Chaudière Pool

It's a great Hike. It starts in the little city you drive thru where the locals stop you and sorta "ask" you to make "voluntary" donation to the Chaudiere Pool Society... I'm not sure what would have happened, so I gave them $20 just to get them to not surround my car... Anyway, it is about a 15 minute walk DOWNHILL to the pool - I'd guess you drop about 1000 ft in altitude on the walk. It's not hard, but it is a bit rough, if you not used to walking DOWNHILL for 15 minutes. The Pool is pretty great. The water is kinda cold, so you are not gonna hang out in the water too long. After you spend all you energy, you will have to walk back UP that trail. It starts with the stairway to Hell.. its about 300- to 400-foot climb at about a 45 degree angle. There are "stairs" made of old wood and tree roots, but when you get to the top, just take a break and enjoy the scenery for 3-4 minutes... The rest of the ascent is about a 30-degree incline. I'd definitely recommend doing a stair-master or an incline treadmill (at max incline) for 30 minutes 2-3 times a week before you go. Enjoy!

An easy little hike - we didn’t run into a single person and had the pool all to ourselves which was a real treat!

Amazing little swimming hole and beautiful hike in. The drive can be tricky once it turns to dirt, I would recommend parking a little before the trail head (there is a sign that says it's a 15 minute walk from there to the trail). The trail down can get a little muddy so flip flops are not recommended. The pool itself is wonderful, spent about an hour there. Careful on the rocks they can get slick.

Bumpy road to a bumpy road to a steep bumpy road to a hike down to a river crossing to a deeeep pool….worth it. 4x4 definitely recommended. We parked at the final sign and hiked the last steep bit, although in hindsight it would’ve been fine to drive down. We had the pool all to ourselves (other than the cyrique crabs, fish, and snails). Look and listen for parrots on the way down, too.

This was such a nice surprise, we were a bit bummed out bc it ended up being too cloudy to make the Boiling Lake hike worth it so we headed back north. You need to have a high clearance vehicle to access the road, once you get a ways up you should see a red sign saying 15m walk, 7 min drive, unless you have a 4x4 and are comfortable driving on a pretty rustic road, I recommend parking and walking it. Its more like 20-25min hike up and down hill but its nice as you walk through pineapple fields, mango trees tower above you and you may even see a few pairs of Imperial Amazon parrots which are extremely endangered but we were lucky enough to see 4. The trail is well marked, and once you get down to the river you take a right to head to the pool which is deep, crystal clear and so refreshing. There's even a ledge you can jump off if you are brave enough. You could stay all day but we spent 2 hours there. Remember you will need your site pass for this place, so you can get the 7 day for $12 bucks US or the 1 day for $5 US bucks, otherwise you'll have to pay when you arrive.

Accessible with 4x4 and 15 minute hike, no guide needed. A previous review said that the bridge was out however you can still access the pool, you just have to hike down rather than drive up close to it. There are signs along the path indicating where to go. We were the only ones there. The water is clear and there are different areas to enjoy the river for both confident swimmers who want to jump into the deep water and shallow pools for those who want to just sit on a rock and put their feet in the water. The water wasn’t as cold as the water at titou gorge or middleham falls, it was beautiful! Batibou bay beach was just a few minutes away and the most beautiful beach we saw in Dominica. You can easily do both in one day.

Very much worth the hike - one of the most beautiful sites we visited while touring the whole island over a two week period. Water is perfect for swimming and crystal blue - you can see down to the bottom of the 30 foot deep pool at the foot of the small fall. Strongly suggest that you park your car when you see the FIRST “7 minute drive, 15 minute walk” sign. Walking along the road to the next 15 minute walk, 7 seven minute drive sign, you take a rough path/road on the left heading down to the river.

Spot to jump from the rocks into a refreshing pool. A little rock hopping needed to get to the pool. Hike was fun through the forest with hills down, then hike back up to the parking. We drove here our 1st day on island, so the road seemed intimidating, but if you take it slow with 4x4 youll be fine.