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Explore our latest coverage of environmental issues, climate change and more.

Despite The Dorset Quarry's Over-Popularity, Owners Want To Keep It Open

Nina Keck
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VPR
More than 150 people gathered at the Dorset Quarry this past Tuesday when temperatures hit 80 degrees. Owner Dick McDonough says the crowds have "exploded" in recent years, and he and his wife Kirsten want to determine the best way to manage the site.

The Dorset Quarry has been touted as one of the top swimming holes in the country. But the uptick in traffic, trash and noise has turned off many locals. The quarry’s owners understand that, but they want to keep the swimming hole open and safe for future generations.

Credit Nina Keck / VPR
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VPR
Will Schiefer, 11, of Marble Head, Mass., jumps into the water as his 9-year old brother John Schiefer climbs up the ladder. Conor Murnane, 12, watches from the water.

On a recent Tuesday morning, about two dozen people were swimming, jumping off or sunning themselves on the gray rock ledges of the Dorset Quarry.

Lisa Housel and her husband Chris live in Essex Fells, New Jersey. They’ve been coming to Vermont and the quarry for years. “It is a huge draw because our children love it and it’s the first place they want to go every time we come up,” said Lisa.

Chris Housel graduated from Green Mountain College in the late 1980s, and says he used to swim at the quarry when he was at school.

But both admit the crowds have grown exponentially, especially in the last year or two.

Dick McDonough stands nearby and nods. He and his wife bought the quarry and the house next door in 1997. “The number of visitors just exploded,” he said.

Articles in the New York Times and other national news outlets are partly to blame. But he says YouTube videos and photos on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram have pushed visits through the roof.  “We went from maybe 100 to 200 to sometimes 500 to 600 people on a hot summer day,” said McDonough, shaking his head.

That’s created problems with noise, traffic and trash, which is why many locals say they don’t swim at the quarry anymore. 

Credit Nina Keck / VPR
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VPR
Owners of the Dorset Quarry recently started charging $10 per car to park near the swimming hole. On hot sunny days, it's not unusual for all 110 spaces to be filled, often with out-of-state plates.

Down the street at Rumney’s Deli, inside H.N. Williams General Store, head chef Paul Brinker says he’d never swim at the quarry. “I personally get a lot of business from the quarry, so I appreciate that they’re there. But I won’t swim in it myself.”

Neither will Sarah Rawson, who also works at the deli and lives across the street from the quarry.

“I go down there hiking sometimes and it’s dirty," she says. "A lot of people leave trash everywhere, and I think it’s a little dangerous personally.”

In response to local concerns like that, the Dorset Select Board recently began funding weekend police coverage of the quarry.

According to the Bennington County Sheriff’s Department, which has contracted for the job, they’ve issued: six no trespass orders, one ticket for underage drinking, one ticket for marijuana and one arrest for drugs.

Credit Nina Keck / VPR
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VPR
Dick McDonough bought the Dorset Quarry and the house next door with his wife Kirsten in 1997. He says they want to ensure the swimming hole stays open for future generations, but adds that visitors need to understand it's a gift they need to help steward.

Dick McDonough says it’s helped. “I mean, last weekend when we had hundreds of people here, there were only a handful of cases of people who had alcohol. So it’s made a big difference, a huge difference.”

He says he’s also grateful to local volunteers and school groups that help pick up trash and clean up graffiti.

McDonough says he’s contacted the Vermont Department of Forest Parks and Recreation about turning the swimming hole into a state park, but was told he would have to put in costly infrastructure upgrades first.

When he added that to the $50,000 he estimates he and his wife have already spent on landscaping, grading, fencing, a parking lot and new port-a-potties, he says it was too much.

Just closing the quarry and fencing it off isn’t a good option either, he says, because it would likely not keep out determined swimmers. And he says draining the quarry, which he says is 40 feet deep, would be a constant battle because springs and a stream would continue to feed it.

Credit Nina Keck / VPR
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VPR
A sign touts the historic nature of the Dorset Quarry. Other signs clearly mark that alcohol, fires, loud music and glass are prohibited - rules the owners say are too often ignored.

He points out that if he and his wife charge admission for swimming, they’d become liable if sued. 

This month they did start charging $10 for parking, which may offset some costs. But Dick McDonough thinks a better solution would be to create some sort of local park. “It’s pretty clear that the revenue from the parking, if it would be done all summer, would be sufficient to be able to pay people to have two attendants here ... I think the financial wherewithal is there, so hopefully that will work out.”

McDonnough says he’s been asked by the Dorset Select Board to lead a working group that will consider options for the quarry. He says they hope to come up with a proposal for the town by next summer.

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