Lifeguards Disappearing from Several New York State Beaches

In the Hudson Valley, summer means hiking, camping, and swimming. Unfortunately, staffing shortages in New York seem to have led to several state beaches losing their lifeguards for the 2023 season.

This wouldn't be the first time our area has experienced a this type of shortage. Last year, the city of Poughkeepsie offered higher salaries and bonus opportunities to try and entice more potential applicants to work at their local pools. Luckily for New York State campground beaches, swimming can continue in spite of the lack of lifeguards. Here's how.

Upsupervised Swimming at NY DEC Campground Beaches

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) recently shared that several campground beaches in the state would be transitioning to "unsupervised swimming" for the summer season. From DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos:

To continue to offer a quality recreational experience, DEC is transitioning our campground beaches in the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserve to unsupervised swimming areas to allow the public to continue enjoying this part of the camping experience

Lifeguards Still at NY DEC Day-Use Beaches

While Lake George Beach (also know and Million Dollar Beach) and Hinckley Reservoir, which are day-use beaches, will retain their lifeguards, the NYS DEC's press release notes that "all DEC campgrounds will transition to unsupervised swimming at their beaches".

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To be clear, the changes to unsupervised swimming is specifically affecting campgrounds run by the NYS DEC, not beaches operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. New Yorkers (and tourists) looking to camp and swim can find their closest beach here, or keep scrolling to check out more below.