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Barton Springs is another one of the Austin's treasures. The water stays a brisk 70°F year round and is frequented by both visitors and residents. There are two sections, a private section with a diving board and what has got to be 3 football fields in length for those who don't mind paying a small entrance fee (free after 9pm), and another area just down stream available to the public. Dogs are permitted here and can almost always be found running around off the leash. The Springs feed into to Town Lake where hundreds can be seen Kayak/Canoeing, fishing, or just enjoying the water.
7/14/2015
So I visited the spring's private swim area for the first time since the summer has been giving us a little more day light and heating up the water for evening swimmers after the complimentary 9pm community entry. It was amazing! Once you jump into the cool water, your body adjusts and you can experience what many Austin locals have known about for years (apparently acting legend, Robert Redford learned to swim here when he was a boy). The water is fairly clean as it comes from a natural spring; however, there are enough tiny satellites of algae floating around to dispel notions of drinking the water. My favorite part about the pool is it's "old school" diving board. The water is 18 feet deep in the diving area which allows people to try out their acrobatic skills as they catapult off the very elastic board. I felt like a kid again stuck in a series of jumps, dives, and repeats.
When you emerge from the pool to take a break or just walk around people watching, the concrete is still warm from the heat of the day which makes a nice contrast from the cool water. The water is well illuminated with powerful halogen lights hanging from above. It's obvious that there were efforts made to preserve the natural environment such as steel buttresses installed to support an ancient tree growing branches over the water providing a canopy of shade for swimmers during the day. Even the grass around the pool is pillowy soft and green without a hint of biting insects.
It's pretty awesome to have access to such a well preserved natural eddy to swim in with everyone from the community who wants to enjoy (like a public library).
So I visited the spring's private swim area for the first time since the summer has been giving us a little more day light and heating up the water for evening swimmers after the complimentary 9pm community entry. It was amazing! Once you jump into the cool water, your body adjusts and you can experience what many Austin locals have known about for years (apparently acting legend, Robert Redford learned to swim here when he was a boy). The water is fairly clean as it comes from a natural spring; however, there are enough tiny satellites of algae floating around to dispel notions of drinking the water. My favorite part about the pool is it's "old school" diving board. The water is 18 feet deep in the diving area which allows people to try out their acrobatic skills as they catapult off the very elastic board. I felt like a kid again stuck in a series of jumps, dives, and repeats.
When you emerge from the pool to take a break or just walk around people watching, the concrete is still warm from the heat of the day which makes a nice contrast from the cool water. The water is well illuminated with powerful halogen lights hanging from above. It's obvious that there were efforts made to preserve the natural environment such as steel buttresses installed to support an ancient tree growing branches over the water providing a canopy of shade for swimmers during the day. Even the grass around the pool is pillowy soft and green without a hint of biting insects.
It's pretty awesome to have access to such a well preserved natural eddy to swim in with everyone from the community who wants to enjoy (like a public library).
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