Beating the heat in DFW Metroplex: where to swim (Dallas: waterpark, movies)

[Champ le monstre du lac]

I'm curious to know what Dallasites do when it gets real hot to cool off in the summer. How are the lakes in North Texas? What are some of the best lakes in the area?

[theloneranger]

I usually go swimming on pools, but my family docks our boat on Lewisville Lake at Eagle Point Marina.

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

Six Flags has a water park and I think there are a couple others but I'm sure they have changed their names by now.
You used to be able to get a season pass and go anytime you wanted, the one I went to was open into the evening so you could come just for the evening or day of if you really wanted ALOT of water stay all day and into the evening.

[theloneranger]

Six Flags does not have a water park in DFW. There is a seperate water park, Six Flags Hurricance Harbor, but it is a seperate park across the street and requires a ticket all of it's own. It's a fun day though, particularly for children, though the lines can get long.

There is also NRH20 in Richland Hills, and Hawaiian Falls in The Colony, Garland, and Duncanville, which are smaller waterparks. A lot of community pools have waterpark style slides now, and some have "spray grounds" where the kids can run around and get sprayed safely.

[DFWgal]

Is there any lake, river, etc where you can swim or everything is polluted and you need to go to the pool, etc?

[theloneranger]

Not really in Dallas proper except possibly in White Rock Lake. However, there isn't much recreational swimming in the Lake; the only thing I've heard of is people swimming in the Lake to train for triathlons and such.

If you go to the suburbs or beyond, there are lakes you can swim in, but usually only in marked areas, and I don't know if there are public access points to swim at. The last time I "went swimming" in the lake was at summer camp on Lewisville Lake. I don't mind getting in the water when boating, but we don't park the car and jump in.

Several of my friends have backyard pools, there is a community pool right by my house, there is a city pool not much farther than that, and the YMCA where my family belongs and where I work has one of the nicest recreational aquatic facilities in the state, so I do most of my swimming in the pool.

[ChristieP]

Almost ALL of the lakes in DFW have at least one area set aside as a swimming beach. I know Laek Ray Hubbard does, and so does Lake Tawakoni. I've never seen a swimming area at White Rock lake, though!

We generally stay indoors when it gets hot and enjoy the air conditioning! We go to the movies, too. At night, even in the hottest part of summer, it is usually in the high 70s and bearable outside.

[FarNorthDallas]

There's Burger's Lake:
Burger's Lake - Sandy Beaches in Ft. Worth, Texas

and Sandy Lake Park:
Welcome to Sandy Lake Park

I don't swim in the lakes around here. Yuk. Except for Lake Texoma, but not from the shore, only off boats or at the islands. You have to be careful of stagnant water. In the heat of the summer, lake water is just plain hot.

The water parks are much better. There are city ones in Lewisville, next to Lewisville High School, Rowlett, next to Rowlett High School, the indoor one in Allen, Keller has one, Plano has more than one, and several others. Richardson's public pools are so-so. Dallas has free splash parks and a few crummy public pools - not water park like, just holes in the ground. There's Great Wolf Lodge, too.

[loves2read]

be aware that last year people in some public pools and I think in some of the lakes got sick from swimming--
basically baby poop got in the water and contaminated it

[pepper131]

Originally Posted by loves2read

be aware that last year people in some public pools and I think in some of the lakes got sick from swimming--
basically baby poop got in the water and contaminated it

Yeah, that was crypto. The KC pool was shut down among other places.

BTW - I've never seen anyone swim in White Rock Lake; I drive by it every day.
Lake FAQ | www.whiterocklake.org