Clark's Swimming Hole

I must say, one of my favorite places is Clark's Swim Hole in Auburn and I've only been here twice! My best friend came here a while back and loved it. At Clark's, you can swim, cliff jump (for the adventurers), sit and relax in our self-declared "jacuzzi", and just really enjoy the beauty of nature. Clark's Swim Hole is a hidden treasure found on the Lake Clementine Trail.

How to get here:

To get to Clark's, navigate yourself to Highway 49 where you will find a bunch of trails to hike different places. I found it easiest to navigate to the "Black Hole of Calcutta Falls Trailhead." Navigate here and then proceed straight to the ranger station that will be on the left side instead of turning right like the navi will instruct you to do. I don't navigate to Lake Clementine because sometimes, it will take you directly to the end instead of the trail head.

To park, you have to pay $10. If there's someone at the booth, they can provide change. Otherwise, self-pay boxes are all over by the bathroom. Bring exact change and a pen! There's a well-kept bathroom next to the parking.

After you park and pay, walk towards Gate 139. It is a .7 mile hike to get to Clark's hole from the trail head and the descent down to the area isn't very clear so just be on the lookout. After walking for about 10 minutes, you should see a little path on the left that is pretty easy to get down. There is a rock that we all jump off of that you can see. That's how you know when you are close. If you walk past the rounded corner, you're too far. At some points of this little trek, it's very rocky and narrow. There are a lot of bikers that you have to share the path with so just be mindful of others.

The rock that you should see is pictured below. That is were we jumped off from :)

My first time to Clark's swim hole:

One day we decided to have a "friend's day" and chose to come to Clark's hole. We came on a summer Thursday in August. Even coming during the week, there were still quite a few people here. Although signs say no fire, we brought a small BBQ grill and some beer. Please just be safe and mindful of others if you do this. We brought a bunch of trash bags to put all of our trash in. There's nothing worse than seeing people who leave trash at some of our favorite places.

I recommend bringing:

- Water shoes! It's rocky and painful without them!

My first time, we survived but would still have felt better if we had them.

- Goggles

- Waterproof camera or GoPro with a secure stick

- Beverages, water, snacks if you plan on being there for a while

- Football, beach ball

- Floaty if you want to float along the water

- Life vest if you can't swim. Water is deep.

- Chairs to sit if you want.

- We brought an ice chest and it was a mission to get here with it. Bring one if you desire but know that it can be a pain!

We got here around 11 AM and there were just a few other people that were here besides us.

Swimming! There were a lot of fish.

Me and the BFF.

Bae starting up the little grill. Be safe if you decide to bring a grill.

We swam across to the rock and we all jumped off from here! Liberating and terrifying, all at the same time.

Some videos for you to enjoy:

A butterfly hung out around us :)

The squad in our self-declared "Jacuzzi"

Just chillin' in the jacuzzi.

A little dinner before we head out.

After cleaning up, we grabbed our stuff AND trash and headed back. It was like 7 PM when we left. We swam and hung out for 8 hours! It was THAT much fun. We jumped off the rocks 7589725928 times, ate, drank, enjoyed each other's company, and nature. Clark's hole is such an amazing place for low key and natural fun. I would recommend it to everyone and plan to come back often!

Mini-trip, second time at Clark's!

The second time I went to Clark's was a short one hour trip after my family hiked to Lake Clementine. It was the perfect cool-down after our hike!

Me jumping off the cliff. This time with water shoes!

Brought some other brave souls to jump with me :)

My nephew was so scared, but he did it! TWICE.

He said "it felt like I was jumping off an airplane"

The kiddo's enjoying their time!

As if the pictures and video's weren't clear enough, I love this place! It's close by (1 hour from home compared to 2-3 hours). It's a short hike to get here. There's lots to do and you can literally spend all day out here. The water isn't freezing cold like Tahoe and I just enjoy the little area. I plan to be back often and can't wait for the next time I get to jump off that rock!

#ClarksSwimmingHole #Auburn #Swimming