7 top swimming holes

Pack up the kids, water toys and some refreshments, or just a good book, and hit a beach nearby. In the Inland Northwest, you don't have to go very far to find an inviting fresh-water lake.

Section:Gallery

Thu., July 13, 2017

Molly Willard,11, has her hands full as she walks toward the Spokane River at Q’emiln Park in Post Falls on Tuesday, July 11, 2017.

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Crowds throng City Beach in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. on July 4, 2017.

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Joseph Mason, 8, relaxes in an inner tube on the shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

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“I came to this beach when I was a teenager,” said Bonnie Erickson, of Coeur d’Alene, as she kept an eye on her 10-year-old grandson at Coeur d’Alene’s City Beach, Tuesday, July 23, 2013.

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People relax by Lake Coeur d’Alene on Friday near North Idaho Community College.

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Hannah Inch and her boyfriend, Dylan Calhoon, soak up the sun on the beach at Liberty Lake Regional Park on Thursday, July 6, 2017.

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Rachel and Drew Harding try out Jobe paddle boards on Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, at the Liberty Lake boat launch in Liberty Lake, Wash.

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As temperatures move into the upper 90s, relief seekers find comfort in the chilly waters of the Spokane River at Boulder Beach in Spokane Valley, Monday, July 28, 2014.

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A visitor to Boulder Beach on the Spokane River, performs a back flip off the exposed rocks near the shoreline, July 14, 2015.

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Brody Van Brethorst, 14, of Weiser, Idaho, jumps across the docks near the boat launch at Farragut State Park in Athol, Idaho, on Tuesday, June 23, 2015.

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Boaters take off from the boat launch at Farragut State Park in Athol on Tuesday, June 23, 2015.

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A sailboat cruises past a swimmer at Farragut State Park in Athol on Tuesday, June 23, 2015.

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Swimmers and floaters enjoy the afternoon on Beaver Bay Beach in Farragut State Park in Athol on Tuesday, June 23, 2015.

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Nine-year-old Katie Ringger, of Hayden Lake, comes up for air while using her goggles for spotting fish at Honeysuckle Beach in Hayden Lake on Tuesday, July 16, 2013.

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“I’m just enjoying some serenity,” Sandpoint resident Cody Evans said as he took advantage of the beautiful weather at Sandpoint City Beach on Monday, June 3, 2013.

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Kyra Linster , 4, of Carlsbad, California, hits the water at Sandpoint’s City Beach on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006. She is in town visiting her grandparents.

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Kaden Lang, 5, takes a spin on Shaundra Leiss’ (not pictured) paddle board and hangs onto her dogs, Einstein, left, and Norbert, as his uncle, Dusty, pushes the trio through knee-deep water on Monday, June 6, 2016, at Fish Lake near in Cheney, Wash. Leiss loaned the boy the paddle board after he expressed interest in it.

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Elliot Graves, 3, of Spokane runs into the waters of Fish Lake to join his sisters, Sierra, 8, and Briley, 5, after grabbing a pair of goggles from his father, David, on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014, at Fish Lake outside in Cheney, Wash.

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