How Cool Are These 5 Civic Park Pools at Hemisfair?

By Kelsey Kennedy | June 12, 2024

The new splash pools at Civic Park, a section of Hemisfair in downtown San Antonio, are officially open for summer 2024! They are super, super cool. (Literally. We needed these in San Antonio to help counteract the scorching summers.)

A Few Details About The Civic Park Pools In San Antonio

They're totally free to visit. Yay! Add this to your list of free things to do in San Antonio!

There's a total of 5 little splash pools. They're all completely unique with various shapes and designs. Some of them have ramps, others have steps, and they're all beautiful.

The city of San Antonio created these in the empty space at Hemisfair. There was a bunch of undeveloped land, and the city spent about $27 million developing Civic Park. There are all of these pools + a big open green space for outdoor concerts and picnics.

They're technically called "The Springs." These 5 pools are designed in honor of the Texas Hill Country springs (like Barton Springs!) that we all know and love.

They're open every day. Since they're part of Hemisfair, they're open from 5 am - midnight every day.

Can I share a little insider info with you? I stopped by to experience the Civic Park Springs around 10 am on a June morning, and it was already HOT!

There's a little bit of shade from some small nearby trees and umbrellas, but not nearly as much shade as you'll find at the nearby Yanaguana Garden, splash pad, and playground.

(My best recommendation for surviving San Antonio summers, as always, is to start you day very early!)

I did find a small shady spot and camped out there while my children splashed nearby. It was a really fun morning!

The other interesting thing is that even though there are signs that say, "these springs are for feet and paws," the children were clearly not using it as a wading pool....

Every child there was full-on swimming underwater. The pools are about 18 inches deep, which is plenty of water for a toddler or small child to swim.

It will be interesting to see if hte city enforces the "wading" rule as time goes on, or if they allow this to basically be a free swimming pool in the middle of the city.

And while the water, which is excess recycled water from the nearby convention center, goes through its own filtration system, my understanding is that it's not chlorinated in the way that swimming pool water is.

Also, note that there are no life guards here. So if you bring your children, keep a close eye on them as this is definitely MUCH deeper water than a typical splash pad or wading pool.

Safety notes aside, I have nothing but overwhelming praise for these fun water features in downtown San Antonio! On the day I visited, it was full of shrieking, smiling children who were being closely watched by their nearby parents. Groups of children enjoyed picnic lunches nearby, and plenty of the pools were still empty and ready for even more San Antonio residents and visitors to enjoy the cold water.

A huge win for San Antonio!