Find a safe outdoor swimming hole, then practice a few commonsense swimming tips.

Don't go jump in a lake...unless you really know the terrain.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—With Hurricane Earl bearing down on the East Coast this holiday weekend, some of us may have had to scratch our Labor Day beach vacation plans. But if skies stay clear where you are, that doesn't mean you have to spend summer's last hurrah poolside, inhaling chlorine and tripping over pool noodles. Unless you live in the desert, chances are there's a lake or a lazy river within an hour or two drive from your home, just waiting for you to jump in.

And although this year's intense summer heat seems to finally be subsiding, now is actually a pretty good time to hit open waters. "In the East and along the California coast, the water is generally warmer in the fall," says Alice Burron, a personal trainer and spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise. After all, an entire summer of heat waves and warm nights is bound to make the water temperature a little more bearable.

The idea of swimming in the wild is nothing new, but it's popular enough these days that a few websites have cropped up that link wild swimmers with even wilder swimming holes. Check out SwimmingHoles.org or USOpenWaterSwimming.org to find a swimming hole near you.

Then, follow these outdoor swimming tips to staying safe at your swim spot:

• Consult the locals. Should the two websites we mention turn up nothing, Burron suggests contacting a local state park to see if they have any open water spots where people can swim. If you still can't find a spot, says Burron, "I usually go to a local fly-fishing store and ask them." Or, she adds, she'll call up a local rafting company. "They're reading the water all the time and know what's safe, and they're usually more than happy to share some spots with you." It's never a good idea to just jump into the first place you see water, she adds, since you don't know how deep it is, what kind of current you'll deal with, or even what the water temperature is.

• Pick a good, healthy spot. Lakes are always good for beginners, since they're relatively calm, and many even have lifeguards nearby and areas roped off for swimmers to protect them from boats. But rivers can be refreshing and fun in their own way. "It's really fun to get your feet wet in a river," says Burron, "but you've just got to use your head." Always make sure you can see the shore, and don't assume a still pool of water is free of undercurrents. "You really just need to take the time to read the water," she says. If you do prefer calmer lakes, she suggests finding one with at least some water moving through it. Stagnant water can lead to unhealthy bacterial growths.

• When in Rome, do what the Roman kids do. Even fit adults who consider themselves good swimmers can get caught off guard by strong currents in unfamiliar waters, as Burron herself found out on a recent river-swimming excursion. "I decided to swim into a local swimming hole, and a strong current swept me upstream," she says. "The locals knew what to do—float on their backs and let the water carry them back—but I fought the current and was scared to death," she says. Just because locals can navigate open water, she adds, doesn't mean you should try. Better advice, she says, is to watch where they let their kids play. "Where the little kids are is usually a great place to start," she says. Then, once you feel comfortable in that area, graduate to where the older kids are, and so forth. Although, you might want to skip the spots favored by teenagers. "They're always doing crazy stuff," says Burron.