Peekamoose Blue Hole — Attraction in Town of Denning

The place was very nice, we visited during the beginning of Aug, 2020. The water was very cold but overall the area is very nice. Try to arrive early to get parking as it may get difficult later in the day. ONE unpleasant memory was our families encounter with the local officer. we got a TICKET for playing music, even-though our music can barely be heard few feet away from our site. one of the "Rules" was no Radios, but the signs was small and hard to grasp unless you read it carefully (we noticed the signs once we were walking back, you have to read it very carefully as it is very small). There are much better ways to enforce such laws but they chose to put a little note on the tree. The ranger did not care about giving a warning, just wanted someone's ID (in my opinion they basically wanted to give ticket to complete their quota). Along with us, there were few others who got the ticket and none of whom got any warning, JUST THE TICKET. As we asked why we cant play the music, they said "they did not want to create a party atmosphere" but the people screaming "JUMP JUMP JUMP" was more of a party if anything. I also want to note that there were people whom were drinking alcohol and were not given a ticket. (although I would not wish anyone to receive a ticket and ruin their experience). A valid reason the rangers should've stated would be how the noise might have affected the nature but nope they said party. if it is about the nature, the first thing they should have said was, if we can turn off the speaker but they insisted someone give them an ID. As the conversation was continuing, I decided to turn off the speaker to grasp what type of violation we were under. While we were speaking with the officer, another officer jumped in and threatened us saying " you don't want me to get involved or else things will just get worse" getting threatened liked that for barely an audible music showed the cops true nature and we were worried for our safety, so we gave our full comprise. Make sure to read the signs carefully, as people who have authority might abuse their power. Blue Hole is aesthetically pleasing to people who want to take pics as well as containing a trail to wander and...

This place is truly a gem. Unfortunately, it is no longer hidden. It has the potential to be one of those spots that you go to for pure solitude and to just sit in nature. I was so disappointed with how this beautiful spot was taken care of. I arrived around 10am on a Monday in early August. You must buy a permit online beforehand to park there. I never saw a single park ranger checking permits (leading me to believe people were parking anywhere without one.) I found a parking spot in the lot directly across the street from the swimming hole. Upon walking to the water, I noticed HUGE piles of trash in front of the dumpster. The dumpster was directly in front of the path down to the lake (across from port-o-potties.) Aside from these being huge eye sores, it was also so off-putting and infuriating to see this. It made me almost want to turn around and leave. I’m astounded that trash is just left to sit on the ground in such a beautiful place. I walked down the hill and discovered that this is actually a very small area with very little room for anyone to sit. There were loads of people that had already claimed their spots. I found a tiny area where there was a little room for my towel and bag. People were everywhere around me and blasting music like they were partying at the beach. The water was cold but absolutely breath taking. Unfortunately, I only stayed for about an hour because it was not relaxing at all. Shame on the town for not taking better care of this place. Shame on those who visit and disrespect this area by leaving trash behind. I wish I could have loved this place. This goes to show how badly social media can spoil the most...

It was almost 3 hours drive from our place in NJ. Thank god temperature was moderate. We have done permit reservations about a week back. For permit you can do booking for maximum 7 days in advance by paying $10 towards permit. They issue maximum 70 permits per day with maximum occupancy of 6 persons per vehicle. There are multiple parking across the road. If you are lucky you can get parking closure to the Peekamoose Blue Hole.

We arrived around 2.30 pm and fortunately we got the closest parking near the hole. Forest rangers were very helpful. Some people have put chairs between 2 parking spots to block the parking spaces. The rangers were so helpful that they discussed with those people and convinced them to release one parking got us.

The temporary bathrooms were dirty, smelled bad and with NO toilet papers, that was on the negative side and can be better managed.

When we went to the hole, water was almost freezing. We couldn’t withstand 2 minutes into the water, but gradually when we got used to it, it was so nice and cool. People were jumping into the water. It was crowded but not over crowded so doesn’t bothered us.

The place is really beautiful, lush green and mesmerizing. We spent almost 3 hrs in swimming, taking pictures, had lunch on a rock. Overall it was a great experience. I was expecting a waterfall but we couldn’t locate waterfall.

It’s really a good place for one day picnic with your...