Pro skier Amie Engerbretson remembers the first alpine lake she swam in. She was around eight years old and on a camping trip in the Sierra Nevada with her dad, not far from her hometown of Truckee, California. They paddled a canoe across a lake, went for a hike, and swam at the base of a waterfall. “It felt like we were finding our own secret spot,” recalls Engerbretson.
Since then, she’s spent much of her summers hiking and backpacking in the Sierra and elsewhere, looking for stunning pools she can leap into. “In the summer, I’m in the water every day,” she says. “There’s something about cold water—it feels like a reset. Plus, it’s fun when you can find your own place of seclusion.”
We asked Engerbretson, and a few other fans of remote swimming holes, for their favorite spots to hike to.