With the untimely ending of summer and the onset of fall weather, what better chance to reminisce on the best swimming hole in close(ish) proximity to Winston-Salem?

Carrigan Farms Quarry is located in a vineyard approximately an hour’s drive from Wake Forest’s campus. Their dates of operation — late May to early September — don’t cater to the Wake Forest student body, but if you have the chance to visit, take it and run. 

Five of my friends and I set out to enjoy one of our last beautiful Sunday afternoons by a lake. With two time slots to choose from — 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. — we selected the former and were on the road during the early hours of the morning. Tickets are available on their website, with a $5 down payment per person above 13 and a $35 cash fee at the door. 

For those of you who are very confident in your swimming skills, be prepared to have your ideals ruined and your aquatic skills tested. 

The swim test — in which you perform your choice of breaststroke or freestyle, then tread water for a minute — is a small price to pay for free rein over the quarry’s offerings. With various high points to jump from, a restaurant/bar and a rope swing, Carrigan Farms equips you with everything one needs for a successful afternoon. 

I watched as my friends consecutively tumbled from the rope jump, earning various “oh no’s,” and “ouch” from onlookers beyond. At the quarry, there exists a kinship between the swimmers, and our successes and failures are collectively celebrated or teased accordingly. 

There is no feeling that matches that of lake water washing over you as you dive from 10 feet above. It is a feeling that is worth the hour drive and the nuisance of a swim test. While it won’t be found at Carrigan Farms for another few months, it’s fair to say that I’ll count the days until its return.