The Experience: Frankly, we were amazed to hear that there was a free water playscape located near Austin. Most of the people we have mentioned it to have not heard of this recent addition either. We decided to visit this attraction as soon as possible, and went on a Monday afternoon in June. As soon as we parked the car, our daughter jumped out and ran for the water playscape. It is amazing: brightly colored and clean, with water shooting out from at least ten different places from scores of sprinklers. The water completes a several-minute long cycle during which it will come out of various sprinklers at different times and get higher and lower. It will then turn off, as it is on a timer. There is a pink and purple pole with a black top next to the restroom, and if you hold your hand on it the water will come back on. Some of the sprinklers were higher and more intense, while some were smaller and gentler and drew younger kids. All the children I saw there absolutely loved it, except for my two-year-old, who decided to play in the dirt off to the side instead. Toddlers and preschoolers liked to fill and dump plastic bottles and run through the water. Older kids liked to try to hold down the spray with their bodies and float balls or other items in the spray. Even babies loved getting wet; there was a baby in a tiny pink sunhat being held by her father who had a blast there. Mostly kids just ran through the spray gleefully laughing and screaming. There are several picnic tables and benches in the water playscape area. The benches and tables by the water playscape are in full sun, so parents watching can get hot. The smart parents avoided this pitfall by wearing swimwear and getting wet too. Other parents sat under trees in the shade behind the fence and watched. The clientèle was all families. Kids seemed to find it easy to find a friend to play with in the water. There was a regular playground and a small pavilion a fairly short distance away. The regular playscape is in full sun and almost too hot to play on during summer afternoons, but that is par for the course with most of the parks we have been to. There is another, larger picnic pavilion near the playscape. On the first day we were there, the water playscape shut off from approximately 3:30 to 4:00, much to the kids' chagrin. They did manage to entertain themselves by lying in the puddles screaming for more water and later, playing in the sand of the sand volleyball court. This is not a usual occurrence, and apparently was due to a malfunction which was soon remedied when someone called the park office. On our second visit, there was no difficulty with the water. The park had another personality as well: it offered a genuine nature experience to those who ventured to the trail and small lake/large pond. A nice crushed rock trail led from the water playscape to the lake. The lake was quiet and peaceful, and there were several picnic tables in shady spots leading up to the lake. Swimming is not allowed in the lake, but fishing is allowed, as are canoes and kayaks. Our son was able to throw a few rocks into the lake, his favorite activity. Most of the park is what we would refer to as unimproved land, which is nice in the tree-covered areas. The area between the lake and the playscape areas is a large weed-filled expanse with no trees and no trails to get across. If you want to go to the water, you have to follow a circumnavigating trail that goes in a large oval around the park.