In a country where there are tens of thousands of miles of shoreline and millions of endurance athletes, fitness swimmers, triathletes, competitive swimmers and open water swimmers, there are innumerable places to train, race and explore in open bodies of water in the United States.

Some of hidden gems of the American open water swimming community include:

1. Chattanooga, Tennessee
2. Atlanta, Georgia with Lake Spivey
3. Fort Myers, Florida
4. Branson, Missouri with Table Rock Lake
5. Clearwater/Tampa Bay, Florida
6. Seattle, Washington
7. Las Vegas, Nevada with Lake Mead
8. Derby, Vermont with Lake Willoughby / Lake Memphremagog
9. Salt River, Arizona
10. Salt Lake City, Utah
11. Bend, Oregon with Elk Lake
12. Orlando, Florida with Lake Cane

But like politics in Washington D.C., finance in New York City, entertainment in Los Angeles, IT in Seattle and software in Silicon Valley, there are certain areas around the United States were there is a convergence of open water swimmers (fitness + competitive + triathlon), year-round opportunities to swim, a number of organized events and an overall ambiance oriented to the sport.

These cities include:

1. Honolulu, Hawaii
2. San Francisco, California
3. La Jolla (San Diego), California (shown above)
4. Boston, Massachusetts
5. Atlantic City/Ocean City, New Jersey
6. Miami, Florida
7. Washington D.C.
8. Indianapolis/Noblesville, Indiana
9. Chicago, Illinois
10. Austin, Texas
11. Miami, Florida
12. Laguna Beach (Orange County), California

For more information on open water swimming in America, visit America’s Top 100 Open Water Swims and Ultra Swims Around America.

Lower photo by Phil White of the Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association escorting swimmers in Lake Willoughby, Vermont.

Copyright © 2013 by World Open Water Swimming Association