Cliffs of the Neuse swim lake set to open May 25
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on May 11, 2015 1:46 PM
As the weather gets hotter and summer approaches, thoughts turn to how to cool off.
One way is to spend the day at Cliffs of the Neuse swim lake.
The swim lake opens Memorial Day. It will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout the summer, weekends only in August, and will close Labor Day.
Swim bands are $5 for adults and $4 for children, which allow you to swim all day if you want to.
The lake is not connected to the Neuse River, said park ranger Crystal Lloyd.
"They are two separate bodies of water," she said. "The lake is a spring-fed lake, so it's ground water. We do water tests on it every year before we open the lake. It's clean and there are no fish in the water."
The lake's concession stand will be open with a variety of foods and drinks.
Or you may take your own food, but coolers are not allowed on the beach. And no glass at all is allowed at the Cliffs.
"We have picnic tables down by the lake where you can have your own picnic if you don't want to purchase the park's concessions, which is certainly cool," Ms. Lloyd said. "You can come a make a whole day of if. Or a weekend if you want to come and camp."
"The shallow area of the swim lake goes up to five feet deep," park ranger Autumn Kahl said. "To go out to the deep end to the dive tower, you have to pass a test. You can do that whenever there's a lifeguard available to go out to the deep end with you. Then you'll get a second swim band to go out to the deep end. Everybody has to have that second band to go out to the deep end, which is about 12 feet deep."
There are two floating platforms that the children can climb on and jump off of. They can also take their own swim toys and life jackets.
Next to the swim lake are pedal boats, canoes and kayaks to rent for $5 an hour or $2.50 for half an hour. New this year are five standup paddleboards, which look similar to a surfboard. You stand up on it and use a paddle to get around.
You have to be 16 to rent boats or go to the swim lake without your parents.
"The swim lake is like a community staple," Ms. Lloyd said. "People have come here since they were kids. So it's something that people expect us to have. And you don't have to drive a couple of hours to the beach. You can come 10 minutes from your house and have a nice, safe place to swim. And swimming is good exercise."
And if you want even more fun, spend the day at the Cliffs.
"People can get here early in the morning before the swim lake opens, go for a hike, have lunch and then go swimming the rest of the day," Ms. Kahl said.
For more information about the swim lake or renting boats, call the Cliffs at 919-778-6234.