Oxford Quarry Swimming
I heard that there is swimming at a quarry in Oxford?? If so, has anyone been there, and is it nice?
kelleo22 
Nosila Oh, lol. Ok. Is there any other swimming areas around here? I know of the pool (duh), but Budd Lake & Horseshoe Lake charge $5 a person, and we've done Round Valley Reservoir....
Caged Animal There is a local swimming hole on Penwell.....Free of course
There is also Mt.Lake and Oxford Lake however I know they charge just not sure how much
Mt. Lake is free. Hours are 12 - 7. Open through Labor Day. There are lifeguards there as well.
JL 
mom of 3 
BLD2The local swimming hole in Penwell, was the Musconetcong River where there was a
rope swing. It was located at the point of 57 where you go up the hill, before St. Theodore's. I don't think anyone swims there now though...
People def still swim there almost every night...it's on Penwell road right off 57 right behind that one store that sells feed you will see all the cars parked there
It was a cool place to go 20 years ago - crystal clear water & some crazy cliffs to jump off of but thats long gone. Its a working quarry again & has been for at least 15 years. We used to swim there in high school but its all gone - all there is now is a huge pit of rock with mega dump trucks tooling around.
If you want to check it out go to Oxford dump entrance drive back towards the weigh station - before you get to weigh station you will see a long fence on the left. Go to the end of the fence & take a peak - it looks like the Grand Canyon back there. I was amazed how big the place is now - it looked a lot smaller with water in it.
If your looking for a swimming hole - "The Glen" over by the Water Gap is pretty cool - think it is still there but haven't been there in years & of course they have some old dude who shows up & kicks everybody out. lol
babybull24 Oxford Quarry costs $350. To pay the trespassing ticket of course. Penwell is always fun. Or just make friends with the owner of a sweet in-ground pool.
Himself used to dive off the cliffs there in 80 and 81. was a great party spot with clear green water
fred bingaman Been to a granite quarry that folks swim in up in Vermont. It looked very cold, and was kind of creepy knowing how deep it was. Sheer sides, not a lot of stuff to grab on. That kind of freaks me out. Clear cold deep water.
Bruin when I swam at the Oxford the water was clean...but the cliffs were dangerous...and the top six feet of the water was warm...but below that it was ice cold...I swam there back in the late 70s
oldman http://www.quarryswimclub.com/
A nice place to visit and swim in the summertime....
Long Valley12 We used to go to the quarry back in early '80s - often lots of people jumping off the cliffs and a caretaker would show up at the other side and threaten to call the cops. Most jumps were in the 20-30 ft range but there was a huge jump from the far side. 60-70 ft? Maybe more. Took us about ten minutes of hemming and hawing before we all jumped. You can see that it's a working (DRY) quarry again if you look up Oxford Quarry on google maps and use satellite.
mike S There used to be Swimming up at Schooley's Mountain Park. It was a nice small beach with picnic tables too, but I don't know if it's still open.
Len We would cut school one day a year and come all the way from Mendham to swim in Oxford Quarry. It was a magical place back in the 80's. The water was absolutely beautiful and there were dirt roads all around to get lost on. One day we ended up in the junk yard and had a man in a pickup chase us. Fun, fun, fun!!!!!!!!!!!
grubme use to say road trip and travel to oxford quarry i remmember 3 cliffs to jump off 2 were next to each other 20 feet andd 60 feet and swim across and climb was 80 feet super cool. I remember there was a rumor that a butter commercial was filmed there
ray When my daughter went to Penwell last summer to swim she didn't stay. Sadly there was a big mess there, people dumping their trash. I hope its better this year.
We like to pack a lunch and go to Swartswood state park for swimming and boat rentals, there are also hiking trails there. I think its $10 a car load.
hktownie If I knew of a spot I wouldnt tell ya. The last time I went to Penwell there was plenty of garbage , beer cans and broken glass. Why are people such pigs ?
Are the ropes back at Penwell...saw cops cutting them down last year. Shame about the conditions..guess the trash left the trash?!?
Gen3Townie Use to take my kids to Penwell all the time, years ago, to swing on the ropes. Then we noticed a lot of garbage and a lot of NY license plates. Connection? Maybe, but maybe not. Not pointing fingers. Use to fish there too. Haven't in years.
botheredbyu 
Mel Remember the quarry back in the early 70's...now Furnace Lake is the place to swim in the Oxford area ....
Kathie swam in the quarry in the late 70s early 80scliff were great fun to jump fromother side of quarry the cliffs were much higer and there was a pillar on the edge of the cliff that made the jump even higher. and me horan and gween made the jump many times.
critch Grew up swimming quarries, some of the more memorable ones were in West Virginia. Had caves on the water that were actually the size of the yuge dump trucks that would have been going in them --- one had three in a row.
Our own neighborhood version had "42," the 42-foot cliff. But the bad one was 37 where you had to get up a good head of steam and jump to clear the rubble below. So you're standing in the woods, you can't see the water, and you start running only with the knowledge that others have done it. Myself, I made it to 24..... Needed no more rush of hitting the water than that.
Lost at least one every year at that quarry. Usually drinking involved but always sad.
strangerdanger I went back to Oxford Quarry years ago. Now it's emptied out. Remember "The Pillar"? I jumped off it once. It was 72 feet above the water. Saw a guy jump off it and die so that one time was it for me.
Tony G Rob Critchley, BiB, what's the chances I would see your writing of the legend of the Oxford Quarry. Tim, You, and I. Many of Miller nips, dubbees, the best place ever to cliff dive and swim and the best of times. Greg Ling the Linguine. 10-7-2018 mailfp@embarqmail.com
Greg Ling Boy those were the days back in the late 70's early 80's - we spent many a day there with the Rainbow Lakes crew - some camp outs too! Saw a guy break his back off the pillar jump - cops and EMS that day - bummer. There was a farm over on the pillar side of the quarry where we grew some lovely green plants a few summers...memories!
FrouFrou bib, just read your comments back after two years . those were the best of times and so were you guys. im still at the same place come on by. and its not far from the quarry or bob and ritas or riversticks or the party hut remember.
critch Washington Boro pool ..Anyone can swim now open to the public for signup after last year they changed it....call Washington Borough townhall #
AJMS Yeah, we were from Mt. Olive but heard about the quarry and went there so many times over several summers from maybe '75-'79. Directions? Duh, 46 to 31 to Quarry Rd! We used to drive around the right side and turn left into a little dirt road that headed in toward the cliffs, then walk to the cliffs. That water was SO beautiful, that aquamarine color (limestone quarry) just looked so surreal! There were a few spots on top of the cliffs to jump, the best jump was at the highest spot. There was a little step down about only 3 feet lower that a lot of people used, must have just been a psychological thing. It took several seconds to get to the water, total rush! BUT, stay straight, feet pointed down, arms overhead or at your side at entry - or else pain or injury would follow. My brother tipped back a little once and hit his butt really hard, you could hear it at the top! We would flip or dive from some of the lower jump spots (15-30 feet) but the cliff jump was a straight jump for us. I did see a guy do a swan dive from the cement tower on the other side once, cool but not advisable, plus the water on that side was not as deep as the wooded cliffs side. Quarry Road used to run all the way out to 519 but I went back there quite a few years ago to show the quarry to my family and they closed off the road, you can not make the left along the quarry any longer, you have to go straight to that Warren Count Land Preservation place. Plus, they built a huge fence that made it hard to even see the water. Yep, at that time there was still water in it but not now. Now it's just a "Rural Legend" but if you ever went there you know how cool it was!
Edward Foundos I might have been that guy you saw do the swan dive. It was Summer of 78’. Had some friends waiting in the water with a truck inner tube just in case. Hit the water straight up and down but still smashed three vertebrae in the middle of my back from the impact. Made the swim back to the other side and wound up in a lot of pain and spent a week in Dover General Hospital. Just too high and too much surface tension. Oh well, could of been way worse and at 20 yo just another reckless decision. Dove from the other side many times and figured I could pull it off. At least 80 feet. Probably higher.
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