Stay Cool
East Austin gets impressive new pool with waterslide and lap lanes

The Colony Park Pool will open in time for Memorial Day weekend.
Northeast Austinites will have a new way to keep cool this summer with the opening of the Colony Park Pool on May 24. Located at 7400 Loyola Ln., it's neighbor to Overton Elementary School on the west side of Lake Walter E. Long.
The impressive community pool is intended to serve the Colony Park and Lakeside neighborhoods, but anyone is allowed to enter without a fee. It will be open year-round, which usually means it will be heated in winter months. However, the city's web page for the pool does not include information on heating.
Visitors can enjoy lap lanes, a diving board, a water slide, and a spray ground feature, plus a "zero-entry activity pool" for young children. Out of the water, there will be deck space, a gender-neutral bathhouse, family restrooms, a room for trainings or parties, and an aquatic office space.
An angle that shows how the pool is sectioned for different uses.Image shared by the City of Austin via email update
Some programs will also be available, such as lap swim times and swimming lessons divided by age and skill level. An email update this May says water aerobics, aqua fitness classes for adults and seniors, water sports, and movie nights are also being considered as future additions.
The finishing touch will be a permanent art installation as part of the City of Austin Arts in Public Places (AIPP) program. Projects made for AIPP have a wide range of forms, from murals, to sculptures, to creative places to sit. The giant round "Blackbird" at Republic Square is one, as is the colorful sea monster "Lake Nessy" at the Mueller Northwest Greenway. The Colony Park Pool project will be a mural, as mocked up in the May email update.
A mockup of the proposed mural.Image shared by the City of Austin via email update
According to the city, the aquatic area "complement[s] the recently completed Colony Park District Park that provides a baseball field, soccer/multi-sports field, a large play area with elements of nature-based play, fitness equipment, two pavilions, picnic tables, drinking fountains, and a hike and bike trail that connects the adjacent communities."
Funding for the Colony Park Pool comes from the 2018 G.O. Bond, which set aside $149 million for parks and recreation. The first city approvals for setting up the park came in 2019, followed by community meetings in 2021 and construction starting in May 2023.