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Deep Eddy Pool
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
17 reviews for Deep Eddy Pool
Top 2 reasons to love Austin, Texas: the water and the people.
Yesterday, Beverly - age 71 -- blew my GD mind while blowing the mile record for her age group out of the water, literally. Smiling and glowing while rubbing lotion onto her beautiful skin, her stomach, her legs, her breasts... she looked over at Michelle and me in the locker room and, with beautiful big blue eyes and stunning white hair, she *smiled*.
A woman completely comfortable in her own skin is a beautifully delicious and regrettably rare find.
"Beverly?"
"Yes?"
"Congratulations!"
"Oh, thanks!"
We talked with her about her transcendent experience of beating the previously held Deep Eddy Mile record by SEVEN minutes.
This morning I sang, "it's a small world" as I ran into her on the Lady Bird Johnson Hike and Bike trail and she said her mile time of 34:20 was better than all of the 60 year olds and most of the 50 year olds.
I looked at her in the eyes and told her she has inspired me and I said, "Next year, I am going to swim the Deep Eddy Mile and my goal is to beat your time."
She said, "Well, next year I am shooting for 33 minutes... how fast do you swim now?"
"Well, Probably more like 50 minutes."
"GIRL! You better speed up if you want to beat me. You're going to have to get with the program, you know, SWIM!"
"Yeah, well, I have a year, Beverly, so you had better watch it."
"How old are you?"
OK, Beverly... you win. But I'm still inspired by you, your rippled stomach, your sassy ways, your cut legs, and your ear-to-ear smile ...
W00t to a woman as old as my mom kicking my lazy ass.
W00t to swimming laps in the cool and clean Deep Eddy pool, open to the sky, next to the Colorado River, surrounded by towering Live Oaks.
W00t to the notion of all women being comfortable in their own skin, no matter their size.
Love this place! Newly renovated changing rooms and bathrooms! It's cheap to get in $3 for adults. The pool is beautiful and clean. I highly recommend this pool for anyone (adults, kids, families).
There are quite a few steps from the parking down to the pool, so make sure you dont have to carry a bunch of stuff and a tired child...
They also have movies on the grass after sunset. What a great place!
I used to go with my mom and sisters all summer long when I was growing up...had not been there for over 15 years until today. Great pool! Places like Deep Eddy are part of what makes Austin the wonderful place it has always been.
Families, couples, sun bathers, whatever you want to do here, come on and do it. There is plenty of grassy areas to laze around on and heat up. Then go jump in the icey 72 degree water and get a super quick cool down.
Cheap to get in, $3 for adults and $1 for kiddos...I believe. Either way, for the price can't beat it.
They also show movies on the grounds in summer, might be going to check that out in late july.
People talk about Barton Springs and, yeah, I get it. But if you have kids, you know that the Springs is not always ideal. Check out Deep Eddy. Beautiful, park-setting-- water is fresh and not too chlorinated (but still not scummy!) and a generous, expansive shallow end for the little ones to frolic.
I don't get to go to Barton Springs much anymore. My children have an unnatural fear of the aquatic plants that grow there. So Deep Eddy has become my cold comfort -- and I mean that in the best of ways!!
There's nothing more refreshing than a dip in Deep Eddy (except, of course, a dip in Barton Springs.) And it's a great place to go if you like people-watching. I have seen behaviors on both ends of the spectrum there -- from people fighting to a couple polishing each other's tonsils and dry-humping in the grass. (I saw the latter before I had my kids, thank goodness, because I wouldn't have wanted to explain THAT to them.)
Speaking of kids, they only pay $1 to get in and adults pay just $2. They also have a very nice family dressing room, which is nice for me considering that I have a girl and a boy.
A word of warning: if you have a skinny child, make sure he or she doesn't get too cold. The water temperature hovers around 72 degrees. Last time we went to Deep Eddy, my son got blue lips after playing in the water for about 45 minutes and had to get out to heat back up!!
There are few things in the world that make me feel as deeply peaceful as a summer evening swim at Deep Eddy. The families have migrated their bustle and laughter to the shelter of their homes, leaving a giant expanse of nearly-deserted pool for us adult water worshippers. The sinking sun casts a gentle orangey-pink glow over the glassine surface and the lap swimmers take to their lanes, gliding silently through the water at their own paces. I love the way the coolness feels on my scalp, the way my limbs feel as they pull me along for the ride - all tension leaving my muscles as they work, silently expressing their surprise at how easy it is to pull my weightless body through the water. The spring-fed pool stays very cool, even in the blazing Texas heat (between 72-75 degrees), and the City has opted to leave it chlorine-free, so you emerge refreshed and without the strong chemically smell that often accompanies a dip in the pool.
Deep Eddy is one of the many jewels of our fair city, and one of the things I would miss most if I were ever to move away.
I used to think I couldn't live in Austin with out Barton Springs, and then I discovered Deep Eddy. It's not necessarily prettier than Barton Springs, but the vibe is simply happier. Deep Eddy lacks "the Scene" that plays out at the Springs, which is how I ended up preferring it. Deep Eddy is also much more chilled out. The final kicker which won me over is the new bath house. Kudos to the Friends of Deep Eddy. Taking an outdoor shower under the fading blue skies at the end of a 98 degree day could not be more peaceful. August sunsets at Deep Eddy while immersed in 70 degree water to escape the 100 degree heat, watching the slight sway of huge old trees in front of watercolor splashed sunset yellow, pink, orange, and purple sky, as you finish your mile lap swim with a slow paced backstroke... Aaaah, summertime in A-town is perfected by this jewel of a pool.
Deep Eddy is a great city pool. It is huge, with three sections - one deep area for lap swimmers, a middle section about 3-1/2 feet deep for tweens and teens, and a very shallow area for little kids.
As I have two kids 5 and under, I'm particularly excited by the shallow area. They get a really big place to splash around and get used to the feel of the water without being afraid. And it is so shallow that the 10+ crowd goes elsewhere, so you don't have to worry about your toddler getting creamed by some "big kid" playing rough with his friends. With the kids in lifejackets and all the lifeguards around, I could actually relax for 2 minutes at a stretch while the kids splashed around. Fab.
The pool is surrounded by a big grassy area where there is plenty of room to spread out towels and dry off. There are also concrete stairs where you can sit and just take in the whole scene below. Food isn't allowed around the pool (good thing, as no one wants ants biting their rear ends), but it is allowed at the picnic tables near the entrance and on the concrete stairs, so feel free to bring along a picnic basket and drinks and make a day of it.
Note that after you pay at the front gate ($3 for adults, $1 for kids) it's about 40 steep steps down to the pool level, so people with limited mobility take note.
Oh, and by the way, the water is waaaaaay cold, so be prepared. But trust in your friend/spouse/kid/sibling - you know, the annoying person waving at you from the middle of the pool and shouting, "It's great!!!!" while you gingerly stick your toe in and recoil from the shock. Once you get in, it feels goooooood.
Treat yourself to a classic Austin summer afternoon at Deep Eddy.
If we didn't have Barton Springs, Eddy would be a legend.
As it is, it's a splendid neighbourhood pool with fabulous trees and stairs and grass and a cozy feeling, lots of lap lanes and free swim space too. Perfect place to bring kids in the summer, huge shallow end. Good sunning spots, good shade. Minimal street noise.
Full of happy Austinites.
Hell, what am I thinking. This place definitely is a legend.
So it's not quite as scenic as Barton Springs, Blue Hole, or Hamilton Pool Preserve, but I still adore Deep Eddy. While the pool itself isn't anything magnificent, it's cheap, not hard to get to, and I love how it's surrounded by grassy knolls rather than ugly cement. Definitely a fun place to spend a summer day without having to drive too far (spring or autumn days too if it's open then, after all this IS Austin).
Sometimes it's a tough decision, Barton Springs or Deep Eddy? I think both are great. If you want to hang out and watch people I would say Braton Springs, if you are a bit more interested in hanging out and in swimming I would say Deep Eddy, the water is not quite as cold and you have swim lanes and stuff. Also, when going to Deep Eddy, you can stop by afterwards at Deep Eddy Cabaret for a cold beer :)
Yesterday was my first visit to Deep Eddy and I enjoyed it thoroughly. My colleagues and I decided we wanted to find something non-food-centric for lunch and decided we would start spending one day a week at the pool during lunch time.
We got in and out pretty fast. I was shocked by the cold so it took me a while to acclimate, but then the sun made an appearance and all was good. For a lap swimmer, all of the lanes are fantastic, and not at all crowded at the noontime hour.
After our quick swim we had time (and the space) to lay on the grass for a bit, warming up and drying off. The changing facilities are fine, but since they are outdoors, it can get hot and it's hard to shower and change if you can't cool down. I kind of felt like Ross on that one episode of Friends when he can't get the leather pants back up.
Lucky for us, our office is down the street and has a lovely shower/changing area that we can use and still get in our weekly pool trip.
I don't get it. It's just a big crowded swimming pool with a flock of angry ducks loitering about a chain link's fence away from gouging your eyes out.
It's cold, parking blows, there are a lot of screaming kids, and the grass is brown. I guess if you like lap swimming it's okay?? But I would never take an out of town visitor here unless I wanted to give them a one way express to lame city. There are much more exciting things to do in Austin.
The cold of Barton Spring without the natural distinction, Deep Eddy pool is located just off the Mopac Bridge portion of the Hike and Bike trail (technically called Eilers Park), and like Barton Springs, costs $3 to get in, and like Barton Springs, is spring-fed.
Whereas it doesn't share the same charm, it does have more the feel of a big city public pool, and along with that comes lane swimming and swimming lessons (from beginner to advanced strokes - you can get more info via http://www.ci.austin.t...).
I used to park under Mopac and walk across the bridge to the pool for stroke lessons, and the city heat at sunset mixed with a saxophone player on the bridge...(sigh)..kind of magical.
Great for training and the cold water keeps you honest (and constantly moving).
Deep Eddy is not so much a pool as it is an institution in the city of Austin. Yes we may yearn for the warmer waters of Stacy and Balcones. We hearken back the wilder ways of Barton Springs and the Greenbelt. Yet nowhere else will you feel as though you are at the grand city pool as you do at Deep Eddy. You enter a one story building and pay the $3 entrance fee. Then you change in classic style change room similar to that found at Barton Springs with overhangs along the edges and open sky in the center. Full of plants. Showers are warm, but there aren't many of them. The true delight comes in descending the great flight of stairs overlooking the river and Hike-and-bike-trail. You pass a set of wood and stone bleachers gracefully set into the hillside and arrive at a pool divided. On the West it is shallow and recreational. On the east there are lanes and lap swimmers. I have found the crowd here also hearkens back to a simpler time when sepia tone photographs were the norm and the Greek ideal of perfecting the human form was a necessary routine in life. Indeed the folks here are generally very beautiful, if perhaps a bit removed, inaccessible to our modern mentality.
I have chatted with some of the people there declaring my hatred of the butterfly stroke and they have offered insight in wisdom. I have chatted with the lifeguard and he has offered curiosity. The grassy area is a safe for stuff storage and there don't seem to be so many ants.
I want to do the back stoke here every day, gazing at the world around me, as my ancestors have done since the dawn of time.
My group went on one of the Splash Party Movie nights... It was pretty cool except for the fact they showed the wrong movie and the kids (and adults) were expecting to see one thing while viewing something else. I didn't care much for the very young, rude staff either. Good points...You can bring food and beverage, the kids and good grown up friends, your own chairs or blankets....It was a cool night highly recommended if you are looking for a fun family outing. Wow that water is COLD!!
An awesome place to take oneself or visitors to show of f one of Austins favorite swimming holes. This pool attracts young and old Austinites alike and everyone is always having a good time. I have gone for years and will continue to frequent this Austin original.
