Photo from June 20 of the “closed” Crystal Lake beach.
What do you think about this letter to the editor in the TAB?
Free swim
There has been a festive feeling at Crystal Lake this summer. In an ironic twist, COVID-19 brought a complete lapse of rules and regulations regarding who came to swim in the lake.
The absence of an admission fee and no set hours of operation opened our lovely neighborhood lake and coves to a sea of colors, aromas and sports. No docks or ropes left the water open for all types of human propelled boats and floats. With a spontaneous community of watchers, there were no accidents.
Most joyful of all, were all the languages. A garden of sounds and laughter carried out onto the streets.
If this plague ever leaves, I urge us to reflect upon what we have gained as a city. Hopefully, we can incorporate this openness into the way we regulate and fund this resource, so as to keep the door ajar. Our community is better for it.
Judith Meirowitz Tischler
Lakewood Road, Newton Highlands
Should Crystal Lake be deregulated and open to all all the time?
Yes! I haven’t been going to swim at Crystal Lake for a number of years now because the experience was so unpleasant. Too many regulations killed all the fun. At the time I had a toddler and an older child with me, and they wouldn’t let me take my toddler to the “deeper” side, and my older child didn’t like the super shallow toddler part. The older kid was also learning to swim and enjoyed being where it was deep, but the lifeguards wouldn’t let him go there. At some point he simply refused to go into the water. We definitely need fewer regulations there to make sure it works for all families.
They should at least loosen up the rules. I haven’t been there in years, opting instead to get a DCR pass and go to Cochituate or Walden because for a fraction of the cost we can actually eat a picnic on the beach and the hours aren’t totally limited!
No pre-season set up, no bringing in sand at the start of the season, no daily cleaning and raking the sand to eliminate the holes kids dig, no one to clean up the trash folks leave and no swimming lessons. Those are just a few things that also need to go to the wayside because with no staff (and keep the bath house closed too) there will be no services.
Give the people what they want. If residents want the same experience next year I say fine. But there are trade offs.
Call me old fashioned but I didn’t swim in Crystal Lake this year (for the first time in decades) because I thought it wasn’t allowed.
Like Lisap, I worry about the safety and sanitary issues (all those kiddies and no bathrooms!). But really, on those super hot days this summer, I would have risked that (I’m a good swimmer with a healthy disposition) and gone anyway, except I believe its appropriate for citizens to abide by the rules.
I know, kind of quaint eh?
I’m concerned about not having lifeguards. If people want the rules loosened, that’s worth discussing. But having trained lifeguards is important for everyone’s safety.
@Irene,
Sounds like your older child had not yet passed the swimming test – a basic requirement to swim in the deeper water and basic water safety. It’s not an onerous test, but does require competence and the ability to actually swim. I personally think it’s a very reasonable requirement – but I grew up around boats. First lesson I learned was the water doesn’t forgive mistakes.
In my 36 years living in Newton, two children have drowned in Crystal Lake and that’s with lifeguards on duty. I’d say we dodged a bullet this summer but as a rule, no rules about the use of bodies of water is a really bad idea.
@Greg,
I’m kind of quaint like that too.
@Jane-
Good memory you have there. I do remember a 17 year old drowning since I’ve lived here. It happened very fast, and as they teach in water safety classes, most drowning victims don’t waive their arms and shout for help. Terrible tragedies.
@Lisap – yes, he hasn’t. He has a disability and will never be able to pass a traditional swim test even though he’s very comfortable in deep water. I feel like the rules need to be loosened and they can be more accommodating to families. With super strict rules, we didn’t even want to bother – it was such an unpleasant experience for us.
I understand why lifeguards are necessary for a large part of the population, but as far as I’m concerned, this has been the best summer ever at Crystal Lake.
Assuming regulated swimming returns next summer, do we really need to keep this setup with the H-dock? Why not have a single designated area fenced by buoys, just like neighboring swimming holes (Houghton Pone, Morse’s Pond, Lake Cochituate, Walden Pond)? The way Crystal Lake is set up is confusing, restrictive and unpleasant.
Also, this pump they have at the corner during “normal” years creates a strong current, whose absence I thoroughly enjoyed this summer. Do we really need it? The lake was as busy as ever this season and I haven’t noticed any ill effects.
We were truly lucky that no one drowned. Considering yesterday in Wellesley, an adult male drowned in a lake. We were very lucky in Newton. I missed the pool!
@Irene,
Sorry to hear the experience was bad. But great to hear your son is comfortable in the water!
NewtonMom, the guy was in a canoe, not swimming. Apples and oranges
I’ve made it a point of keeping it relatively quiet, but now that summer is winding down I’ll let you in on my little secret.
I’ve swum nearly every day, all summer long, in my own private swimming hole one block away from my house.
Every day I hop in the Charles River in Hemlock Gorge by Echo Bridge and swim on my back up to the base of the falls and back. It has been truly delightful but definitely raises eyebrows of passersby on the bridge.
Most surprising, the depth of the river in the gorge is far less than I would have guessed. On my route up to the falls there are some spots that are over my head, much of it not, and a few spots where its only maybe a foot or two deep right in the middle of the river. While swimming on my back I never notice the very shallow spots
To those of you recoiling in horror at the thought of swimming in the Charles let me reassure you that I haven’t grown any extra appendages and haven’t suffered any ill effects of any kind. I believe all the radiation coming off all those Upper Falls radio towers probably kills anything in the water :-)
I did make a point of not swimming for at least 24 hours after any strong rainfall due to runoff concerns. I also stick to the main body of the river which is constantly flowing pretty well due to the constricted gorge. I also stay out of any of the more stagnant side channels.
@Jerry,
Visions of Bill Weld come to mind. The Charles River has come a long way … though I would be wary of places where I can’t get a full kick. Personally I’m a breast striker but to each his own.
But I know and appreciate the joy of not having artificial boundaries, and only a current as adversity.
I’m a rule follower so I prefer when the bathhouse is open. My kids have numerous memories of learning to swim, bonding with the lifeguards etc. It really was a community especially for those with young kids. I know people chafe against their rules but they are about keeping it safe in particular for the little kids. I am a bit surprised that the staff (&Carol) weren’t more accommodating for the child with special needs. The Lake regularly (at least weekly) hosted a group with special needs with the life guards helping out and there was also a blind patron who was also a regular swimmer. The staff would help him to and from his guide dog. That was always a smooth process to watch. He would signal from the water and they would be right there to assist him. As my kids got older it was a place they could go independently and meet their friends. As someone who grew up swimming you always respect the water so I would not have been comfortable letting them swim without the lifeguards. The visibility in some areas is not very good. For the person who commented on the filter it helps with water movement and you see less growth if algae etc in that area. This year there were many more times that the lake was closed due to poor water quality. I think in a normal year they only test in the public area.
On a side note does anyone know if they are still testing the water? There is a certain look to the water when the algae is particularly high and recently I saw that coloration of the water. In a normal year I think they only test during the season,
Why must the Lake scene be either/or? I loved the scene at the Lake this year. Open the bath house and staff it. Have an area for swim lessons. Continue to monitor water quality. Have an area with lifeguards. Need better trash pickup. Run the circulating pumps at night – timing systems work. Stand back and delight in the delight.
@NewtonHighlandsMom–I checked with city staff.
Testing for bacteria ended in mid-August.
Testing for nutrients continues as part of a different project to reduce the blue-green algae blooms that have closed the lake in previous years (aka cyanobacteria).