Blue Hole Regional Park named Travelers' Choice for 3 consecutive years

WIMBERLEY — Wimberley’s unique gem, Blue Hole Regional Park, has once again been named Travelers' Choice by TripAdvisor — for the third year in a row.

Blue Hole is a natural, spring-fed swimming hole lined with the iconic cypress trees located deep in the heart of the Texas Hill Country in Wimberley.

The park was conceptualized by an organization called Friends of Blue Hole that found a large property for sale that was going to be purchased by a developer, according to Director of Wimberley Parks & Recreation Richard Shaver. Members of the nonprofit were able to fundraise to purchase the land and through additional fundraising efforts with public and private partnerships, grants and donations, they were able to develop the entire park. The swimming area opened in 2011 and the other recreational amenities (trails, playground, pavilions, etc.) opened in 2012.

The beloved Blue Hole was given the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice of 2023 award, making this the third consecutive year the park has received this recognition. Now, Blue Hole is in the top 10% of TripAdvisor properties.

According to TripAdvisor, the Travelers' Choice awards honor travelers' favorite destinations, hotels, restaurants, things to do and beyond, based on the reviews and opinions collected from travelers and diners around the world on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period.

Shaver gave all the credit to the Wimberley Parks & Recreation staff for the park earning the award.

“It's so wonderful. It's such a testament to the dedication that comes from our staff members. We have so many wonderful maintenance crews that really take care of our main area and our trailer facilities and really just all of our part-time staff that are so dedicated to customer service,” he said. “We really try to cater to the customer from whenever they first initially book the reservation and all the way to the end. That really shows with all the positive ratings and reviews that people leave on TripAdvisor.”

Shaver said that he believes what makes Blue Hole unique is its geographical location, leading the tourism department in Wimberley to see 200,000 visitors every year.

“It is such an astounding place … Having the hundreds of year old cypress trees that line the creek [and] having it almost completely shaded with the sunny lawn. It's a family-friendly environment and really all of the educational opportunities, I think, make this place unique,” he said. “We really want people to come and enjoy a natural resource like this, but take home the thoughts and invigoration of wanting to protect our natural resources and wanting to save land for parks and recreational amenities.”

People who come to visit Blue Hole are more inclined to support the local business and everything that the city of Wimberley has to offer, Shaver added. It keeps bringing them back.

“It has been proven time and time again that people come to Wimberley because of our natural resources. They come for the parks. They come for the river, Blue Hole and Jacob's Well. They stay for the inviting atmosphere of the downtown shops, the square, hotels, bars and restaurants, and just the quaint hometown environment that Wimberley has,” he said. “Wimberley would be different without its natural resources and its true beauty within its parks.”

While Blue Hole is open at this time for swimming, there is still a lingering concern that minimal flow could occur — especially with the current state of Jacob’s Well being at zero water flow.

“Blue Hole and a couple of other areas on Cypress Creek have their own smaller entrances to the Trinity Aquifer, so we still receive water from the aquifer, even though Jacob’s Well is pretty much completely dry at this point,” Shaver said. “Jacob’s Well is kind of the top of the aquifer and Blue Hole receives some of the water that is deeper within the aquifer itself.”

Blue Hole had to be closed on Aug. 1, 2022, for some time due to unsafe swimming conditions.

“We are very thankful that we are able to stay open as of today [Aug. 2, 2023], but that status might change if we drop below a level that is unsafe, a water depth that is unsafe for swimming or if we get back test results that have an increased amount of bacteria.”

Those interested in making reservations for swimming at Blue Hole can visit www.cityofwimberley.com/202/Blue-Hole-Regional-Park.