A Great Alternative to Barton Springs

Activity: Deep Eddy Pool
In 10 Words or Less: Take a dip in this cold, spring-fed pool.
Where: 401 Deep Eddy Ave
Cost: $3 per adult, $1 per child
Rating:

As someone who’s engaged to a British guy, I’ve learned that everything we think is old in Texas is, in fact, not old whatsoever. There’s a bar in my fiancee’s hometown that was built in the 1500s. His former high school is over 320 years old. There’s still a building in the church yard where they quarantined people who had the plague. THE PLAGUE.

But whatever, I’m still proud of Austin’s “old” stuff. Did you know we have the oldest swimming pool in Texas? Deep Eddy pool was built in 1916.

Back in the day, Deep Eddy pool used to be pretty outrageous. There was a zip line across the pool, a 70-foot water slide, a carousel, a movie screen, and a Ferris wheel. They also had shows: “Great Lorena and her Diving Horse” performed regularly to adoring crowds. There was also a guy who would eat a banana underwater. It was basically a carnival.

Now, Deep Eddy pool is less over the top– but still lots of fun!

Deep Eddy pool is spring-fed, so the water is chlorine-free and between 65 and 75 degrees year-round.  My favorite thing about Deep Eddy: it’s manmade, meaning the ground is even and there are no plants or critters in the water. The worst part of Barton Springs is when a plant wraps around your ankle. I’ve seen Jaws too many times to be comfortable with anything touching me underwater.

If you work up an appetite while swimming at Deep Eddy pool, there’s a food stand selling snow cones, hot dogs, candy, soda, and chips. (Including Funyuns, which I haven’t seen in years. I thought the FDA had banned them.) You can eat at the picnic tables or on the concrete steps on the side of the pool, but you can’t take food/drinks down to the pool itself.

Even though there’s no diving horse anymore, Deep Eddy pool is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. The water is always nice and cold, plus there’s lots of shaded areas around the pool. (As a pale person, shade is very important to me.) Bring a book, a towel, and something to throw around. Enjoy!

Helpful Tips:

• Make sure to bring cash, as they don’t accept any other form of payment.
• The parking lot is pretty small. If you’re planning on visiting Deep Eddy pool on a weekend in the summer, I’d park in one of the nearby neighborhoods and walk over.
• Once an hour, everyone but the lap swimmers has to get out of the pool for five minutes. For… safety, I guess? No one gave me a straight answer on that.

Deep Eddy Pool Website

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