Balmorhea State Park

Balmorhea State Park
The pool area at Balmorhea State Park

Location	Reeves County, Texas, USA
Nearest city	Balmorhea
Coordinates	30°56′40″N 103°47′00″W / 30.94444°N 103.78333°W / 30.94444; -103.78333Coordinates: 30°56′40″N 103°47′00″W / 30.94444°N 103.78333°W / 30.94444; -103.78333^[1]
Area	46 acres (19 ha)
Established	1968
Visitors	51,993^[2] (in 2007)
Governing body	Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/balmorhea

Balmorhea State Park is a 46-acre (19 ha) state park located on the San Solomon Springs in Reeves County, Texas, opened in 1968. The closest major town is Balmorhea, Texas. The park is open year round.

Features

The main feature of the park is the 1.75-acre (0.71 ha), 3.5-million-US-gallon (13,000 m³) freshwater pool built around the springs.^[3] The spring has a constant flow of 22 to 28 million US gallons (110,000 m³) a day so no chlorination is required. The water temperature ranges from 72 to 76 °F (22 to 24 °C) and up to 30 feet (9.1 m) deep. The pool is used for both swimming and scuba diving. Company 1856 of the Civilian Conservation Corps built the pool between 1936 and 1941. It was constructed as part of FDR's New Deal during the Great Depression as a way to open up jobs for people needing work. The Civilian Conservation Corps also built San Solomon Springs Courts, which rents rooms available for overnight stays. Camping and recreational vehicle sites are also available.

The Balmorhea State Park Cienega Project recreated a desert wetland in the park. The cienega now serves as a habitat for endangered fish such as the Comanche Springs pupfish and Pecos gambusia as well as other aquatic life, birds and other animals.

The restored cienega at Balmorhea.
The camping area at Balmorhea.

References

↑ "Balmorhea State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
↑ "Texas State Parks: Natural Economic Assets". Window on State Government. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
↑ Balmorhea lake

Protected areas of Texas

Federal

National Parks	Big Bend Guadalupe Mountains

National Monuments and Memorials	Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Chamizal National Memorial Waco Mammoth National Monument

National Historical Parks and Historic Sites	Fort Davis NHS Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Palo Alto Battlefield NHP San Antonio Missions NHP

National Historic Trails	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro

National Recreation Areas	Amistad Lake Meredith

National Wildlife Refuges	Anahuac Aransas Attwater Prairie Chicken Balcones Canyonlands Big Boggy Brazoria Buffalo Lake Caddo Lake Grulla Hagerman Laguna Atascosa Lower Rio Grande Valley McFaddin Muleshoe Neches River San Bernard Santa Ana Texas Point Trinity River

National Forests	Angelina Davy Crockett Sabine Sam Houston

National Grasslands	Caddo Lyndon B. Johnson McClellan Creek Rita Blanca

Other Protected Areas	Big Thicket National Preserve Padre Island National Seashore Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River

State

State Parks and Natural Areas	Abilene Atlanta Balmorhea Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center Bastrop Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Big Bend Ranch Big Spring Blanco Boca Chica Bonham Brazos Bend Buescher Caddo Lake Caprock Canyons Cedar Hill Choke Canyon Cleburne Colorado Bend Cooper Lake Copper Breaks Daingerfield Davis Mountains Devils River State Natural Area Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area Dinosaur Valley Eisenhower Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Estero Llano Grande Fairfield Lake Falcon Fort Boggy Fort Parker State Park Fort Richardson State Park Franklin Mountains Galveston Island Garner Goliad Goose Island Government Canyon State Natural Area Guadalupe River Hill Country State Natural Area Honey Creek State Natural Area Huntsville Indian Lodge Inks Lake Kickapoo Cavern Lake Arrowhead Lake Bob Sandlin Lake Brownwood Lake Casa Blanca International Lake Colorado City Lake Corpus Christi Lake Livingston Lake Mineral Wells Lake Somerville Lake Tawakoni Lake Texana Lake Whitney Lockhart Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Martin Creek Lake Martin Dies, Jr. Matagorda Island McKinney Falls Meridian Mission Tejas Monahans Sandhills Mother Neff State Park Mustang Island Old Tunnel Palmetto Palo Duro Canyon Pedernales Falls Possum Kingdom Purtis Creek Ray Roberts Lake Resaca de la Palma San Angelo Sea Rim Sheldon Lake South Llano River Stephen F. Austin Tyler Village Creek Walter Umphrey Wyler Aerial Tramway

State Historic Sites	Acton Admiral Nimitz Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos Battleship TEXAS Caddoan Mounds Casa Navarro Confederate Reunion Grounds Eisenhower Birthplace Fanthorp Inn Fannin Battleground Fort Griffin Fort Lancaster Fort Leaton Fort McKavett Fort Richardson State Park Fulton Mansion Goliad Hueco Tanks Kreische Brewery Landmark Inn Levi Jordan Plantation Lipantitlan Lyndon B. Johnson Magoffin Homestead Mission Espiritu Santo Mission Rosario Monument Hill Penn Farm Point Isabel Lighthouse Sabine Pass Battleground Sam Bell Maxey House Samuel T. Rayburn House San Felipe San Jacinto Battleground Sauer-Beckmann Farm Seminole Canyon Starr Family Home Varner–Hogg Plantation Washington-on-the-Brazos Zaragoza Birthplace

State Forests and Arboretums	E.O. Siecke I.D. Fairchild John Henry Kirby Masterson W. Goodrich Jones Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum Olive Scott Petty Arboretum

State Wildlife Trails	Great Texas Coastal Heart of Texas Panhandle Plains Prairies and Pineywoods

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

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Balmorhea State Park

Features

See also

References