Bull Creek District Park runs from Loop 360 almost to RR 2222 along Lakewood Drive.

Upper Bull Creek Falls
The top of the park is visible from Loop 360 and includes limestone ledges and a waterfall.

Limestone Ledges on Bull CreekThe creek runs shallow over slippery sun-warmed rocks, slicing limestone into channels until it carves another waterfall . . .

Lower Falls on Bull Creekand spills over huge slabs of rock to pool under shade trees, amongst boulders . . .

swimming hole on Bull CreekAfter the pool, Bull Creek crosses Lakewood Drive, winds through private land, flows under (or over) RR 2222 and finally, adds its bounty to Lake Austin.

Lakewood Park was one of the first parks I discovered when I moved to Austin in the late 1960s. For someone from Houston, I was amazed at the waterfalls and majestic grandeur of Bull Creek. It was five minutes outside of town, so I would drive out to swim and take my dogs for a run, before returning to town and going to work at night.

I loved to lay back and let the water push me down the creek bed, sliding me over the waterfall and into the pool. Then my two dogs, German Shepherds called Baby and Bianca, would run up and down the banks of the stream, barking and whining at me. One or the other dog would make the first jump, the other dog would follow and we would swim the length of the pool together. We would climb out of the pool in the shallows, walk back up to the waterfall and begin the game again.

In the 1970s, construction of Loop 360 and the development of neighborhoods above Loop 360 destroyed the water quality of Bull Creek and swimming was prohibited. I believe I went one or two times after that happened. My dogs would always look at me as if to say, “What is wrong? Why are we not swimming?”

I quit going to Lakewood Park. I married, moved to Dallas, to San Marcos, had a child and never thought about Bull Creek unless I looked at the pictures of me, young and fit, and my precious dogs.

Last Saturday, I revisited Bull Creek, and had a wonderful surprise. Swimming is allowed again and Bull Creek looks much the same as it did when I first discovered it decades ago. It is still a playground for dogs and owners, joggers and nature lovers. I am so happy to be able to share this wonderful park again with others.

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