As the dog days of the sweltering Texas summertime set in, our beaches, lakes, rivers, creeks, swimming holes, and swimming pools are popular destinations for refreshing dips. But closures and reopenings and reclosures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have made it difficult to keep track of the status of the spots at which we seek relief. To stay up to date on where it’s okay to “come on in, the water’s fine” and where it’s not across the state, we’ll be keeping an eye on some of the most popular spots and making updates every Thursday. For the most up-to-the-minute information, use the numbers and URLs listed below.
Swimming Pools / Swimming Holes:
Barton Springs Pool, Austin. CLOSED until further notice. 512-974-6300.
Deep Eddy Pool, Austin. CLOSED until further notice. 512-472-8546.
Fort Clark Springs Swimming Pool, Brackettville. OPEN. 830-563-2493.
Hamilton Pool Preserve, Dripping Springs. CLOSED until further notice. 512-264-2740.
Blue Hole Park, Georgetown. OPEN. 512-930-3595.
Hancock Pool, Lampasas. OPEN at 75 percent capacity. 512-556-4048.
Swimming pool at Lockhart State Park, Lockhart. CLOSED until 2021. 512-398-3479.
Krause Springs, Spicewood. OPEN with limited entry, earlier closing of 8 p.m., social distancing enforced, and face masks required. 830-693-4181.
Swimming pool at Balmorhea State Park, Toyahvale. CLOSED (for renovation). Tentative reopening set for fall. 432-375-2370.
Swimming pool at Abilene State Park, Tuscola. OPEN until August 16; tickets can be purchased for two-hour intervals.
Jacob’s Well, Wimberley. OPEN. Reservation required. 512-214-4593.
Blue Hole Regional Park, Wimberley. SOLD OUT of reservations through the rest of the summer. 512-660-9111.
Lakes:
Wright Patman Lake at Atlanta State Park, Atlanta. CLOSED because of possible hazardous weather until September 9. 903-796-6476.
Hippie Hollow Park on Lake Travis, Austin. CLOSED. 512-854-7275.
Village Creek State Park, Lumberton. Park open but swimming area CLOSED because of hurricane damage.
Bonham State Park, Bonham. Lake is OPEN for day service, but CLOSED for overnight camping through 2020. 903-583-5022.
Inks Lake State Park, Burnet. OPEN. 512-793-2223.
Possum Kingdom State Park, Caddo. OPEN. 512-389-8900.
Choke Canyon State Park, Calliham. OPEN.
Sullivan Lake at Fort Boggy State Park, Centerville. OPEN. 903-344-1116.
Cedar Lake at Cleburne State Park, Cleburne. OPEN. 817-645-4215.
Lake Tejas, Colmesneil. OPEN. 409-837-2063.
Lake Colorado City State Park, Colorado City. OPEN.
Cooper Lake State Park, Cooper. OPEN.
Lake Corpus Christi State Park, Corpus Christi. OPEN.
Little Pine Lake at Daingerfield State Park, Daingerfield. OPEN. 903-645-2921.
Eisenhower State Park, Denison. Swim beach for Lake Texoma is OPEN. 903-465-1956.
Fairfield Lake State Park, Fairfield. OPEN. Reservations recommended. www.texasstateparks.org/reservations; 512-389-8900.
Burger’s Lake, Fort Worth. OPEN. Masks required. 817-737-3414.
Lake Raven at Huntsville State Park, Huntsville. OPEN.
Lost Creek at Fort Richardson State Park, Jacksboro. OPEN.
B.A. Steinhagen Reservoir at Martin Dies Jr. State Park, Jasper. OPEN. CLOSED until further notice because of possible hazardous weather.
Lake Brownwood State Park, Lake Brownwood. OPEN.
Lake Casa Blanca International State Park, Laredo. OPEN Fridays–Sundays, 8 a.m.–5 p.m., to a limited number of visitors; advance tickets required. Boaters advised to use extra caution because of recent low water levels.
Lake Livingston State Park, Livingston. CLOSED until August 29.
Meridian State Park, Meridian. OPEN.
Fort Parker State Park, Mexia. OPEN.
Lake Mineral Wells State Park, Mineral Wells. OPEN.
Ray Roberts Lake State Park, Pilot Point and Valley View. OPEN. 940-686-2148 (Isle du Bois); 940-637-2294 (Johnson Branch).
Lake Bob Sandlin State Park, Pittsburg. OPEN.
Copper Breaks State Park (Lake Copper Breaks and Big Pond), Quanah. OPEN.
Lake Theo at Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway, Quitaque. OPEN with certain restrictions, including the use of face coverings inside all state park buildings and no cash transactions.
Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area, in Davy Crockett National Forest, Ratcliff. OPEN. 936-655-2299.
Falcon State Park, Roma. OPEN.
San Angelo State Park, San Angelo. OPEN.
Lake Somerville State Park and Trailway, Somerville. OPEN. Reservation required.
Martin Creek State Park, Tatum. CLOSED until further notice because of possible hazardous weather
Lake Abilene at Abilene State Park, Tuscola, OPEN.
Tyler State Park, Tyler. OPEN but reservations required. 903-597-5338.
Utopia Park (Sabinal River), Utopia. OPEN. 830-966-3643.
Lake Whitney State Park, Whitney. OPEN.
Lake Arrowhead State Park, Wichita Falls. OPEN.
Lake Tawakoni State Park, Wills Point. OPEN.
Boykin Springs at Angelina National Forest, Zavalla. OPEN. 936-897-1068.
Rivers / Creeks:
Onion Creek at McKinney Falls State Park, Austin. OPEN. Need to reserve passes online.
Medina River, Bandera City Park, Bandera. OPEN. Pick up passes at city hall. 830-796-3765.
Colorado Bend State Park, Bend. OPEN.
Blanco River, Blanco State Park, Blanco. OPEN. 830-833-4333.
Frio River at Garner State Park, Concan. OPEN. Passes must be reserved online. 830-232-6132.
Devils River, Del Rio. OPEN.
Purtis Creek State Park, Eustace. OPEN.
Dinosaur Valley State Park, Glen Rose. OPEN.
Palmetto State Park, Gonzales. OPEN.
Pedernales Falls State Park, Johnson City. Operating at a limited capacity. Reservations recommended.
South Llano River State Park, Junction. OPEN.
Access parks for Comal and Guadalupe rivers, New Braunfels. CLOSED. 830-608-2165.
Rio Vista Park, San Marcos. CLOSED. 512-393-8400.
Guadalupe River State Park, Spring Branch. OPEN.
Beaches:
Bolivar Peninsula beaches. OPEN.
Brazoria County beaches closed as a result of Hurricane Laura (includes San Luis Pass County Park, Quintana Beach County Park, and Surfside Jetty County Park). 979-233-1461.
Cameron County beaches at Isla Blanca Park, Andy Bowie Park, E.K. Atwood Park, as well as County Beach Access Numbers 3–6, and Boca Chica Beach. CLOSED.
Corpus Christi and Nueces County beaches. OPEN.
Galveston beaches (including East Beach, Stewart Beach, seawall beaches). OPEN. 409-797-5000.
Matagorda Bay Nature Park, Matagorda. CLOSED because of weather until further notice. 979-863-2603.
Mustang Island State Park, Corpus Christi. OPEN Thursdays–Sundays.
Padre Island National Seashore, Corpus Christi. OPEN. Malaquite Beach, the boat ramp, and Bird Island day-use area are OPEN. South Beach is CLOSED because of predicted coastal flooding.
Rockport Beach, Rockport. OPEN. 361-729-6661.
Sea Rim State Park, Sabine Pass. CLOSED until at least September 3 because of Hurricane Laura.
City of South Padre Island public beaches. OPEN. 956-761-6433.
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