GTFO: SWIMMING HOLES EDITION

BY DIGSTAFF

Sure, it’s now possible to swim in the Charles River publicly. And that’s great and all, but as Jeff Goldblum pointed out in Jurassic Park, just because you spend time thinking about if you could do something, doesn’t mean you should do something.

So, here are three natural swimming holes and waterfalls to mark with a pushpin on your map and hit before the end of summer in Mass, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. You can also just click on their names and find them that way, too.

Chapel Brook Falls, Ashfield MA

A set of waterfalls that total 45 feet in drops, with the final falls ending in a 20-foot drop “block formation” and a 5-foot slide, and smaller cascades and pools found just downstream from the falls.

Diana’s Baths, Bartlett NH

Well-known by hikers and outdoorsy folk, Diana’s Baths are a series of natural granite-basin pools off an easy-to-find trail and simple hike in the White Mountains. It’s something of sacred ground, and the Native Americans dubbed it Oonahgemessuk Weegeet: “Home of the Water Fairies”.

Enders Falls, West Granby, Connecticut

Essentially a series of five waterfalls with a medium-sized pool at the base of the falls; the last pool is marked by a gorgeous 15-foot waterfall. Pull a Leo DiCaprio in The Beach at your own peril. Rocks hurt, man.

HOUSES FOR THE SETTING SUN

With the midsummer point of the year reached and the days slowly ticking away until we’re consumed with misery and coldness once more, it’s important to take stock of the available ways one can drink in both the late-day weather and sunsets, as well as alcohol and fun. Here are four choice spots to do just that while the summer is still upon us.

Ristorante Fiore

Neighborhood: North End

Roof deck or patio: Roof deck

Go-to move: Grab a table with a chosen date (maybe Tinder, maybe not Tinder) and split some prosciutto and melon with a chilled bottle of rose. 250 Hanover St., Boston. ristorantefiore.com

KO at the Shipyard

Neighborhood: Eastie

Roof deck or patio: Patio

Go-to move: Procure a stack of their meat pies and whatever beer or house sangria they have going with some rousing games of cornhole. Meat pies and cornhole are a natural pairing, of course. 256 Marginal St., Boston. kocateringandpies.com/east-boston

Legal Harborside

Neighborhood: Seaport

Roof deck or patio: Roof deck

Go-to move: Arrive with a gang of your pals, overeat together (see: oysters), and knock back a few pitchers of punch under the retractable roof while gazing out at the harbor. Or just drinking more punch. 270 Northern Ave., Boston. legalseafoods.com/restaurants/boston-legal-harborside

Dante Restaurant

Neighborhood: Museum of Science-ish

Roof deck or patio: Patio

Go-to move: Order rounds of sfizi (Italian tapas), more rounds of ice cold Peroni or classic formula Schlitz, and sit back as the afternoon sun bathes the river and Beacon Hill in magic-hour light. Do it. 40 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge. restaurantdante.com