The Townsend Wye is a popular local swimming area in the national park
Townsend Wye in Summer
The Wye (or Y) is where the Little River and Middle Prong of the Little River converge, joining in a Y shape.
It's called the Townsend Wye, and you'll find it on Google Maps that way. But you'll hear locals refer to it as "The Y".
Whenever we post a picture of the area on our Facebook page, there'll often be a few comments about how it's "actually the Y, not the Wye"
But anyway, if you can't find it, just ask someone where the Y is.
Townsend Wye Rivers Joining
From Townsend, you'll head south just a couple miles, past the entrance sign (a great place to take a picture).
You'll find the Wye parking area on the left.
As you can see below there's not a whole lot of parking spots here.
Parking is difficult to find on a hot weekend day. Arriving early in the day or visiting on a weekday will help you find a spot.
A few other smaller areas back up the road toward the sign.
Remember that as of 2023, you'll need a parking tag if you park your car for more than 15 minutes inside the national park.
There are machines to purchase these at the end of the parking lot. You can buy one for $5 a day, but there's cheaper options for weekly and annual passes
Townsend Wye Parking Tag Machines
There are no facilities like bathrooms here, so you'd need to go back a couple of miles into Townsend for them.
There's a huge swimming area here. While there are many people in the summer, there's plenty of room to spread out.
Some of our pictures and videos were taken in the winter and spring, and the area looks much different in the summer. But there are also way more people in the summer, so getting good pictures is harder.
On this March day below, it was just us and a Goose enjoying the beach.
Townsend Wye Goose
The picture below is taken from the same area, looking south.
Townsend Wye River in Spring
The swimming area varies between shallow areas and parts deep enough that one cannot touch the bottom.
Use caution walking around in the water, the bottom is rocky and slippery.
Just past the area in the picture above is where the river splits into two.
This picture below is taken from the small bridge at the end of the parking lot, with a view of the rivers joining.
Townsend Wye in March
This is the view from the other side of the bridge.
Townsend Wye Bridge
Y or Wye
The Wye (or Y) is where the Little River and Middle Prong of the Little River converge, joining in a Y shape.
It's called the Townsend Wye, and you'll find it on Google Maps that way. But you'll hear locals refer to it as "The Y".
Whenever we post a picture of the area on our Facebook page, there'll often be a few comments about how it's "actually the Y, not the Wye"
But anyway, if you can't find it, just ask someone where the Y is.
Getting There
From Townsend, you'll head south just a couple miles, past the entrance sign (a great place to take a picture).
You'll find the Wye parking area on the left.
As you can see below there's not a whole lot of parking spots here.
Parking is difficult to find on a hot weekend day. Arriving early in the day or visiting on a weekday will help you find a spot.
A few other smaller areas back up the road toward the sign.
Remember that as of 2023, you'll need a parking tag if you park your car for more than 15 minutes inside the national park.
There are machines to purchase these at the end of the parking lot. You can buy one for $5 a day, but there's cheaper options for weekly and annual passes
There are no facilities like bathrooms here, so you'd need to go back a couple of miles into Townsend for them.
Swimming Area
There's a huge swimming area here. While there are many people in the summer, there's plenty of room to spread out.
Some of our pictures and videos were taken in the winter and spring, and the area looks much different in the summer. But there are also way more people in the summer, so getting good pictures is harder.
On this March day below, it was just us and a Goose enjoying the beach.
The picture below is taken from the same area, looking south.
The swimming area varies between shallow areas and parts deep enough that one cannot touch the bottom.
Use caution walking around in the water, the bottom is rocky and slippery.
Just past the area in the picture above is where the river splits into two.
This picture below is taken from the small bridge at the end of the parking lot, with a view of the rivers joining.
This is the view from the other side of the bridge.