Cool Off at These Pools and Splash Pads in Abilene

When it's this blazing hot in Texas, there's really only one outdoor activity that seems remotely tolerable: dousing one's self in H2O. Whether it's swimming or floating or crouching next to the sprinkler, water is everyone's best friend during the long treacherous summer season in the Lone Star State.

Growing up in 1980s Louisiana, my family's favored swim spot was a public pool just a few miles from our neighborhood. With the rare exception of jumping into a hotel pool on our occasional travels, the public pool is the only place I recall swimming as a kid.

Forty years later, it seems public pools have gone by the wayside. Which is unfortunate, being that it's hotter than ever in Texas. After having my own kids - and especially during the multiple months when everyone was cooped up inside together shielding themselves from Earth's nearest fireball - it seemed pressing to find some sort of watering hole to help us mitigate the heat.

For a few years, our family had a membership at the Abilene Swim Club. With toddlers in hand and babies on my hip, I especially appreciated the 18-inch wading end of the pool. Eventually we ended up having several sets of friends with backyard pools. Between mooching off the friends' pools, as well as a newly renovated recreation pool at my college alma mater, we gave up the Swim Club.

My kids are teens now. They are doing their own thing. When they want to cool off, they cannonball into their own friends' pools. There's no longer as much of a desperate attempt for mom to get everyone out of the house and dogpaddling off their cabin fever. But as a parent who has been in the summer-in-Texas trenches, I know about the genuine need to find places for watery relief.

Below are the best places to cool off in the Big Country. Some of these locations require memberships or reservations.

Adventure Cove

Splash pads at Nelson, Redbud, Scarborough, Sears, and Stevenson City Parks

Abilene Swim Club

Wylie Swim Club

Abilene YMCA

The Dive Spot

Both Abilene Christian University and Hardin-Simmons University have pools, but you must have an affiliation (student, employee, alumni) with ACU or HSU to acquire access.

The pool at the Abilene State Park is closed for 2024. If you're up for a road trip, check into the Inez Spring Riverfront Park in Eastland, or city pools in San Angelo, Albany, Anson, Coleman, and Eastland. All are within about an hour's drive of Abilene. Check websites for hours and cost.