It's been an incredibly hot summer in Maine and when the temperatures rise, people start looking for places to cool off. But because there's a global pandemic that has left some water parks, beaches and even some friend's pools closed for the summer, people have had to look elsewhere to get their swimming fix in. Unfortunately, the trust that takes care of one swimming hole in Newry has decided that there's too many people visiting this summer.

Shared on Facebook by Mahoosuc Land Trust, they've announced that the popular swimming hole Step Falls will be closing to the public on August 8th until after the conclusion of the Labor Day holiday on September 7th. The Trust, which looks after Step Falls Preserve, outlined their decision saying that too much overcrowding has taken place at the preserve with little to no social distancing taking place to keep everyone as safe as possible. Additionally, on some of the hottest weekends this summer, visitors to Step Falls have parked illegally along Route 26 as well as neighboring lawns. Those two major factors led to the decision of Mahoosuc Land Trust to shut down access to Step Falls for the next month.

How this closure will affect some of Maine's other terrific swimming hole areas is unknown at this time. August is traditionally Maine's hottest month, meaning people are likely going to continue to search for ways to cool off. With the closure of Step Falls, the hope is that it could serve as an awakening to visitors that they need to be smarter and more diligent otherwise additional swimming holes could close in the future.

 

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