Balcones District Park

good sized park, nothing spectacular, unfortunately there are no shade trees over the playscape. the trails looked like fun, but are NOT appropriate for jogging strollers, not even my off road BOB.

this park is beautiful. honestly it’s so wonderful but one of the things that makes it so great is the artwork all over the rocks and walls and benches. today I went down to the park to see they painted the graffiti over with BLACK. PAINT. it looks AWFUL and its peeling off in several places. could the community at least paint it with a lighter color? disrespectful to local artists.

We go from pool to playground. Great free entertainment. The pool is small but large enough to entertain swimmers and non swimmers at the same time. Life guards are attentive and managed pool well.
Unfortunately the bathrooms are your typical public bath experience.
There is shade but not much grass and 100’s of fire ants. Seriously 100’s!!!
Bring a chair if you plan to sit. There are few places to sit.
Overall I love the pool for its convince and the park offers a playground and hiking trails. We enjoy this park.

Li

These trails have been my backyard for 5 years now. My dog grew up in them, and I’ve explored every nook and cranny. However, every summer, the poison ivy growth continues to increase, and it’s getting to the point where I’ve lost my desire to go out there. Last year, I suffered from a huge rash on my leg, and while I learned my lesson and have started going out there in pants (sooo hot), I managed to get a rash on my arm this year. I wish there was someone maintaining the inner bowels of the park a bit better, as it’s beginning to be a health risk to go hiking. Even if you do cover up, you can still bring the oil inside on your clothing, or your dog can carry it on their fur. I guess I’ll just be waiting until the fall again this year to go on more frequent excursions…

I am a fairly new resident to Austin, and enjoy walking/​hiking at various parks across town. This is a pretty nice place. I enjoy the walk along the creek, and the rocks offer you a challenge. There are also dirt trails, which are a bit easier if you like. I have been several times, and plan to go back soon.

For the last three years, I’ve lived by this park and claimed that I didn’t know how to get there. FOOLED YOU, NO ONE! I’ve known the entire time. I don’t even have to go the way that most of the public gets there, because there’s a weird secret entrance right off of my apartment complex, but I digress. I recently started taking my handsome mongrel friend, Astronaut Mike Dexter, here because I’m pretty sure he’s tired of just walking around the apartment complex. Also, because I need to get mooooore exuhcise.
As stated by others, there is a pretty varied terrain; from grassy fields to regular trails to rocky trails, creeks, etc and so on. I’ve seen a few of the secret/​forgotten areas and it really is a great place to let dogs run wild or perhaps for some sort of clandestine picnic. I need to find someone to go on a picnic with…
There is a pool and some courts for this or that or whatever, but it’s not exactly the season for them so I don’t know how often they’re used. It’s not a large park by any means, but it’s got all of the essentials. It’s really wonderful to have this little nook of nature in the neighborhood!

This park was a pretty severe disappointment. Looking at a map there seemed to be a lot of trails, but there were very tough to find. It almost seems like they don’t really get used much. We basically hiked the trails we could find and then headed home.
This park does have some things going for it. Namely, a lot of open space to frollick and a public pool. Overall it definitely needs some TLC and some money invested in improvements and such. A lot of things such as picnic tables and benches looked pretty sad and old– a few of the tables in the woods were covered in graffiti.

I really love this park! It was one of the first places I visited when I moved here last year. My Richmond VA (now Austin) friend Gina met me here, and I took the dogs with me. There are great trails and a cool little creek. I love the back area, the «forgotten part» (shhhh!!!) where I can let my little beasts off leash. A great park, that I really need to visit more.

This place is pretty great! Well kept, pretty, accessible, lots of parking and we played some solid kickball WITH a backstop!
The whole area was clean and free of debris, there weren’t feral dogs running around and there was a nice little picnic bench we could use for our stuff. We drank kegs like there was no tomorrow and had a damn good time enjoying what turned out to be a beautiful Saturday.
Definitely a great spot to bring kids, dogs, family or a luvvvvvvr.

We stumbled upon this one while looking for a place for the kids to burn off some energy before we ventured to Costco on a busy Saturday afternoon. There isn’t a whole lot to the park itself, but there is a very cool walking trail that starts off behind the swing-​set and then loops all the way around and back to the other side of the parking lot.
The first stretch of the trail is a little rugged and takes you downhill through a nice wooded area. When you get to the bottom, there is an old paved trail along a dry creek bed. You’ll pass a small natural spring on your way back around.
The kids had a good time jumping around on the rocks and burned off said energy so they wouldn’t drive everyone (or most importantly: me) crazy while perusing the goods at Costco. Good times and a good find.

This park is beautiful. There is a great walking path that wraps around and behind the park. It is hilly, rocky, and shaded for the most part.
There’s a pool, a volley ball court, a basketball court, horse shoes, and tons of parking. During the summer there is usually a snow cone truck outside.
This park is super.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot to this park, just a jungle gym area and a pool. I park here and run around the neighborhood so I don’t spend too much time at the park itself. I’ll have to come back in the summer when the pool is open to see if the park is more appealing then.

I like this park!
They have a playscape my kiddo has been able to climb up since she was about 9 months old. Unlike other parks, it has steps that aren’t too big instead of rock walls or steep inclines. It has three different slides, a fast tunnel slide, a slow spiral slide, and a strait double slide that is between the other two in speed. It also has ladders, a bridge, and a tunnel my little one loves to climb in. I never noticed the drop off until I read Anna G.‘s review, but I can see why it’s a concern. It’s pretty steep. They also have four swings, two infant and two regular.
I get excited about the pool, mostly because they are open year round and heated. It’s free during the summer and costs $ 3 in the winter. They do have special times for lap swimmers, but they always have lanes when it’s recreational swim time. Times vary depending on the season.

Balcones District Park offers an interesting hike because of the diverse habitats in the short length it covers — because, of the beautiful marriage of nature and suburbia.
The trail is very rocky in spots so be sure and wear ankle supporting shoes and watch out for the poison ivy!