“To have a place to swim in a stream, to me, feels like something that’s so fundamental to being human—that we enjoy the forest, that we enjoy land and rivers, and that we do it in a respectful way that cares for the place where we are,” says resident Dan Getman, who, in 2022, purchased the 17-acre property on the Peters Kill in Accord that contains the local swimming spot dubbed “Deep Hole” with the vision of preserving it for public access.
The Hudson Valley and its natural swimming spots have long been a highlight of summer in the region for locals and tourists alike. In recent years, however, increased traffic and a lack of public conscientiousness have degraded the local ecosystems and ticked off more than a few neighbors. A few years ago, Deep Hole didn’t used to be the accessible, safe destination that it is now. Dogs ran loose, broken glass scattered the ground, and propane tanks, dragged in to grill hotdogs and hamburgers, were left behind.
After some “soul searching,” resident Dan Getman bought the property on Towpath Road in hopes that it would have a renaissance as the once peaceful and quiet destination that he grew up with. “I don’t live that far away, so it’s a spot that I pass by a lot and that I care about,” Getman says. “I swam there many times. The swimming hole was in danger of closing off completely if somebody bought it or started developing the land.”
Before Getman stepped up, the land was owned by a woman oceans away in Australia. “She apparently did not know that it had a swimming hole in it. The town had been trying to reach her for years,” Getman says.
In May, the property became a nonprofit natural sanctuary to aid the conservation of the ecosystem. “I thought ‘what a beautiful gift to the community.’ People are drawn to the spot. The energy of the place is beautiful and welcoming of people into calmness, into peace and to joy and to relaxation and into that sweet energy,” Getman says. After the land had been neglected for so long, Deep Hole was a puzzle project for Getman. He had to figure out how to clean and conserve the land while maintaining a safe gathering place for swimmers in the area and to abide by the law of the lands. “How do you preserve land? How do you preserve a swimming hole? That’s a particular kind of risk. It draws people to slippery rocks and beautiful spots that are inherently hazardous,” he says.
These were the questions that motivated Getman and his current board members. “I called together a group of friends who loved Deep Hole and formed an advisory group to plan how we would care for it,” Getman says. “How can we keep people from dumping trash all over? How can we create reasonable rules so that people can be there and enjoy it without trashing it? How do we invite people with a different relationship to the land that they don’t technically own, but that they still care about?”
There are a few signs reminding visitors of the “leave no trace” policy. A couple of the rules outlined on the signs and website are carry-in-carry-out, no alcohol or glass, and no fires of any kind.
The group of people that helped him on the journey are still board members today and active Hudson Valley community members. The team includes Kathleen Mandeville who is an episcopal priest and consultant, David Todd who is a development consultant, and Steeven Price Lall who is a healer at Sacred Traditions.
It’s thanks to Getman and the board members that Deep Hole has a parking lot from which people can safely walk to the sanctuary. He intentionally built it on the smaller side—there’s room for two dozen cars at a time—so Deep Hole wouldn’t become too overpopulated. “When we started to build the parking lot and put down stones, there were people up in arms, pushing the rocks down into the woods and saying, ‘we’re gonna fight back’,” he said. “It was a few people that were kind of hostile because they didn’t know what the changes meant.” Getman says that town officials have welcomed the parking lot after years of visitors blocking traffic and fire department access points with haphazardly parked cars on an already narrow, winding road.
Social media has had a direct relationship with the influx of visitors. Whether or not it’s a good shift is still the million-dollar question. “We want to welcome public access in the broadest possible way, but to do it in a way that does not damage the land, the animals, the community as a whole,” German says.
One of the final steps in Deep Hole’s renaissance is a privy system. Getman plans to build composting toilets near the parking lot. He says this will be next year’s priority.
“We hope that people feel this is a community place—for and by the community who cares, tends, and looks after it. We can teach each other to form a relationship to the land,” Getman says. To keep Deep Hole as the community hot spot it is, anyone can donate on the website.
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