keep the noise down we don't want any trouble with the neighbors or police. Swim with a colored cap on, so you fellow swimmers can see you to avoid head on collisions.

Summary: Great place to swim early in the day.

Stiles Pond, Boxford (Map)

A few times a week, various groups swim across Stiles pond and back. Check Facebook for when groups will be meeting. The swim is about 3/4 mile one way. Note: park in the boat launch parking lot. The other lot (if opened is for a private beach. Please stay off the beach, it is private. There is a path in the woods that leads to the pond without going onto the beach.

Directions From North Andover Center:

Salem to Dale St.
Left on Dale St.
Dale St. to Main St.
Right on Main St.
After hill crest, stay left, take first left, Stiles Pond Road.

The Swim: There are two popular options, they are:

1.25 mile, all the way across the pond and back
0.75 mile, To Camp Wakanda (aka Baby Beach) on the left side of the pond and back

Group swims on Friday evenings and typically begin on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and continue until Labor Day.

Misc: Please be respectful of the neighbors and Boxford community who are gracious enough to allow open swimming here.

Summary: This is a historical preserved beautiful landmark made famous by Thoreau and you can always find swimmers here. But just because there are a lot of swimmers doesn't mean anyone is looking out for you. Swimming is completely at your own risk. No lifeguard is offered, so please don't swim alone.

Walden Pond, Concord (Map) (Website)

Operated by the State Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR)

915 Walden St., Concord, Lincoln (978) 369-3254

Lake: A little under 1/2 mile across. The water quality is very clear and tested routinely. Only duing the long mid summer heat waves is it closed due to water quality, mainly due to the crowds that show up on the weekends. The rest of the time this is Meca for triathlete and long distance swimmers.

Temp: Mid April -- June 1st range from 50-65 degrees June 1st--Sept 15th range from 65-83 degrees wetsuits would be required for any temp under 70 degrees to avoid a hypothermia situation.

Time: TriFury will be having group swims meeting in the parking lot near the bathrooms at either 5:30PM or 6PM on Monday nights May through September. Park hours are variable depending on the season and daylight.

Parking: $8 per visit or $60 for a Mass resident season pass, $120 out of state residents. Pay for day parking at any one of the parking kiosks in the parking lots. Do not park on the road or at the office to swim - you WILL get ticketed. On the hottest weekends and many summer days, the parking lots get full early in the morning, and then opens briefly every two hours or so. Their Twitter feed is a good source to see how parking is.

The Swim: Walk across the street from the parking lot, down the hill to the main beach and put your stuff on the stone wall by the shore (no valuables). The group swims stay along the right shore to the other side of the lake and then back retracing the route. There are fish and a turtle or two.

Misc: Late in season they start to close the parking lot early, pay attention to the sign at the entrance that says what time they lock the lot. They lock it on time so don't be late getting out or you're stuck.

Summary: This is a historical preserved beautiful landmark made famous by Thoreau and you can always find swimmers here. But just because there are a lot of swimmers doesn't mean anyone is looking out for you. Lifeguards when on staff are not responsible for people beyond the beach area, so please don't swim alone.

Lake Mascuppic, Dracut (Map)

Merrimack River, Lowell