Balmorhea State Park - Toyahvale, TX - State/Provincial Parks on Waymarking.com

Everything's bigger in Texas, so it's no surprise that the World's Largest Spring-Fed Swimming Pool is here too :) The pool is so big, the only way to take a picture of the whole pool is to FLY over it!!

Blasterz PROMISE that there is NOTHING like a plunge into the cool clear waters of the pool at Balmorhea State park after a long hot Texas summer day! It's the Nestea plunge -- ON STEROIDS!!!

Younger Blaserz loved swimming with baby frogs, fish, and turtles in this wonderful oasis.

From the handbook of Texas online: (visit link)

"BALMORHEA STATE RECREATION AREA.

Balmorhea State Recreation Area is located at Toyahvale, at the northern entrance to the Davis Mountains on U.S. Highway 290 in southeastern Reeves County. The park, including its large rock-walled swimming pool, was built around San Solomon Springs by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. The springs, which have been called Mescalero and Head Springs at various times, issue from caverns in the bottom of the swimming pool. The pool covers one and three-quarters acres, is thirty feet deep in places, and has aquatic plants and fish living in its 76-degree water. Before 1933, 950 acres for the park was deeded to the state by private owners and by Reeves County Water Improvement District No. 1. In the 1940s the state legally lost all of the land except the present forty-eight acres.

Prehistoric Indians and Mexican settlers farmed in Madera Valley near the park in early times. In 1583 the entrada of Antonio de Espejo met Jumanos in the Pecos valley who guided them up the Toyah valley to the springs. In 1849 Dr. John S. Ford passed through the Toyah Creek area, noting its productive land and the corn farmed by Mescalero Indians near the springs. After Fort Davis was reoccupied by the army at the end of the Civil War, farmers found a profitable market at the fort for grains, vegetables, and cattle. They irrigated their fields from San Solomon Springs, from which reportedly flowed twenty-two million gallons of water daily. In 1909 the Toyah Valley Irrigation Company was organized to supervise water use. By 1915 Reeves County Water Improvement District No. 1 had built Balmorhea Dam and Lake; later the district donated land for Balmorhea State Recreation Area." [end]

From the Balmorhea State Park website: (visit link)

Dive into the cool waters of the world’s largest spring-fed swimming pool, which covers 1.75 acres and stays at 72–76 degrees year round. Scuba divers love the clarity even at a 25-foot depth. In addition to swimming and camping, the San Solomon Courts offer motel-style retro lodging built by the CCC in the 1930s with a Southwestern adobe look; most units have kitchens. Canals along the Courts lead to a restored ciénega (wetland), where a window built below ground provides a fish-eye’s view of the underwater world.

The pool is open daily. Fed by San Solomon Springs, 22 – 28 million gallons of water flow through it each day. At 25 feet deep, and with a capacity of more than 3.5 million gallons, the pool has plenty of room for swimmers and offers a unique setting for scuba and skin diving. Children under 18 must have permission to swim. No lifeguard on duty. Swimmers pay only the entrance fee.

Picnic sites are available for day use visitors. There is also an outdoor sports area and a playground.

For wildlife lovers, the San Solomon Springs is home to endangered fishes, assorted invertebrates, and turtles. Other animals include resident and migrant birds, deer, javelina, hawks, barn swallows, waterfowl, ground squirrels, roadrunners, and more." [end]

Park Type: Overnight Activities: swimming picnicking camping cienega exhibit nature watching birding Background: Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933 over the historic San Solomon Springs, Balmorhea State park was area was given to the State by the Reeve Co. Water District No. 1 in 1915. Date Established?: 1933 Link to Park: [Web Link] Park Fees: Not listed Additional Entrance Points: Not Listed

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Date Logged Log   09/20/2016 Raven visited it 05/10/2016 Tygress visited it 04/05/2014 scotian visited it 08/10/2010 Benchmark Blasterz visited it

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