Dive into Austin’s public pools, swimming holes with this quick summer guide
Summer has arrived early in Austin — and with it: summer heat. Though residents may be sweating bullets on the city’s streets, Austinites are never far from a place to cool off.
The city’s Aquatic Division runs 34 pools and 10 splash pads — the vast majority of which are free and open only during summer.
Austin’s most popular pools
Two of the city’s most iconic swimming holes — the Barton Springs and Deep Eddy pools — have a small admissions fee: $5 and under for Austin residents, depending on age, and $9 and under for visitors.
Barton Springs Pool
Barton Springs can be busy, but the pool’s capacious. At peak hours, a constant stream of springboard divers elicits applause from the crowd.
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Finding a place to leave the car will be more difficult this summer because of construction that closed the pool’s north parking lot in February.
A number of pay lots surround the park, but a large, unpaved area beneath the MoPac Expressway is free to park. To find it, head west on Barton Springs Road. Pass the sign for the pool. On the left, beneath the overpass, the dirt lot is hard to miss. From that spot, Barton Springs is a 10-minute walk, mostly shaded, through the disc golf course. Duck!
Deep Eddy Pool
Deep Eddy is Texas’s oldest pool. Like Barton Springs, the swimming hole’s attraction is its historic charm. Also, the zero-depth entry on the shallow end is great for kids.
Admissions are most conveniently paid in cash here since a line sometimes forms behind the two slow kiosks that accept cards. There is no shade where the line forms, but the desk where customers can pay in cash is wide open.
Deep Eddy’s single parking lot is free but embattled. Motorists block traffic when they follow exiting pool-goers back to their parked cars and wait for them to leave to snag their spots. Nearby Veterans Drive is lined with fee parking, but free spots await in an unpaved lot just off that street, west of the pool and beneath the MoPac Expressway. It’s just a five-minute walk to the pool.
More:22 Austin pools and Central Texas swimming holes to visit
Austin’s free public pools:
Out of the city’s 28 free pools, 19 are already open this season. They include:
- Balcones: 12017 Amherst Dr.
- Big Stacy (open year-round): 700 East Live Oak St.
- Brentwood: 6710 Arroyo Seco St.
- Canyon Vista: 8455 Spicewood Springs Rd.
- Dick Nichols: 8011 Beckett Rd.
- Dittmar: 1009 West Dittmar Rd.
- Dottie Jordan: 2803 Loyola Ln.
- Dove Springs: 5801 Ainez Dr.
- Govalle: 5200 Bolm Rd.
- Mabel Davis: 3427 Parker Ln.
- Martin: 1626 Nash Hernandez Sr. Rd.
- Montopolis: 1200 Montopolis Rd.
- Murchinson: 7022 Hart Ln.
- Patterson: 4200 Brookview Rd.
- Ramsey: 4201 Burnet Rd.
- Reed: 2614 Pecos St.
- Rosewood: 2300 Rosewood Ave.
- Shipe: 4400 Avenue G
- Walnut Creek: 12138 North Lamar Blvd.
- Westenfield: 2800 Enfield Rd.
Six more will welcome the public on Monday, June 10, including:
- Citivan: 513 Vargas Rd.
- Kennemer: 1031 Payton Gin Rd.
- Metz: 2309 Canterbury St.
- Parque Zaragoza: 2611 Webberville Rd.
- Stacy Wading Pool: 1401 Sunset Ln.
- West Austin: 1317 W 10th St.
The last two are:
- Gillis
- Givens
Gillis Pool was delayed from opening due to maintenance, according to a Friday release from the Aquatic Division. Givens Pool was closed for renovation in 2019 and will open in spring 2025, according to a recent update from Austin Parks and Recreation.
Austin’s public pools that charge:
- Barton Springs: 2131 William Barton Dr.
- Deep Eddy: 401 Deep Eddy Ave.
- Bartholomew: 1800 E 51st St.
- Garrison: 6001 Menchaca Rd.
- Northwest: 7000 Ardath St.
- Springwoods: 13320 Lyndhurst St.
Austin’s free splash pads:
Found at 11 parks throughout the city, Austin’s splash pads provide a fun respite from the heat. One is run by the Pease Park Conservancy instead of the Aquatic Division. All 11 will be open for the summer, every day from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.:
- Bailey: 1201 W 33rd St.
- Bartholomew: 5201 Berkman Dr.
- Chestnut: 2205 E 16th St.
- Clarksville: 1811 W 11th St.
- Eastwoods: 3001 Harris Park Blvd.
- Liz Carpenter (open until 10 p.m.): 200 Dawson Rd.
- Lott: 1180 Curve St.
- Metz: 2407 Canterbury St.
- Ricky Guerrero: 1100 Brodie St.
- Rosewood: 2300 Rosewood Ave.
- Pease: 1100 Kingsbury St.