The town of Jaffrey has put restrictions on many of their swimming areas/bodies of water to town residence only. Please watch out for resident only signs.
It can be hard to find a good swimming hole that is clean, open to the public and allows dogs. I am constantly on the lookout for a place that I can swim with my Golden Retriever.
Located on Gilmore Pond Road in Jaffrey is Gilmore Pond. This is a small pond with road side parking, a small beach and boat launch. This is a perfect place to get a swim in with your dog.
The bottom of the pond is mostly sandy. I am not sure if motorboats are allowed here, but every time I visit I see kayakers out on the pond. It is not a big swimming area, but perfect on a warm day when you want to cool off with your pup.
Update: My family and I recently explored Gilmore Pond by water. My husband and daughter kayaked and I rented a stand up paddle board from Eastern Mountain Sports in Peterborough. We parked at the boat launch and paddled a crossed the pond. It was very calm not a lot of people on the water.
As we rounded the corner on the right there is a small beach where the water is very sandy. There is not much actually beach space, but the water is clear and very sandy and you can walk out pretty far. Since it was a hot day it was pretty packed. The parking to walk to the beach is located on Sandy Lane off Gilmore Pond Road in Jaffrey. The walk is only about a quarter of a mile. There is a small parking lot. Another great place to take a dip.
As of Summer 2020 I have heard the Gilmore Pond no longer allows dogs.
