Barton Springs is on most peoples must see list when visiting Austin.
1) Sun screen there is not a lot of shade
2) Bug spray
3) Water shoes the bottom is quite slippery and the cement
surrounding the pool gets very hot
4) Goggles
5) Floats / like jackets for small kids
6) A waterproof iPhone case (good for keeping cash dry and
photos near the pool as well as let your leave no valuables unattended) I have this one I should have brought.
I found out after we went that topless sunbathing
is permitted at Barton Springs and in the rest of Austin. But I did not seen
any loose tatas when we were there, not that there is anything wrong with that. Next time I'll be on the lookout.
It's open every day except Thursdays when it is closed for cleaning. The hours are 5:00am to 10:00pm. Admission to the pool is free from November through mid-March, from mid-March to October a small fee ($1 to $3) depending on if you are an Austin Resident. There are lifeguards and there is 1 diving board which had a bit of a wait. The water depth is 0 -18 feet. At the far end there is a beach entry and shallow section for little ones and non-swimmers.
NOT ALLOWED: Food, coolers, glass containers, alcohol, loud speakers, pets other than service animals, bicycles. Flotation devices in the middle of the pool.
Fun Fact: in the 1970s. Robert Redford learned to swim at the
pool when he was five years old while visiting family in Austin.
Since no food is allowed I recommend eating before you go or
bringing a picnic to have elsewhere in Zilker Park before or after you leave in your car. Right outside the entrance is a Goodpops popsicle
stand that only takes credit card. It
is in front out the now closed food stand that once serviced Barton
Springs. They were very refreshing. I enjoyed the watermelon agave while my kids made a mess of the chocolate ones.
Once out of the pool and ready to head home a must see stop is
the Zilker Zephyr. You can see the train station from the entrance of Barton Springs. The Zephyr is a mini train that goes on a 20-25 minute train ride
around the park. It is CASH ONLY. Also there is no shade on the train so sun
glasses and a hat are a must. This train was fun and very reasonable. My
other kid train experiences are usually at a mall like Tyson's Corner in VA
where the mini mall train is $5 per person and they charge for accompanying
adults. These types of train rides make 2 laps around the food court maybe a five minute ride definitely not worth it but with kids we did it. This one is legit and I would do it again. The only thing wrong with the train is that
it literally goes through a playground at Zilker so make time to stop there
after or set expectations up front. We
were hot and ready to go eat so no time for the playground today but next time
in ZIlker we will have to check it out. The train is $2.00 for kids and $3.00
for adults. Children under one years old
are free. The train leaves every hour on the hour through the week and departs every 30-40 minutes on the weekends.
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