Walter E. Long Metro Park

Lake is a little chopping on windy days. Don’t prefer the taste of the water but I drank a good amount of it during IronMan 70.3. Crime rate doesn’t seem bad but I did get punched in the face a few times while swimming, I’m sure it was an accident. Also got ran over by a canoe but he apologized afterwards.
Don’t ride your bike in the grass or you might end up with a flat tire.

Enjoy the lake before they begin a plan to start draining the lake and convert it into a reservoir

I’ve grown up near this Lake. I think it’s quite charming, and quiet. Beautiful lake. Love it

Great traffic free lake. The crowd is a little «low-​rent», but it’s just because it’s so far east Austin.
There’s a great, secluded picnic area on the backside of the lake

It’s a nice park out away from the city. Don’t go here when there is an event going on, it will take you literally 1 hour to get out of the place. All roads merge to one single exit lane (stupid) But all in all a nice place to visit and either swim, fish, or just chill.

This park is located just 12 miles from downtown Austin, Texas and is a great place to get away from the Highland Lake crowds during the summer. Boat Ramps are usually open as this is a constant level lake, portable bathrooms available and plenty of parking. Some shade available in park but could use more.

I’ve been out to Walter E. Long about 3 times within the last month or so, and I quite enjoy going out here. I come out to fish and have had decent success with bank/​wading fishing. i have pulled in a few perch, blue gills, crappie, and baby large mouth bass. I’ve so far only been on the weekdays in the early morning, usually wednesday or thursday about 7am and its nice and quiet, not too many people out and plenty of good spots to hang out and fish. there is a bait shop right outside the park gates if you need some supplies, but from what i hear they charge a nice premium.
I really want to get out farther in the water and see what kind of big guys i can rope in. all the ones i’ve caught so far have been small, but with the number of guys in boats, there has to be some good fish out there.
I’ve met a few really nice people out there who have been willing to give me tips on lures and good spots to bank fish, and have had nothing but good experiences out there so far.

I’ve had three experiences here — a company picnic, an open water swim to prepare for a tri, and a triathlon last weekend.
All in all, great experiences each time. It’s a nice place to swim (albeit cold in April, though that’s not the park’s fault), was a VERY nice place to run, and honestly, I’m really happy that there is a place like this, that feels so far away from it all but also just a very short drive, that can sponsor awesome events like this! Looking forward to doing another triathlon here this summer! Yay Decker!

Went down here to go bass fishing. The place basically consists of a park and a small lake right next to some sort of power plant. There is usually a fee to get in, but the entrance was not manned at that time. There are two boat ramps and the place wasn’t too crowded. Unfortunately, out of a party of four, only two people were able to catch one bass each. The place was ok, but the fish weren’t biting.

Walter Long Park … aka Decker Lake … is a strange and unusual place as far as parks go.
It is in a land far, far away from central Austin (read: 4 miles from the intersection of MLK & 51^st street). Because of this, only a select group of park-​goers gather here, but they do so for very different reasons. The eclectic mix ranges from boaters and fishermen to triathletes, Tejano-​truck men, and little ol’ me.
I will start by saying that the main reasons I regularly go to this park all have to do with my dog. To understand why my dog has driven me to frequent this park, it is important to understand the personality profile of my little, canine friend. You see, while my dog is exceptionally well-​behaved at home, in public he likes to pretend that he is a trained killer. Despite the hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars spent on training, I/​he/​we (I’m not quite sure who is to blame) have not quite mastered behaving in public. As a result, I go to Decker Lake, where the crowds are small and the spaces are big, and my dog can get his ya-​ya-​s out.
After gaming the system by parking outside the fence and paying our $ 1 walk-​in fee (as opposed to the more expensive drive-​in fee), we are largely left to our own devices. Once in a while we either catch glimpses of other park-​users or if there is a triatholon, we are turned away altogether, but these occasions are few and far between. In case you haven’t been to Decker Lake, let me give you a little run-​down of some of the other park-​users that you may encounter:
The boat, sea-​doo, and fishing crowd makes use of the lake, which is actually a reservoir created by a dam that (apparently) cools the generators at Decker Creek Power Plant. When I see people swimming, boating, and fishing there and wonder if this industrial lake is safe, I just think of Homer Simpson and then everything is fine.
The triathletes travel solo and in packs. At times, there will be an actual triatholon going on and there will be hundreds of people making their way through the park. These armies of people have bikes, spandex, energy-​goo, and friends in tow. These are the days when I take my theatrical dog and turn right around and leave because he would implode in the middle of this kind of sporting excitement. We are all in training, whether for a triathlon, or just the next day of life, but sometimes you can see competition in full effect at the park.
According to the City of Austin, it yields «endless amounts of outdoor recreational activities» and I have seen it with my own eyes both on land (in the form of bikers and runners) and by sea (in the form of boaters and swimmers).
There are other days when I have entered the park and rather than finding throngs of athletes, I have found collections of Tejano-​truck men. These are the guys who like to hang out near/​in/​on/​around (choose your favorite preposition) their trucks and listen to Tejano music at top volume. I assume that they are also drinking lots of adult beverages. While this is not my preferred style of entertainment, I think that Decker Lake is probably a good place to partake in Tejano truck man activities, because there are very few other people who will will bother you or be bothered by you.
In all seriousness, what’s great about this largely undiscovered and (thankfully for me) underutilized park, it has plenty of space and provides a nice change from some of the more congested parks in the city center.
So, Whether you like swimming in an industrial lake, wearing spandex, or listening to Tejano music, Decker Lake may be just the place for you. One word of caution: watch out for that girl with the crazy dog!

I am somewhat obsessed with studying native plants — it is not only my passion but also my job.
For my 1,000 review I would like to spread my passion for rare native plants.
The Iris Albicans is a 3,410 year old Iris that is a sterile hybrid that spreads by rhizomal growth and division as it can not produce seeds.
I found this rare Iris on a recent hike at Walter E Long and it is worth many returns!