Are There Legal Ramifications For Swimming in the Hudson River?

Every summer seems hotter than the year before, so how do you beat the heat? Do you take to local pools? Do you have a place that only you know about a "secret swimming hole?" 

So, there is one really big place that you could go swimming if you wanted to, right? Listen, have you ever gone swimming in the Hudson River? Is it even legal to? Is it safe to swim in it? Maybe you have to watch out for the fish, the eels, and the weekend kayakers?

Is it safe for people to swim in the Hudson River?

That is probably a better question that "is it legal?" In the 1975, the organization now known as Riverkeeper, report that there were about 75 miles of the Hudson River that was deemed contaminated with PCB's and at that time all commercial and recreational fishing were banned.

What makes it tough to swim in the Hudson River?

The Hudson River is a tidal estuary. According to the DEC, the lower 153 miles of the Hudson which stretches from Troy to New York City, flows both ways, and has the pull of the ocean. This stops no one from kayaking, boating or fishing in it. Have you (should you) eaten fish from the Hudson?

Can you swim in the Hudson River? Is it legal?

Yes, you can swim in the Hudson River, but with the former pollution and the tough current, not to mention the 'whatever could be living in it' factor, do you want to? Have you ever gone swimming in the Hudson River? What part? Would you recommend it? Or suggest we stay away?