How to get to Barton Springs Pool

Driving and parking

The lot is on William Barton Dr, inside Zilker Park. Weekdays it’s free. On weekends and holidays from March 1 to Labor Day it’s $3 per hour per vehicle, and on a hot Saturday it fills — which is when the fee starts feeling like the least of your problems. Practical details live on the official City of Austin pool page.

The walk from the lot

It is a walk from the lot to the gate — not a hardship, but enough that you shouldn’t plan on running back to the car for the thing you forgot. Carry in what you need, and check the rules first so you don’t carry a cooler to a gate that will refuse it.

By bus

CapMetro’s Route 30 stops at the pool. On summer weekends I’d take it over circling the lot — the bus doesn’t care that parking is $3 an hour.

Arriving by water

Barton Creek enters Lady Bird Lake right by Zilker Park, so you can make the trip part of the swim day. Kayak rentals at the Waller Creek Boathouse on the downtown shore run around $28 for two self-guided hours, single or double — my notes are in the kayak rental review. Prefer standing, the paddleboard rental is about $55 (reviewed here; it is a rental, not a guided tour). Paddle from the Congress Avenue Bridge toward the creek mouth at your own pace. All the on-the-water options are compared in kayak & paddleboard tours.

Don’t confuse the two lakes

Lady Bird Lake is the downtown river-lake next to Zilker. Lake Austin — Pennybacker Bridge, Mount Bonnell, the Hula Hut dock — is a separate lake about 15 minutes northwest. The BYOB cruise runs on Lake Austin, so don’t book it thinking you’ll drift past the pool.

Paddle there instead of parking

The Lady Bird Lake kayak rental, from around $28, gets you two hours on the water between downtown and the mouth of Barton Creek — bring a driver’s license per kayak for check-in. Free cancellation to 24 hours.

Frequently asked questions