Aquarena Springs (San Marcos)
August 29, 2011 by Sandy
Filed under Austin Metro, day trips, travel, exhibits, festivals, and shows, Featured, Hill Country, reviews
No swimming pigs but still worth the drive!
I wish we could have seen Aquarena Springs back in its heyday. It’s a shadow of its former self of swimming pigs, underwater mermaids and sky gondolas over the boardwalk. Now it’s perhaps more educational than theme park, but Aquarena Springs is still a fun little stop worth making on your way down to the outlet mall or if you’re looking for something to do with the family that’s just a little outside of town.
We took the kid on a very hot Saturday afternoon down to Texas State, who owns the springs, and the whole hour drive from our house I worried that it would be a flop and not hold a toddler’s attention. Much to my relief the glass bottom boat ride was a hit!
The tours run year-round and every 30 minutes from open to close. Half an hour is the right length of time to go up and down the length of the man-made lake (and for the kid’s attention span) to hear about the history of the Springs and the ecosystem that it houses. Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and answered all of our questions about the turtles, fish, plants, river rats (yes, river rats) and the water itself. This would be great for place to take a kid interested in environmental science and to learn about the food chain.
There’s a small aquarium that is free of charge to visitors that is home to the endangered blind salamander and various turtles and fish. There’s also a Wetlands Boardwalk that’s made of recycled plastic lumber that floats on the water.
If you’re worried about making a long drive for a 30 minute boat ride, I would suggest going to the near-by Playscape at Children’s Park. This park has a large wooden playscape, like the Creative Playscape in Georgetown, and has a great tree canopy that keeps it shady for any weather.
Pricing for the glass bottom rides:
$9/Adults
$7.50/Senior (60+)
$6/Children (ages 4-15)
Aquarena Center
921 Aquarena Springs Dr.
San Marcos, TX 78666
Phone: 512-245-7570
http://www.aquarena.txstate.edu/
Children 3 and under Free
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Aquarena Springs back in the Hey Day, riding in the cable car and taking ole time photos, fun times indeed
For those wishing to get a glimpse of Aquarena in its heyday, a new documentary about Aquarena Springs will be premiering in San Marcos on September 22 at 5:30pm at the Texas Music Theatre as a fund raiser for the San Marcos Heritage Association. Archival footage and images of Ralph the swimming Pig, Aquamaids, Glurpo the Clown, and Swiss Skyride along with interviews from those that visited and worked there.
I’m glad to know that the tour can be better, but have to note that I had a really disappointing visit a few months ago. A friend and I drug our toddlers down one morning in June, and while we enjoyed looking at the fish in aquariums at the museum area, the tour on the glass bottomed boats was AWFUL. We must have just gotten a bad guide–definitely a student and a newbie to the springs, our guide didn’t offer anything interesting and couldn’t answer any questions about the wildlife or the history of the center. The only saving grace was that I was really amused at how awful the guide was and at the fact that he seemed to be either really tired or stoned! Hopefully our experience was not typical.