When did you last swim at Jacob's Well? For anyone in the valley, the answer is the summer of 2022 at the latest. Hays County closed the natural area to swimmers on June 29, 2022, after flow dropped to zero cubic feet per second and the water went stagnant with algae. That closure has never been lifted.
This summer gave people a reason to hope. That hope faded through the fall, and it helps explain why Wimberley's other swimming conversations have changed. The town is pricing a public pool, the county has set a new swim fee for a swim that isn't happening, and the planned building at Blue Hole is about water stewardship. All of that planning now starts from the idea that the springs may not be there when you want them.
The Summer That Looked Like a Comeback
In late July, KXAN reported that Jacob's Well was flowing at two cubic feet per second after a rainy stretch in Central Texas. KXAN also gave the spring's typical range as four to six cubic feet per second, or about 2 million gallons a day.
In early August, Hays County Parks and Natural Resources Director Karl Flocke told the Hays Free Press that flow was holding "pretty steady" at about 1 to 1.5 cubic feet per second a week after heavy July rain. He also described a pattern from the past four years.
"Typically, a rapid spike in the flow of water from the well has also had a rapid decline afterwards, but in general, what we've seen is after every single rainfall, it seems to be taking longer and longer for the flow to return to zero."
Flocke called it "certainly the best flow we've seen since 2022" and added that it was "still nowhere near where we would like to be." He said swimming would need about four times that flow, held for a long time. Getting there would take roughly an additional 12 to 16 inches of rain within a month.
The fall readings show where that left things.
| Reading | Jacob's Well flow | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Typical range | 4 to 6 cfs | KXAN, July 2026 |
| July 24, 2026 | about 2 cfs | KXAN |
| Early August 2026 | about 1 to 1.5 cfs | Hays Free Press |
| 30-day and 10-day mean as of October 13, 2026 | 0 cfs | Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District |
The Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District bases drought stages for the Jacob's Well management zone on the spring's flow, using triggers of 6, 5 and 3 cubic feet per second. Both its 30-day and 10-day averages had fallen to zero by October 13. As of mid-October, the district's page lists the Jacob's Well zone at a 30% curtailment of groundwater pumping, which it calls its Emergency Stage.
What You Can Still Do at 1699 Mt. Sharp Road
The natural area is open even with the water off-limits. Under the Hays County fee schedule for fiscal year 2027, which began October 1, Jacob's Well Natural Area is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with no entry after 5:30 p.m. General entry is still free. The county says all swimming "is currently canceled until further notice due to low water levels." It closes on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, and Christmas Day, December 25.
The schedule also does something new. It raises the swim price for a swim nobody can book right now. When reservations come back, adults 13 and older will pay $12. Children 5 to 12, seniors 60 and older, service members and Hays County residents will pay $9. The fiscal 2026 rate was $5 for paid categories. Swimming will run in two-hour blocks, four a day, with no more than 40 people per block.
The county has set a price for swimming's return but no date for it. In August, Flocke tied any return to the next six to eight months of rain. If a persisting or strengthening El Niño brings above-average rain through fall, winter and spring, he said, swimming "next summer, it could be a possibility."
Blue Hole Has Been Carrying the Valley's Swimming
For the past four summers, swimming in Wimberley has mostly meant Blue Hole Regional Park at 333 Blue Hole Lane, fed by Cypress Creek. A 2026 City of Wimberley presentation counted more than 15,000 half-day Blue Hole passes sold through early August, bringing in about $726,886 in pass revenue.
Swim season there runs May 1 through Labor Day, plus weekends in September, so the swim area is now closed until spring. The rest of the park stays open free from 8 a.m. to sunset every day, with no reservation needed for the trails, playground or picnic areas. The park closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The City says it has installed color-coded trail markers and maps at Blue Hole, and the park site posts a 2026 trail map.
The Pool Question Keeps Coming Back to the Same Water
With one spring closed for years and the other open only part of the year, Wimberley is looking into whether the valley needs a swimming pool. The Aquatic Center Feasibility Study came out of the city's master plan, adopted in 2024. The City's 2026 presentation reported 396 survey responses. Of those, 84% supported a future public pool, 67% said they had traveled to another community to use one, and 35% said they drive more than 30 minutes to reach one.
At a September 9 town hall, consultants from Kimley-Horn shared their first cost estimates, according to the Hays Free Press:
- Outdoor facility: close to $10 million in the concept placed at Blue Hole, with a six-lane lap pool, zero-depth entry, play features and slides. Building on Wimberley ISD property could cost slightly more because of added parking and vehicle access.
- Indoor facility: more than $16 million.
- Annual operations: about $275,000 for a seasonal outdoor pool, compared with about $750,000 for an indoor pool staffed year-round.
- Annual subsidy after fees: about $110,000 for outdoor and about $500,000 for indoor, based on consultants' estimate of 30% to 60% cost recovery.
The consultants' projections used estimated daily admission of $5 to $10. No prices have been approved. Kimley-Horn's Austin Powers said no decision to build has been made: "We haven't decided whether it should or shouldn't happen. Really, that's not up to us." Showing a concept at Blue Hole, he added, "doesn't mean it's going to go there." City officials described any facility as a valley-wide effort involving Hays County, Wimberley, Woodcreek and the school district.
Water use is where the debate keeps landing. The City's presentation said water usage came up in 94% of comments from people who opposed a pool. At the town hall, aquatic consultant George Deines said water conservation came up in 40% to 50% of all open-ended survey comments. In other words, the same shortage that closed Jacob's Well is the main argument against building a replacement.
Families on Wimberley's swim team feel the gap most often. The Hays Free Press reported that local swimmers currently practice in Dripping Springs. One parent at the town hall asked whether an outdoor pool could be heated for year-round use. Powers said that could be studied, though finding lifeguards outside the summer months would be hard. Deines suggested separating the lap pool so only that part is heated and covered in colder months.
The Building Coming to Blue Hole Is About Water, Not Swimming
The one funded project at Blue Hole is the Blue Hole Nature Center, which the City describes as focused on water stewardship and environmental education. Planned features include rainwater capture and solar power.
Wimberley Parks & Recreation announced a $750,000 Texas Parks and Wildlife grant on January 28, 2026, for the project's outdoor recreation pieces. That joins $3 million from the Hays County Parks and Open Space Bond.
In July, the San Antonio Express-News reported a 2,375-square-foot concept by Lake Flato, with an estimated cost of $4 million. Construction is expected to start in July 2027 and finish in August 2028, a timeline the paper noted could change.
A Dry-Season Calendar for the Valley
Until the springs recover, Wimberley's off-season revolves around trails, playgrounds and downtown.
- Jacob's Well Natural Area: free entry to walk the grounds, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed November 26 and December 25.
- Blue Hole trails: free, open daily 8 a.m. to sunset, with the new color-coded markers.
- Martha Knies Community Playground: the City is replacing the old playground with a nature-inspired, ADA-accessible one, with completion anticipated in fall 2026. Funding comes from community sponsorships and brick paver sales.
- Hometown Holidays, starting November 28: the Hays Free Press lists the 6 p.m. Wishes for Wimberley Lighted Parade and the downtown tree lighting. A free Downtown Christmas Courtyard at 101 Wimberley Square runs through January 3, 2027.
For current conditions and access at Jacob's Well, Hays County points visitors to its natural area page.
Whether the springs, a pool or the creek at Blue Hole end up as the valley's swimming spot shapes what a Wimberley address means, for families who have lived here for decades and for anyone thinking about the Wimberley area. If you'd like to talk through how parks access and these planned projects fit into owning, leasing or managing a home here, Sage Space RE is happy to sit down with you. Schedule a neighborhood consultation and we'll walk through it together.
