Steel towns, Amish backroads, vast inland lakes and a resurrected American lido. Ben Hooper returns to eastern Ohio a decade after his historic Swim the Big Blue Atlantic expedition and discovers that some of the Buckeye State’s best stories begin at the water’s edge

It’s fair to say that Ohio, the 34th-largest state in the U.S, isn’t known for its wild swimming. Florida has its springs, California its beaches and mountain lakes, and Hawaii its famous Pacific waters. Ohio, on the other hand, is better known for industry, American football, cornfields and water towers. It is largely flat, resolutely inland and nobody’s obvious idea of an aquatic paradise.

But its anonymity, as I discovered last week, is part of the appeal. Ohio’s swimming spots can be warm, beautiful and remarkably quiet, from forest-fringed lakes and vast reservoirs to outdoor pools where you can sometimes have an entire lane to yourself.

I was back in eastern Ohio to see family, exactly 10 years to the week since my 2016 visit, when I had been winding down my training before attempting to swim the Atlantic from Africa towards Brazil. A decade later, I decided to see what I had missed the first time around.

Wild swimming spots in Ohio

Belleview Park Pool, Steubenville
After lakes, rivers and the unpredictability of open water, Belleview Park’s open-air pool came as a refreshing change. I mean refreshing relatively: the water sat around 28C (82F), while Steubenville baked in the high 90s Fahrenheit with humidity pushing towards 90 per cent. The sort of heat in which stepping outside feels like entering somebody else’s bathroom after a very long shower.

Recently refurbished, Belleview was bright, clean and – remarkably – almost empty on both my visits. I settled into two-mile swims while turkey buzzards circled overhead, Northern cardinals flashed in the trees and smoke from somebody’s grill drifted across the water every time I breathed.

For long stretches I had what felt like a private 50-metre training pool. Decadence, swimmer-style. Then thunder cracked across Steubenville and lightning ended the debate. Belleview became one of the unexpected stars of the trip: inexpensive, welcoming and perfect for proper lengths.

Practical swim file

• Access: Belleview Park, University Boulevard, Steubenville; seasonal outdoor pool.
• Cost/facilities: Day passes were US$5 in 2026; changing areas, toilets, snacks and on-site parking.
• Best for: Lane training and swimmers wanting a controlled alternative to the lakes.
• Watch for: Heat, thunder and lightning; outdoor pools close quickly when storms approach.

Tappan Lake Park
Now this felt like wild swimming.

Tappan Lake spreads across roughly 2,350 acres, although the public beach wisely keeps swimmers inside a designated zone away from the wider lake’s boats and marina traffic. My patch was more than enough: water around 25C (77F), silky and warm, but with visibility disappearing almost immediately into silt. At one point I remain reasonably certain I swallowed bird poo, although some experiences are best left unconfirmed!

Families lined the sandy beach with cool boxes and grills while the air pushed towards a frankly ridiculous 105F (41C). The woodland made Tappan feel wonderfully feral: something howled beyond the tree line and big fish broke the surface.

It reminded me of Krumme Lanke in Berlin – wooded, warm and strangely detached from the world beyond the trees. Except Krumme Lanke never served me American pizza afterwards.

Practical swim file

• Access: Tappan Lake Park, Deersville; seasonal public beach, generally 10am – 7pm in summer.
• Cost/facilities: US$5 per single-occupant vehicle or US$10 for two or more; beach, toilets, concessions, camping and cabins.
• Conditions: Warm, often silty water with poor visibility; boats use the wider lake.
• Watch for: Boat zones, sudden depth changes, extreme heat and thunderstorms.

Salt Fork State Park
If Tappan felt wild, Salt Fork made me feel insignificant. Ohio’s largest state park wraps more than 17,000 acres of land around almost 3,000 acres of reservoir. I eventually found the main beach almost deserted, partly because its facilities were undergoing a major 2026 improvement programme.

The lake itself was warm, still and surprisingly shallow in places, with sand beneath my feet rather than dark silt. The air sat around 98F (37C); a breeze offered brief relief before reminding me that, once again, storms were building.

Then a bald eagle swept low across the water. Cicadas, crickets, birds and bullfrogs competed for the soundtrack while I swam until the distance stopped mattering. Eventually I floated beneath the enormous Midwestern sky and did nothing at all. No kilometres. No photographs. Just Ohio.

Practical swim file

• Access: Main public beach, Salt Fork State Park; free entry and daylight swimming.

• Conditions: Large exposed reservoir, warm summer water, poor visibility possible; boats use other areas.

• Facilities: Beach facilities were being renewed in 2026, so check current access before travelling.

• Watch for: Thunderstorms, boat zones, heat and construction-related closures.

Weirton Millsop Community Center, West Virginia
Cross the Ohio River from Steubenville and you leave Ohio for neighbouring West Virginia. In Weirton, Millsop formed part of my story long before this trip: it supported my pool and gym training during visits in 2015 and 2016 while I prepared for the Atlantic. Returning a decade later felt like revisiting an old training partner.

The heated indoor pool is darker and more functional than Ohio’s enormous outdoor waters, and lane swimming can compete with classes and community sessions. Parts of the building show their age. But that rather misses the point: Millsop is useful, affordable, friendly and heated to around 86F – wonderfully civilised when thunder is trying to rearrange the sky outside.

After bald eagles, buzzards and forest lakes, I was back beneath artificial lights smelling unmistakably of chlorine. Not every memorable swim requires wilderness.

Practical swim file

• Access: 3420 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia; short drive from Steubenville.
• Cost/facilities: US$5 day admission in 2026; heated indoor pool, changing rooms and gym.
• Best for: Winter training, bad-weather backup and straightforward indoor lengths.
• Check: Current pool timetable; classes and maintenance can affect lane availability.

How to put the trip together

Ohio looks manageable on a map until you start driving it. For a first visit, keep the core trip in eastern Ohio and allow three or four days.

A realistic four-day route

• Day one: Steubenville and Weirton – Fort Steuben, Belleview and Millsop as a bad-weather alternative.
• Day two: Tappan Lake – make the lake the main event and stay locally if you can.
• Day three: Salt Fork – allow most of the day; The Station on Twenty-Two is nearby.
• Day four: Amish Country – Berlin and Sugarcreek, with the Heritage Center as the main stop.

A car is realistically the simplest way to combine the lakes, small towns and rural attractions.

Places to visit…

Historic Fort Steuben
The reconstructed fort overlooking the Ohio River is the logical starting point for understanding Steubenville. The original Fort Steuben was established in 1786 to protect government surveyors working in the Northwest Territory. In 2026, the reconstructed fort is open May through October, generally 10am – 4pm Monday to Saturday and 11am – 4pm Sunday, weather permitting. Adult admission is US$12, with reduced senior and youth rates.

America’s 250th anniversary also deserves perspective. The political republic dates from 1776; the peoples and cultures connected to this landscape extend much further back. That distinction matters. The fort gives you a place to begin that conversation rather than simply photograph the river and move on.

Steubenville: coal, mills, steel and murals
Steubenville’s industrial story remains visible everywhere. Coal, glass, pottery, iron and steel helped shape the city and the wider Ohio Valley, while the City of Murals now turns parts of the city into an outdoor gallery. And then there is Dino Crocetti – better known to the rest of the world as Dean Martin, one of Steubenville’s most famous sons. Steel mills and That’s Amore. Only in America.

Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center, near Berlin
Drive towards Berlin, Millersburg, Walnut Creek and Sugarcreek and Ohio changes again. Horse-drawn buggies share the tarmac with enormous pickups.

The Amish are not a tourist attraction in nineteenth-century clothing. The Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center is the better place to learn before pointing a camera at somebody’s buggy. The museum, shop and introductory video are free; the guided Behalt cyclorama tour is currently US$14 for adults and US$6 for children 12 and under.

Places to eat…

Castello’s Pizza, Tappan
After warm, silty water, questionable bird deposits and a hard swim, fresh pizza beside the lake felt less like indulgence and more like medical treatment. Orick’s humour and friendliness made it one of those small encounters that survives after the kilometres have faded.

Budget – US$10 to US$25 per person

The Station on Twenty-Two, Antrim
Then came one of my favourite roadside discoveries. The Station occupies a converted gas station near Antrim, around ten minutes from Salt Fork, serving sandwiches and hand-dipped ice cream among plants, books and a children’s play area. Exactly my kind of place.

Budget – US$8 to US$20 per person

Places to stay…

Stay where you swim. Steubenville is the practical base for Belleview and Weirton; Tappan and Salt Fork both offer camping and cabins; and if day four belongs to Amish Country, stay around Berlin or Sugarcreek rather than driving back east. Expect anything from roughly US$50 for basic camping to US$300+ for lodge or cabin stays.

Swim Ohio – but respect it

The warmth and disgusting humidity can be deceptive. These were some of the warmest outdoor swims I have experienced, yet Ohio repeatedly demonstrated that hot weather brings hazards of its own. Thunderstorms arrived quickly. Lightning turned apparently benign skies hostile. Boats shared the larger lakes. Visibility beneath the surface could be poor. Extreme heat made hydration and recovery part of the swim rather than something to think about afterwards.

My rules are straightforward:

Swim-safe checklist

• Stay inside designated swimming areas and away from marina and boat approaches.

• Check current water-quality, beach and park notices before entering.

• Thunder means get out. Do not wait for lightning to prove the point.

• Use a bright cap and a tow float where permitted and useful, but do not treat visibility equipment as protection from boat traffic.

• In extreme heat, carry water, seek shade and allow recovery time.

Ben Hooper made global headlines with his bid to swim every mile of the Atlantic Ocean — a challenge Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE called “the last great bastion to be conquered.” His four-month, 2,000-mile route from Senegal to Brazil, known as Swim the Big Blue, was derailed mid-Atlantic after his support vessel was damaged by storms, despite him surviving a near-fatal encounter with thousands of Portuguese Man O’War. He remains the only person with a WOWSA-verified attempt at the feat. Follow him on Instagram and X @TheBenHooper or via www.thebenhooper.com

READ MORE: ‘Diving into… Northern Italy‘. Taking a break from filming his forthcoming series Around the UK in 20 Wild Swims, Ben Hooper swaps Atlantic winds for the Italian lakes – where cold water, mountain weather and busy shorelines reward swimmers who choose the right place and the right time.

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_{MAIN IMAGE: The Ohio River at Steubenville, where industrial towns, forest and open water meet. Credit: Supplied}