Butler District Park (with water playscape)

With the heat index yesterday topping out at 105 degrees, what else was there to do with the kids besides hide out in air conditioning, have the kids spray you with the hose as you roast on a lawn chair out front, or get heat stroke with abandon?  As fun as having the kids spray us parental units with a hose, we decided on the next best thing.  After a most delicious breakfast at the South Austin Trailer Park and Eatery, we drove all of 0.80 miles (GPS’ed it for you) to the Butler District Park to hose the kids off at the Liz Carpenter Fountain. 

Butler District Park is a “green” park between the Palmer Events Center and the Dougherty Arts Center, accessible from Barton Springs Rd and Riverside.  It was completed in August 2007, and the “newness” of the park is still apparent.  Everything is immaculate.  

We found plenty of parking spaces along Dawson Rd. and W. Riverside Dr. around 9:30 am on Saturday, but as we were leaving the park closer to 11 am, most of the parking spaces were taken.  The park was popular with families, bicyclers, dog walkers, and people practicing yoga.  (I could not believe people were practicing yoga in the heat, but the park is serene so why not.)

The “splash park” that is the Liz Carpenter Fountain has water spouts arranged in a spiral pattern, and though the City of Austin’s website says that three programmed water shows are done throughout the day, we did not witness a Vegas style spectacular.  The water just went up and down, back up and down.  Maybe that was the morning show, but I can just imagine that this place would be spectacular in the evening, lit up with a water display.  Regardless, the water spouts are the perfect height for preschoolers and toddlers, and because the water comes from below foot rather than crashing down from above, it is really the most accessible water play structure for little kids compared to Robin Bledsoe (Leander) and Brushy Creek Lake Park (Cedar Park).  Around the perimeter of the fountain are five square, shallow pools about 6 inches deep in the center.  Kids were happily splashing in the small wading pools which were clean, and the water smelled chlorinated.

The fountain area is not enclosed with a gate, just low architectural walls about the height for an adult to sit while keeping an eye on kids splashing.  This makes it very easy for the quickest of young children to dart off into the neverland of grassy fields that make up the park, but at least the pathway overlooking a large water fountain in the pond (run off from part of Lady Bird Lake?) immediately adjacent to the water playscape is fenced off.

We set out to look for the children’s garden, expecting some kind of reincarnation of Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit garden, but instead the children’s garden is a large paved circular labyrinth.  The kids enjoyed running around the maze.  Unfortunately this “garden” is one grassy field away from Barton Springs Rd, and though the field is sizable, a fast running child could just take off right onto a busy street.

A quick stroll around the perimeter of the park led us to several gravel areas with large rocks, which were equally entertaining to the younger set.  They climbed on the boulders, collected twigs, scooped up the crushed rocks on the ground, and generally used the area as their own special imaginary world.

Butler Park is one street crossing (over Riverside) away from joining up with the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail, very close to Auditorium Shores.  The kids spotted canoers coming from Zilker most likely, and had it not been so hot, we might have walked the trail over to Zilker which is not that far of a stroll.

Absolutely I would recommend bringing the kids to Butler Park.  The views of downtown are terrific, and the splash park is more architectural than it is kiddie park but with all the fun still intact.  Just be sure to bring some sunscreen and a hat.  There is hardly any shade at all.  Trees are everywhere, but these are not big, mature trees.

Oh, and there is a clean restroom at the park.

Butler District Park (formerly Town Lake Park)
1000 Barton Springs Rd.
Austin, TX 78704

Related posts:

1. Beverly S. Sheffield Northwest District Park (north Austin)
2. Dick Nichols Park
3. Zilker Park: train, playground, pool, sno-cones, and more
4. Champion Park in Cedar Park (Williamson County)
5. Metz Sprinkler Park and Playground review