Deep Eddy Pool

Deep eddy had way to many people in a small confined space. The grassy area for sitting was crawling with fire ants and no ice chests were allowed on that side. We had to leave it at top by concession stand! I like the fact that it has a rich history but honestly I’d rather go to barton

One of the largest pool in the area and is fed by a natural spring. On one end they have a sloped area for young kids, so pretty good for parents with young children.
Note that unlike some of the other municipal pools, they do charge a nominal entrance fee.

This is a great place, less crowded than barton springs, and more family-​oriented.
Only down side is insects/​ants: in the grass there are lots of them, and when you lay down they will sting. Make sure you bring the repellent spray, I didn’t and I have 2 fire ants bites making little blisters, and while there I could feel little ants/​spiders/​flies moving around.

Wonderfully cold pool for wading, laps, or lounging while people — watching. The smell is very strange there – like wet dog – but the water seems clean. It’s a mystery.

Picture a hot day… with the river flowing in the background… being situated on a grassy hill under a patch of shade while you dry from the crisp coolness of the spring fed waters of Deep Eddy Pool.
Im gonna make it my mission to visit all of the spring fed pools ATX has to offer and so far ive done 2…3 bucks gets ya in if your a local and its basically a large pool but instead of horrible chlorinated water you have spring water… divine…a shallow end and a deep end… the lifeguards blow the whistle ever so often to make folks «take a break» and vacate the pool… no big deal, you need to put more sunscreen on, get some water etc… the time flies then your back in the fun again!
really really like this spot…

My favorite place for lap swims. Never as crowded as Barton, and the fresh water is awesome.

Deep eddy is one of my favorite places to swim with the fam. A few years ago they did a remodel on the bathrooms/​showers and also the zero entry «beach style» shallow pool area that was much needed and very appreciated. The pool is awesome, spring fed and just the right amount of shocking cold to be refreshing but not painful. The kiddos love it so much. I love the concession stand where you can get Jim Jims water ice. It’s kind of a pain that you cant eat in the grassy areas but I understand, little kids are messy with food and nobody wants ants everywhere. They have lots of seating for when you need to eat and it’s fine to just leave a cooler up there and go on down the stairs to the pool. This is an Austin original, I love it!

Being from South Florida, I don’t think I can get used to cold water, no matter how HOT it is outside. I would go back though.

If I was an Austin local, I’d be here at least a few times each summer. But at as a tourist it’s a great stop if you have time but not a must see. First off, it’s a few bucks more if you aren’t from Austin.
When you get in at the end of the day it is just a local neighborhood pool.
The deep end is a bit deeper and the other side is huge so you can separate yourself from the kids. They have an area designated from lap swimming too. The water is super chilly since it’s spring fed. This is great in a hot summer day.
Parking is a HUGE pain, so cross your fingers and hope for the best.

I know I’ve been to Deep Eddy as a child but not for several years, until now. My workout group decided to meet up and have a swim workout on a weekday evening after work.
The lap lanes do get a little congested as swimming laps is one of the least painful summertime, outdoor workouts, but we went 3 to a lane and paced ourselves do didn’t have much trouble running over anyone.
Standard $ 3 entry per all public pools in Austin. Lots of staff on the grounds including attentive lifeguards. Everything was clean and nice and met all my expectations. The water wasn’t even as cold as I was anticipating.
I wish the water had been a little cleaner. It’s pumped in naturally ala Barton Springs but was murky and less appetizing in that setting. Beats chlorine though.

All right, I love the place. LOVE the place.
But today, in the shallow end, there were flecks of what appeared to be… I hate to type this… feces. Perhaps it was some other type of mushy brown flecks, but…
The deep end was much cleaner.
Is the nastiness a result of babies being allowed into the pool? I know they are supposed to be wearing swim diapers, but do they?
Just a thought.

Great place for all! Spring fed and not as cold as Barton Springs. They also have Jim Jim’s shaved ice upstairs as a yummy treat. An Austin icon and nice place to cool down for the summer.
Lots of nice shaded tree area. Not too deep for the kiddos and swim lanes for those ready to get their workout on.

My favorite swimming pool in Austin. Deep Eddy has a special place in my heart. I when I was pregnant my midwife told me not to swim at Barton Springs due to high bacterial count: (.
I ended up going to Deep addy instead and was mystified by the trees and space. The water was the perfect. Especially since it was so hot and I was due in August! I loved the feeling of getting in and out of the pool and it was an extra workout going up and down the stairs!
Deep Eddy and I have an ongoing love affair and I like it!,

However blasphemous it might be, I might actually prefer Deep Eddy to Barton Springs, especially with Barton charging for parking on the weekends and having the grass side closed for work.
My most recent visit here was on a Sunday morning after brunch. It was a rare and lovely partly cloudy, 80 degree day. $ 3 for city residents ($ 4 for non). Plenty of grassy areas to find a spot on with some trees if you are looking for shade. I was shocked it was so dead at noon on a weekend, probably because of the ominous skies that morning. The shallow end is great for lounging (though I very much envied a small child’s inflatable dolphin). Inflatables are allowed, always a plus. The lap lanes are separated from the general area by a cement wall, so no children bouncing in and out of the lanes which is a huge plus. The water is the same chilly, spring fed, non-​chlorinated variety you will find at Barton but with a real pool feeling and less nature to slip on.
As it got later and proving to be a really nice day, it slowly started filling up. The number of kids was really the only mild frustration that came with that, but that’s expected. I still haven’t made it to a movie night here, but it’s on my list. I also only got a quick glimpse of the mural now that it is done, and it looks incredible! Will def spend some time checking it out the next time I am there!

Do you seek solace, inner-​peace, self-​enrichment? Do you dislike sweating your ass off in the Texas heat? Do you like swimming in cold, fresh (unchlorinated) water? Or maybe you just drive down MoPac everyday in rush hour traffic? If any of this sounds like you, then Deep Eddy Pool is the place to be. I come here during the summer to avoid sitting in traffic. I like to lay out a towel under the huge pecan tree at the east end of the pool, and jump directly into the water.
The water never varies from 70° year round, since it’s spring fed from a source slightly higher than Barton Springs (which is 68° and notably colder). The entire pool is drained for cleaning at the end of every day, so it’s always clean and refreshing.
During the summer Deep Eddy Pool releases a schedule for movies that they project onto a huge screen right at the water’s edge. Like the swim-​up version of a drive-​in theater. I took my daughters to watch Iron Man (I think?) at the end of the Summer. Everyone had an excellent time, but don’t park in the apartments nearby, because my car was towed that night. Even considering the massive pain in the ass of getting my car back from the impound it was still worth going to the Summer Movie Series at Deep Eddy. I love this place, and you’d have to be insane to somehow not enjoy yourself.

I like Deep Eddy Pool for a lot of reasons. First, you can actually swim laps in it. The water is cold and not full of chlorine. And the lockerrooms aren’t really rooms at all – they are almost completely outside.
Stuff that is bizarre about this place:
1. the lockerrooms are almost completely outside
2. there are often weird older guys wearing thongs
3. there are often homeless looking people showering
4. the showers are in the middle of the locker room area and there is no escaping being looked at or looking at whoever is showering, unless the banana trees get big enough
5. Why are there lots of concrete bleachers? These are a holdover from the olden days but they have no historical value for me.
6. There is a really popular trail behind the pool. I see people in suits to joggers going along there.
7. There’s a juicebar right around the corner
I usually try to go to Barton Springs first, but this place is much better to swim laps. The lanes are pretty narrow, so just keep that in mind. It’s actually kind of offputting to share a lane because they are so narrow.
But all in all, I love this place on a sunny day, especially a hot day. The cold water is refreshing and you get used to it after about 100 yards. The lockerrooms while strange are also really inviting because it feels like you are changing outdoors. It’s a cool design

Deep Eddy Pool is right by my house so whenever I need a cool dip from this horrible Texas heat I pop right on over. $ 2 to swim all day in a relatively clean fresh water pool — it’s so much fun on a hot summer day! Did you know it’s the oldest pool in Texas and they have movie nights in the summatime? I saw Grease with a few friends in July & it was a blaaast! You can bring snacks and drinks (no booze, folks) and floaties to swim while the movie is playing. Get to the movie night early — it’s popular so the line fills quickly. It’s $ 3 to swim & watch the flick — can’t beat that price!
My only request Deep Eddy is, please have another staff member upfront helping when checking people in to your movie night. The night I was there — the poor girl working the front couldn’t even answer the phone or take a minute to get change because she was slammed and by herself. She was so polite but you could tell she was stressed and needed some help.

This is no ordinary swimming pool. This is a special place, with an amazing story. Deep Eddy is on the National Register of Historic Places and for good reason. It is the oldest swimming pool in Texas (that’s right, not just Austin). You may have caught onto the history here when you noticed the beautiful stone entry and changing rooms, these were some of the original bathhouse buildings built as part of the Works Progress Administration during the depression area. It would have been incredible to have seen the Lorena’s Diving Horse show and swing by on the zip line that all used to be a part of this beautiful place.
Today you will find a beautiful swimming pool remaining that is spring fed, which means chlorine free. There is an open swim area, and a designated area for lap lanes. Which I found awesome. There is a beautiful grass knoll on the side to enjoy laying in the sun between swim sessions.
Entrance was only $ 3 (cash only) and be sure to get a stamp if you leave to go to the car to get free entrance back in. The parking lot is average sized, and would definitely fill up in the afternoon on a hot day. I recently came to enjoy the last summer movie night of 2013 at Deep Eddy hosted by Alamo Drafthouse — The Avengers. The movie started when the sun went down, but we came at 7:00pm, which was definitely the perfect time to grab a parking spot and a space on the grass knoll. We brought our floaties and watched the first part of the movie in the water. It got a bit cold, so we retreated to our blanket on the grass. You can bring in drinks and food but nothing in glass. The floaties are a bit hard to navigate, but the experts seemed to line up either at the edge to hold on, or by the rope so they didn’t continuously need to fight to keep from drifting into people.
The movie sound and quality was great. They even used subtitles just incase. The entrance fee remains the same for the movie nights, just the standard $ 3. I would HIGHLY recommend a movie night, there is a mailing list for Deep Eddy, so be sure to join to find out when the next events will be occurring.
Note, I learned that as part of Austin City code, all pools have a break time at 5 to the hour in which everyone has to leave the pool for a bit to ensure everyone is OK and takes a break.

I love Deep Eddy. The water is always cold and it’s chlorine free which means that you don’t have to feel like your eyes and nose have been violated every time you put your head under. There’s lots of shade from the surrounding trees and the result is that it feels more like a swimming hole in a river than it does like a swimming pool surrounded by concrete.
Better yet, it’s right on the Lady Bird Johnson Lake trail, so you can swing by to hop in the pool and cool off after a run/​hike/​walk around the lake. Very little is that refreshing.

Barton Springs is cold, crowded, and filled with these yucky plants that wrap around your ankles when you’re treading water. In contrast, Deep Eddy is calm, serene, spring fed, and the perfect temperature. There are lots of nice shaded areas and it’s always pretty quiet. And I’ve never had a problem finding parking. I love coming here during the week, if at all possible to swim laps. I’m assuming it’s way too crowded on the weekends.
Technical Details:
I called and they told me that each lap is 100 feet. So if you swim 15 laps (one lap equals there and back), then you swam about half a mile. I wish they had this information posted somewhere.
I also went into the Circle Swim lane, having no clue what that was. Some lady left and a new lady, with armpits bushier than an East Austin hipster’s beard, asked if I wanted to circle swim. I asked her what it was and she told me. Luckily, we didn’t have to do it, since there were only two of us. (It’s a little dance that three people trying to swim in one lane would have to do in order for it to work – a little hard to describe without a picture.)
Fun Trivia:
Deep Eddy is the oldest public swimming pool in Texas. It was originally a private resort and had a diving horse and a diving baby attraction and a zip line, oh, and a ferris wheel. No joke. There’s more information on the Friends of Deep Eddy website. There’s still a bathhouse. It means that you change and shower in the open air.