Place Post: Krause Springs

         I visited Krause Springs with some friends the weekend of July 13th. I had been one time previously last summer, and was blown away by the natural beauty of the area. Consisting of a large outdoor area with a man made pool that leads down to a large natural spring, it is easy to find yourself spending the entire day there. One of the most fun things to do there is to jump off the cliff into the spring, but it depends on if the water level is sufficiently high enough. The first time I had visited, we were literally the only people at the springs, so it made the experience that much better.
       This most recent time however, was a completely different story. The intense mid-July heat had brought in a ridiculous amount of people, as we first noticed that the parking lot was at full capacity.There were so many people camped around the spring, that we found ourselves sitting 100 feet away from the spring uncomfortably resting on jagged rocks. One of the main attractions for coming to Krause is that one can bring beer with them, and everyone was taking advantage of that including us. It was sad however, to see all the thrown beer cans surrounding the spring. I was afraid to stick my head into the spring water because I knew that at least 50 percent of the hundreds of people had peed in the spring at some point.

                                                          (image courtesy of Krausesprings.net)
       I can't blame everyone else for being at Krause that day, as it is the perfect location to escape the overwhelming heat of Austin. But having been the previous year and having enjoyed the entire place to myself was a completely different experience entirely. My advice for prospective visitors is to get there as early as possible, as by noon time it just gets too congested for comfort.