Blue Hole Park
Georgetown
Hike and Swim
Blue Hole Park is a three acre city park in downtown Georgetown where the South Fork of the San Gabriel River widens into a long green pool under a wall of limestone bluff. A historic low dam crosses the river at the downstream end and spills over in a stepped waterfall, and that dam is what holds the water back and gives the hole its depth. The color is the draw. Limestone filters the flow until it reads green to turquoise against pale rock ledges, and the bluff on the north bank shades the deep end through much of the afternoon. Sycamores lean out over the banks and cedar crowds the rim above.
The entrance is at Second and Rock Streets, one block west of North Austin Avenue and about five blocks north of the Williamson County courthouse square. It is free. No gate, no reservation, no admission charge of any kind, which sets it apart from the ticketed Blue Hole Regional Park down in Wimberley that shares the name. Open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Free public parking sits at Third and Rock Streets in a surface lot and a garage, and both fill fast on hot weekends. Restrooms and picnic areas are on site, and anglers work the tailwater below the spill for bass, catfish and sunfish.
There are no lifeguards. The city says plainly that you enter the river at your own risk and that it does not monitor water flow or bacteria levels. Take that seriously. Swimmers along the San Gabriel have picked up bacterial skin and eye infections, and Georgetown has posted warning signs at the park about it. Runoff carries bacteria straight into the pool, so the days right after rain are the worst days to get in.
The river itself is the bigger hazard. This reach floods hard and fast. A November 2001 flood nearly wiped the park out, another came through in July 2002, and the Independence Day flooding of 2025 buried the park and its trails in gravel and debris. Blue Hole and its connecting trails closed on October 27, 2025 while crews hauled the deposits off the bank. If rain is falling upstream, stay out of the water.
Depth swings with the weather. After a wet spring the pool is deep and swimmable bank to bank. In a dry August it drops to shallow ledges and gravel bars you can walk across. Diving or jumping from the cliffs and rock faces is prohibited by city ordinance, as are glass and alcohol, and dogs must be leashed.
Trails run out of the park both ways. The rustic half mile Pickett Trail climbs to Chautauqua Park, and the San Gabriel River trail system links Blue Hole to Rivery Park, San Gabriel Park and roughly eight connected miles of surface reaching Lake Georgetown. A $10.15 million city master plan goes to design in 2026 with construction expected in early 2027, adding parking, rebuilt restrooms, a paddle launch and riverbank stabilization.
More Information
Be courteous, informed, and prepared. Read trailhead guidelines, stay on the trail, and don't feed the wildlife.
Read More
- Plan Ahead and Prepare
- Travel & camp on durable surfaces
- Dispose of waste properly
- Leave what you find
- Minimize campfire impacts
- Respect wildlife
- Be considerate of other visitors
Directions
From Georgetown
- Head west on Volta Pl NW toward Cashell Alley (0.1 mi)
- Turn left onto 34th St NW (0.3 mi)
- Turn right onto M St NW (226 ft)
- Turn left onto Francis Scott Key Brg/
Key Bridge Entering Virginia(0.3 mi) - Continue onto N Ft Myer Dr (0.1 mi)
- Turn right onto Langston Blvd. (0.5 mi)
- Take the ramp on the left onto I-66 WToll road(73.1 mi)
- Take exit 1A to merge onto I-81 S toward Roanoke (228 mi)
- Keep left to continue on I-81 S/
US-52 N, follow signs for Bristol Continue to follow I-81 SEntering Tennessee(148 mi) - Take exit 1B for I-40 W toward Knoxville (0.7 mi)
- Merge onto I-40 (3.0 mi)
- Keep left to stay on I-40 (49.7 mi)
- Slight right to stay on I-40 (signs for Nashville) (155 mi)
- Continue straight to stay on I-40 (2.1 mi)
- Slight left to stay on I-40 (3.4 mi)
- Take the I-40 W exit on the left toward Memphis (0.4 mi)
- Continue onto I-40 W (1.4 mi)
- Keep right to stay on I-40 W, follow signs for Memphis (188 mi)
- Keep left to stay on I-40 W (1.5 mi)
- Keep left to stay on I-40 W (5.7 mi)
- Take exit 10A-10B for I-40 W toward Little Rock (0.8 mi)
- Continue onto I-40 W (7.9 mi)
- Keep left to stay on I-40 W (2.5 mi)
- Keep left to stay on I-40 W, follow signs for Little RockEntering Arkansas(10.5 mi)
- Keep left to stay on I-40 W, follow signs for Little Rock (123 mi)
- Take exit 153B on the left for I-30 W/
US-65 S/ US-67 S/ US-167 S toward Little Rock (0.6 mi) - Continue onto I-30 W/
US-167 S/ US-65 S/ US-67 S (4.3 mi) - Slight right onto I-30 W (signs for Texarkana)Entering Texas(284 mi)
- Continue onto I-30 W (20.6 mi)
- Take the exit onto I-635 S (9.2 mi)
- Merge onto I-20 W (11.9 mi)
- Take exit 467B to merge onto I-35E S toward Waco (48.2 mi)
- Keep left to stay on I-35E S (0.2 mi)
- Merge onto I-35 S (34.3 mi)
- Keep left to stay on I-35 S (43.3 mi)
- Keep left to stay on I-35 S, follow signs for Austin (26.5 mi)
- Keep left to stay on I-35 S, follow signs for Austin (3.7 mi)
- Take exit 261 toward TX-29/
Burnet (0.7 mi) - Merge onto S IH 35 Service Rd SPass by Wendy's (on the right in 0.3 mi)(1.1 mi)
- Sharp left onto Interstate 35 Frontage Rd N (signs for I-35 N/
Taylor) (0.9 mi) - Turn right onto San Gabriel Village BlvdDestination will be on the right(0.2 mi)
The Blue Hole pool and its low stepped dam at sunset, with the limestone bluff line behind. courtesy of G. Lamar↗ (CC BY 2.0↗)
Swimmers and waders on the low dam at Blue Hole Park on the South San Gabriel River. courtesy of Carol M. Highsmith↗ (Public domain↗)
The double weir at Blue Hole spilling over clear green water below the cedar covered bluff. courtesy of Larry D. Moore↗ (CC BY 4.0↗)
Limestone ledges and the dam apron at Blue Hole during a low water stretch in late summer. courtesy of Another Believer↗ (CC BY-SA 4.0↗)
Waders in the shallows at the dam, with the park's gravel bank in the foreground. courtesy of Another Believer↗ (CC BY-SA 4.0↗)
The South San Gabriel River in flood at Blue Hole Park, July 2002. courtesy of Ahodges7↗ (CC BY-SA 3.0↗)
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