When the summer heat descends on the DC area, there are plenty of nearby swimming lakes and watering holes where families can make a splash and cool off. These swimming lakes (all within a two-hour drive) are a fun, natural alternative to the area's swimming pools and water parks. Many of them are within state parks and national forests, which offer a variety of other fun activities like hiking, fishing, and camping.

Here are our favorite swimming lakes and watering holes near DC where families can beat the heat and reconnect with nature. Many of these awesome swimming spots even offer a Tom Sawyer-like adventure that will have the kids swinging, diving, and absolutely grinning.

Check out our Ultimate DC Kids Summer Vacation Guide for even more fun ways to cool off this summer.

Toddlers and preschoolers are like little sponges that soak in the world around them. These days are fleeting so take advantage of the many Atlanta places for toddlers and preschoolers to explore and expand their world. Enjoy our curated list specially geared for toddlers and preschoolers in Atlanta before they get busy with homework and sports. Bonus: Many of these Atlanta attractions offer FREE admission for kids at this age!

There are no two ways about it: Kids love swimming! Lake swimming is the perfect way to cool off when the beach or the pool is too crowded, or when you just want to mix it up a bit. There are quite a few swimming lakes in the Philadelphia area that offer great little beaches, picnic areas, and, of course, swimming! As an added bonus, most of these swimming lakes are located in state parks, which offer lots of other great activities, including camping and hiking. Most swimming lakes in the Philadelphia area are open Memorial Day through Labor Day. So get your bathing suits on, load up the car, grab the sunscreen, and head out to one of these great local swimming lakes in the Philadelphia region!

Looking for more summer fun? Check out our favorite Jersey Shore Beaches, or browse our roundup of Where to Go Camping with Kids. For all the best Philadelphia-area swimming spots, our guide to Beaches, Pools, Spray Pads, and Water Parks has got you covered.

Swimming lakes in Westchester and the Hudson Valley are ideal destinations for cooling off in the great outdoors. While you'll only find a few local swimming lakes and rivers in Westchester County, the greater Hudson Valley region offers plenty of places for freshwater swimming. 

Here, we've rounded up several lakes and rivers perfect for swimming with kids this summer.

Looking for even more fun in the sun? Check out our Summer Fun Guide.

The super-popular Bethpage Air Show returns to Jones Beach this Memorial Day weekend, featuring show-stopping aviation acrobatics. Hundreds of thousands of visitors attend this unofficial kick-off to summer, so we've put together the guide below to help make your visit to the Jones Beach Air Show as smooth as possible. 

For other open-air cultural offerings, check out our rundown of the best beaches and pools in the area, and bookmark our comprehensive Guide to Summer Activities.

New Jersey has some of the best swimming lakes in the Northeast, so make a plan to dive into one this summer. From Cheesequake to High Point, most of these lakes are on the grounds of majestic state parks that offer other recreation opportunities, like hiking trails. Some, like Sunrise Lake, are even outfitted with incredible inflatable water parks.

If you're looking for other ways to cool off on hot summer days, check out our rundown of the best NJ pools that offer day passes or our look at the Garden State's top water parks. 

Los Angeles kids grow up swimming at some of the country's most iconic beaches, not to mention an array of flat-out awesome public swimming pools. But wait—there's more! Did you know that there are some wonderful swimming lakes near Los Angeles? And if you're willing to drive a little farther, lake options get even more plentiful. Whether you want to take a dip in a secluded swimming hole or join the masses at a lavish lake resort, here are some of the best spots to take a swim out in nature.

For more places to go swimming in Los Angeles, check out our Guide To Pools and Splash Pads in Los Angeles. Or keep it natural at one of these Surf-Free Beaches Where Toddlers Can Swim!

All of my three children have gone through a train-loving phase around 2 years old, and while we are lucky enough to live on a train line where we can watch the trains zoom by all day long, I've been known to go out of my way to feed our kids’ love of choo-choos. From local train rides to seasonal Polar Express train rides, train museums, and model train displays, families in the tri-state area have plenty of options to entertain pint-sized train lovers.

Read on for our top picks for train-inspired day trips, including all the best things to do with train-obsessed kids in NYC and beyond.