There’s nothing quite like it. Not the spa cold plunge. Not the chlorinated pool. Not even the ocean I lived beside for nearly a decade. I’m talking about a true alpine lake dunk—the kind that leaves your skin tingling, your breath caught in your chest, and your mind somehow quieter.
I got my coldwater start at Fern Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Since then, I’ve dipped into Trillium Lake near Mount Hood, launched into June Lake in the Eastern Sierra, and once hurled myself into the lake beneath the glacier on Mount Timpanogos, where I genuinely wondered if I might die of hypothermia. Worth it. Every time.
Now that I live in Salt Lake City, alpine lakes feel like a seasonal treasure I have to earn (though I did kick off 2025 with a frozen river dip in the Wasatch, ice chunks and all). As an unapologetic winter person, I actually think I might need them. Summer Sierra is sluggish, sweaty, and prone to dramatic sighs. It’s safe to say I’ve deserved to be told—at least once or twice—to go jump in a lake. Honestly? That’s great advice.
My best friend Jill and I call our ritual a “dope dip”—short for dopamine dip. We dunk three times, saying a gratitude with each submersion. Sometimes the only things I can think of are “this view,” “this person,” and “my still-attached toes.” At other times, I’m able to take it slow, to really observe my environment and my body within it. Those are the best plunges.
Afterward, I’m calmer. Clearer. Less of a grouch, more of a human. It’s no exaggeration: I am a better person after I’ve jumped in an alpine lake—if only because I’ve shocked the bad attitude right out of me.
Craving your own dope dip moment? Here are some of the best swimming holes in U.S. national parks to get you started. Want to know why cold water works such magic on your nervous system? This 30-day plunge challenge explains the science behind it.
