Try these two Rock Hill swim beaches to cool down and get a break from the heat

As temperatures teeter around triple digits, one of Rock Hill's newest parks has become a popular spot where folks can cool off. And until the weather breaks, Rock Hill Lake Park is likely to stay that way.

"It gets packed pretty much every single day this time of year," said city Parks Division Superintendent Jesse Holliman. "As soon as it started warming up, people started showing up."

Lake Park is a 21-acre site at 4037 India Hook Road. It sits on a Lake Wylie cove near the city's water intake, with a mile of trail and five fishing stations. There's a kayak launch and restrooms.

But the main draw is a 30-yard swim beach, one of only two public swimming areas of its kind on Lake Wylie.

The swim beach is particularly useful this week, after several days that neared the 100-degree mark. The Rock Hill forecast has highs in the 90s the rest of the week, according to the National Weather Service.

Children play at the beach at Rock Hill Lake Park on a recent Saturday. The park joins Ebenezer Park to provide public swimming areas on Lake Wylie.

The city runs Lake Park. The other public beach is also in Rock Hill, but York County runs it at Ebenezer Park.

There are sites like Windjammer Park in Tega Cay with a beach, or campgrounds with swimming along the lake. But Ebenezer had been the only site that didn't require a city permit or private reservation to swim, until Lake Park three years ago.

Changes at Ebenezer Park

Ebenezer has gone through several rounds of renovations in recent years.

That 26-acre park at 4490 Boatshore Road added a curved pier, upgraded camp sites and other amenities. Starting next month, York County residents will have free access to Ebenezer and all other county-run parks.

Ebenezer gets so busy during the summer months, the county started new parking and timing changes. There's a new system that texts guests when it's their turn to enter on busy days, to prevent people from parking on Boatshore Road while the park is at capacity.

Jameson Bowman, 8, and John Bannon, 1, play at the newly redone swim beach at Ebenezer Park in Rock Hill, in this 2021 file photo.

The demand for public swimming, combined with multiple park closures at Ebenezer for renovations when Lake Park opened, helped to draw crowds at the city site.

"A lot of people just kind of came over our way," Holliman said. "Now that Ebenezer is opened back up, we're not really seeing a drop off."

Lake Park deals with some of the same capacity issues Ebenezer has. Especially on hot weekends. "If you're not out there at 9 or 10 in the morning," Holliman said, "you're probably not going to get a parking spot."

Both swim beaches go to about five feet deep. There aren't lifeguards, and buoys mark off how far swimmers can venture into the water.

A group of visitors at Rock Hill Lake Park have a picnic this month. The park has a swim beach, a first for the city parks and recreation department.

Duke Energy and Rock Hill created Lake Park

Even with the area's two public swim beaches filled to capacity, it's unlikely another will open anytime soon.

Most large properties along Lake Wylie are privately owned. It took a federal license requirement for one of the Charlotte region's biggest companies to get Lake Park.

Duke Energy applied to renew its federal hydroelectric license in 2006, and had it issued in 2015. That massive, wide-ranging agreement included more than 2,400 acres for land conservation, public recreation and buffering to protect water quality.

The agreement had more than $16 million for land conservation and more than $4 million to develop recreation sites with local governments.

More than a dozen recreation upgrades on Lake Wylie included a lease agreement with Rock Hill to create a park across from the city's water intake.

Though there's been a swim beach at Ebenezer since 1988, swimming is new for a city parks department better known for large sports venues like Cherry Park, the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center, Manchester Meadows and the Rock Hill BMX Supercross Track.

"It's completely different from anything else we have," Holliman said. "Any time we add to the value to the community, we look to do it."

Paddlers venture past the swimming area at Rock Hill Lake Park on a recent Saturday.

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