When the Blanco River crested at 40 feet thanks to more than 12 inches of rain during Memorial Day weekend, several areas of Central Texas, including Blanco State Park, experienced severe flooding. But, like Britney Spears since her epic melt down in ’07, Blanco State Park is making a big comeback.
Rev up the convertible, and head out with your “Pretty Girls”: This Saturday, Aug. 1, the popular camp and hiking spot will reopen its gates after more than two months of cleaning and repairs, according to a press release issued by Texas Parks & Wildlife. As before, visitors will again be allowed to camp and use the south side of the park for day-use activities like fishing, hiking, biking, etc. The campground and west-end day-use area also will be available when the park reopens.
The press release also states that all other parts of the park, including the north side day-use area near the dam, will remain closed to the public until the grounds can be made safe for visitors. Due to damage to the dam, the water level is very low and is not flowing over the dam at this time. Check valves in the dam were damaged which resulted in water loss in the swimming area.
If your aim is to swim, be sure to call the park to check water levels prior to arrival. The valves will hopefully be repaired within the next few weeks, which will allow the swimming area to resume normal levels, before anymore flooding hits (baby, one more time).
Be patient with Britney, we mean Blanco, as she works out her remaining kinks, and check for updates on other recovering state parks on the Texas Parks & Wildlife site.
More information about Blanco State Park is also available on their TPWD webpage.
This article appears in July 31 • 2015.