Beat the Summer Heat by Skipping the Beach

Want to enjoy splashing in cool water outside with your little ones, but are not ready to make another frantic trip to the beach or pool? Skip the sandy picnics, blinding sun, and lugging your teetering pile of gear across the burning beach. Skip the loud chlorinated hordes of people vying for space in the water or the next vacated pool chair. Instead, explore your local parks and enjoy a stunning hike to a blissful, shaded, natural pools, water hole, or river. 

We often struggle with deciding where to best spend our summer weekends. We need to leave the house, because we are not willing to endure the intense heat inside or pay for the resulting A/C bills. Also, our toddler is a curious girl, who needs to be on the go and our two bedroom apartment gets boring – fast. The blazing Aussie sun amplifies quickly makes a warm day scorching hot, and during the summer, this necessitates a water feature for a pleasant afternoon outside.

While I envision romantic montages with the family laughing, running in the sand, and engaging in a fury of joyful splashing, an afternoon at the beach or pool, the gold standard of summer, often fall woefully short. Instead, our trips can feel constrained, as naps are much harder in a tent, and these days frequently devolve into hot, sandy tantrums as we search for a bit of personal space among the throngs of beach-goers. For convenience, we head to the pool, but the chlorine and chemical smell you can’t wash off doesn’t help the fact that it is just as loud and crowded as the beach.

Over a year into living in Sydney, we discovered the perfect compromise for days when we need to play outside in the water, but also want to relax with a little quiet-time and some personal space. Researching local hikes we stumbled across a short hike to a natural pool! The discovery resulted in a flurry of research, and we ventured out to Karloo pool, a beautiful swimming-hole, tucked into an accessible corner of Royal National Park, a 30 minute hike from the train station.

If you are out of reach of Sydney, don’t despair. There are numerous natural water holes, dams, rivers, and reservoirs on public land all over the world. Do a quick google search, and you may be surprised with the results you find almost in your backyard. Follow our guidance to make sure you choose the right location and bring the necessary items. For those of you in Sydney, visiting or otherwise, we also cover the specifics of a trip to the Karloo Pool. Regardless, you will soon be on your way for a delightful day trip!

How to Choose Your Natural Pool

• Do a quick Google search for [your city] + natural pools / swimming holes / rock pools, and explore your options. Sometimes the state parks website have the best information, and other times the coverage is better from local blogs, outdoor groups, or local forums. Once you have your short-list of options, it’s time to narrow down.
• It is easily accessible – We generally opt for day trips less than an hour away, and suggest you do the same, unless the whole family is really committed to a particular spot. You don’t want to spend more time getting to your destination, than enjoying it, and in our experience, CZ gets a bit antsy sitting/standing in her seat for much longer than an hour (unless she’s eating).
  • For Karloo, the trip from Central to Heathcote takes just under an hour on the T4 Eastern Suburbs line. There is a bathroom on the other side of the pedestrian crossing at Heathcote Station, and to get to the trail head, side of the platforms you arrive on, heading on towards the community fire station. Down the road, to your right, is a National Parks sign leading to the track – literally one of the easiest trails to find from the road!
• The water is calm and conducive for a cool dip – Some rivers and waterfall basins might be too swift for little ones, so make sure to check if the current is strong before heading out. Additionally, some mountain streams might be a bit too icy, depending on the season, so call up the park or find a forum to confirm the water temperature is comfortable.
  • Karloo pool is calm and inviting for swimming, or more aptly luxuriously lounging. We spent most of the time sitting on the edge, with CZ in our laps to best enjoy the relaxing water, as she splashes it in our faces, of course. The water temperature is perfect, cool enough to be refreshing, but not cold enough to take your breathe away.
• The hike is short enough you can make the return trip, but long enough to keep away the masses. We wanted to escape the urban Sydney crowds, so choosing a pool at the end of a decent hike kept the barriers to entry high enough to maintain the serene, natural atmosphere.
  • Hiking to the Karloo pools is just over 2.5km each way, very reasonable for a chill afternoon and a peaceful swim!

What to Bring

• Tons of water, especially on hot summer days! Every time I think I understand how much water we need for a day hike, it changes. We brought just under 4 liters for the three of us to complete the entire Karloo track (all the way to Uloola Falls), and JZ and I rationed water for the last half of the hike. This is where we crawled back to civilization on the verge of dehydration, but we will save that story for another post.
• Water shoes, if you have them, offer great peace of mind on the moss-covered rocks, especially for kids. The rocks around the edge of the pool can be very slippery and uneven, or there maybe jagged rocks at the bottom of some pools. While we were in the water, I may have jealously eyed a pair of ridiculously unattractive Vibram five-finger shoes of one of our fellow hikers, but I don’t have that much … ahem… self-confidence yet.
  • At Karloo, I did not feel secure carrying CZ to the water bare-footed. Instead, JZ and I tag-teamed entering the water, handing her to each other as we took turns wading out a little further. Whoever held her was able to stand still, while the other one moved an arm-length further into the pool.
• Floats would be nice. Depending on the length of the hike and the time you will spend in the water, it might be worth lugging an awkwardly large inflatable. At a natural pool, you are generally either swimming or out of the water. There are no sides of the pool to hang on to, and many swimming holes are quite deep.
  • Several people carried large floats to Karloo, and it looked relaxing to drift around for a bit. We stayed in the shallow perimeter to keep a secure hold on CZ because the middle of the pool was very deep. However, the walk is long enough that I might question the awkward carrying of a giant inflatable Aussie thong (flip-flop), from Aldi’s Australia Day special.
• Food. Obviously, you will need some fuel for your hike. I felt like I conquered motherhood when I started bringing snacks everywhere, and while I’m not to the point where my snacks are in the shape of cute animals or cartoon characters, I still bring tasty treats, and on the trail, snacks are snacks. On a practical note, there are few toddler meltdowns that cannot be diverted with a snack.
  • Editor’s Note: Have you checked out our favourite grain-free trail snacks? They are all winners in our book – especially the fried pea snacks, yum!

Getting to Karloo Pool

Now for the final, Sydney-specific details: Karloo track is a medium grade trail that requires a bit of climbing at certain points. Little ones will enjoy scrambling up and over rocks on their way to the pools; our little one enjoyed a nap in the backpack instead. Be aware that certain sections of the track have a steep drop off on one side. Take precautions based on the age of your kids. After about 2 km, you will start descending toward the pool. If it rained recently, the track will be quite wet, but no worries, you can rinse the muck off in the pool as soon as you arrive.

The area around the pool offers plentiful amounts of shade, even at midday, although there are also spots to spread your towel to catch some rays. We found a great area for a picnic towards the back of the pools, where we felt comfortable that CZ could walk around without nearing the edge of the water.

Next Steps

If you don’t already have a favorite swimming hole, we urge you to skip the crowded beaches and pools this weekend, in favor of exploring your local water-hole! Remember to choose a close-ish destination (under an hour or so), with calm water (no rivers rapids or waterfalls), that is only accessible with a short hike (1 to 3km).

We hope you enjoy your adventure as much as we loved ours, and can’t wait to hear how you go!