Lakeside Quarry, Texas, USA

An old limestone quarry in landlocked Kentucky has produced plenty of summer fun and more than a few Olympic medallists. Nearly three acres of fertile frolicking territory await in an old limestone quarry that’s nestled among an eclectic collection of houses, ivy-covered 40-foot cliff walls and towering redbud and sugar maple trees. Lakeside is a pool for purists, with no golf or tennis attached. The concession stand serves burgers and dogs, the locker rooms are modest and, if you arrive wearing anything fancier than a T-shirt and flip-flops, you’re overdressed. In a world where pools tend to come in standard sizes and locations, Lakeside’s converted quarry stands out. When it was incorporated as a private club in the 1920s, the quarry lake—now 13 feet deep at its greatest depth—was home to black bass and other aquatic life. The water was dark and the bottom sandy. Over time, it became domesticated. A filtration system now circulates 3.5 million gallons of clear, chlorinated water every four to six hours. The bottom was finished in concrete (although still rough-hewn in many areas). A conventional eight-lane pool, bubbled during the winter for lap swimming, was built at one end.