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Bull Creek in
Austin
Photo courtesy Chandra Moira Beal |
BULL
CREEK PARK
6701 Lakewood Drive
Austin, Texas 78731
This forty-eight-acre park and swimming hole is an underused gem.
It was acquired by the City of Austin
in 1971 with some federal assistance, and is a very natural park.
Bull Creek cuts through a steep granite ridge where it flows over
a small man-made dam. The dam forms two pools. Behind the dam the
water is deep enough to have a rope swing and is framed by large boulders.
The water cascades over the dam into a shallow area with fish and
a gravelly bottom. Water levels will vary with rainfall. There is
no lifeguard on duty. Bull Creek Park is very popular with dogs, so
you just might have to share the pool with them. Often you must drive
through a low water crossing, so be careful. This is a spot in Austin
that always floods first when it rains.
The park also has plenty of parking, a volleyball court, picnic tables,
and a large, permanent grill. Rock climbers use the face of the granite
ridge to practice. The park is close to Loop 360 so you may
hear the traffic in the distance. Oak, pecan and juniper trees provide
plenty of shade. |
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Another View
of Bull Creek
Photo courtesy Chandra Moira Beal |
Bull Creek
Greenbelt
The Bull Creek
Greenbelt begins at Loop 360 and Spicewood Springs Road and
then travels south along Bull Creek through the park. The 3-mile trail
is under construction by volunteers of the Bull Creek Foundation with
no public funding. |
Barrow Preserve
The Barrow Preserve
is ten acres full of Bull Creek tributaries in northeast Austin,
dedicated by David Barrow's family in 1974. There is a small, permanent
spring with lovely columbine blooming in the springtime. The trailhead
is at Stepdown Cove.
Excerpted from Splash
Across Texas, 1999
Copyright Chandra Moira Beal and La Luna Publishing |
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