Lakes north of Dallas. Are they swimmable? (Austin, Fort Worth: for sale, homes)

[carlymac]

We are interviewing for a job in Denton. We've always like the idea of a lake home and have found a few available but I'm wondering if people actually swim in that green water. What makes it so green? How are the mosquitoes near the lakes?

Also is the Dallas or the Fort Worth forum more appropriate for questions about Denton?

If we get the job and move there we would aim for either a lake home or possibly some acreage in the Argyle school district. I found a home for sale on several acres of wooded property. Is that a bad idea when considering snakes and bugs? I'm not fond of either.

[bluescreen73]

You can swim in the lakes near Lewisville and Denton, but it's personally not my cup of tea because the water's murky and pretty skanky and you'll feel like you're covered in slime and grit when you get out. Some of the lakes are also overcrowded with rowdy, drunk boaters as well. Not worth the hassle imho.

[Colt .45]

Ft. Worth is technically closer to Denton by a couple miles, but the Dallas forum is more popular, so Id definitely say Dallas will help you out better than the Ft.Worth forum.....

As for the lakes, when I was younger I couldnt stand the nasty lakes, I always said, "who wants to swim around in fish, bird, turtle and human urine and poo?" lol...I was all about chlorine pools and Wet N Wild/Hurricane Harbor....but nowadays I love the lake, where you can boat, camp, chill in a cove all day long drinkin beer and listenin to music......I still dont necessarily like swimmin around in what is virtually a cesspool, but hey, a chlorine pool aint much better after humans **** in it all day....and even the most so called "pristine" lakes and oceans elsewhere have the same fish,bird,reptile and human excrements in it........

Honestly the only thing I "worry" about when swimming in Lakes Lewisville, Grapevine or Ray Roberts, is one of those random gators chompin down on my leg....and I dont actually worry about it all, cause I know the odds are slim and none....

[BigDGeek]

I don't like the "lakes" around here because they're fake and I think they're dirty. I've gone swimming and tubing in natural bodies of water in Texas and never came out dirty and smelling like algae like I did when I swam in north Texas lakes.

YMMV.

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I don't like the "lakes" around here because they're fake and I think they're dirty. I've gone swimming and tubing in natural bodies of water in Texas and never came out dirty and smelling like algae like I did when I swam in north Texas lakes.

YMMV.

What "natural" body of water did you swim in Texas? There is only one.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by numbersguy100

What "natural" body of water did you swim in Texas? There is only one.

I think you're forgetting about Texas's many rivers.

[Katana49]

When I was a kid I swam in Lake Lewisville, the water wasn't as dirty back then (30 years ago.) But now, I'd pass.

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I think you're forgetting about Texas's many rivers.

I agree with your statement, I just wouldn't have called a river a "body of water" so I was wondering what you were talking about. Many rivers in Texas are fine. But even the lakes down by Austin (Austin/Travis/LBJ) seem pretty gross to me. Better for boating than swimming.

[TheOverdog]

Is that a bad idea when considering snakes and bugs?

If you do not like snakes, bugs and wildlife, then no you should probably not buy a home fronting a lake. The lakes are greenish because there is a lot of organic material in them since they have mud bottoms and since 2 solid years of outrageous flooding have stirred them up. This is actually pretty common - the number of clear blue lakes in the US is pretty small.


Argyle is near Lake Lewisville, which has a few public swimmable areas, but swimming is generally not recommended in lakes without life saving devices not because the water is gross but because lakes have unstable currents, basically like ocean riptides all the time, which makes them dangerous for novices to swim in.

[jdallas]

I grew up on Lake of the Ozarks so lake swimming doesn't bother me at all. That said, during the half ironman over in Rockwall, we had to go through a layers of fuel, oil and mud so now I check out the flight schedules first when feeling the urge to hit the water.


Be sure to check out the depth maps carefully when looking at waterfront homes right now. We've had a lot of rain so they are all at ideal conditions. Droughts are increasingly common making some of those lakefront lots fields of mud.