Since May 2017, people have still been allowed to swim at an official bathing spot in Lake Baldeney. This is made possible by an early warning system developed specifically for this purpose, which ensures that a precautionary swimming ban comes into force at selected measuring points if a certain amount of precipitation is exceeded. You can find out more about swimming in Lake Baldeney and whether the bathing area is currently open or closed on the Seaside Beach Baldeney website and on the official website of the city of Essen.

Since summer 2022, there has also been a bathing area in Bochum-Dahlhausen. Whether the bathing area is open or closed and further information can be found on the website of the city of Bochum.

The city of Mülheim an der Ruhr has also opened a bathing area on the Ruhr since summer 2023. Further information about the bathing area can be found on the Mülheim an der Ruhr website.

Recreation-seekers can also swim and splash around to their heart's content at the designated bathing areas that the Ruhrverband has set up at the Bigge, Henne, Lister, Möhne and Sorpe dams. The North Rhine-Westphalia State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection (LANUV) provides an overview of the designated bathing areas in NRW in accordance with the EC Bathing Water Directive in an interactive map.

Outside of the designated bathing areas, bathing is prohibited in the Ruhrverband reservoirs. Due to the high risk of forest fires, especially in summer, barbecues and campfires are not permitted in the forests around the reservoirs (see information sheet "Barbecues and making fires").