Swimming at Jacob’s Well suspended for the summer due to low water levels (2024)

FAQs

Is Jacob's Well swimming season suspended for summer 2024? ›

TEXAS — Jacob's Well Natural Area has announced the suspension of its 2024 summer swimming season in a Facebook post by Hay's County Parks. The swimming season starts May 1 and runs until Sept. 30.

Jacob's Well closed in previous summers

Harsh droughts brought the well to the brink of no return, damaging ecosystems and local economies. It also diminished some of the well's cultural relevance, Katherine Sturdivant, parks education coordinator for the Parks Department, told the American-Statesman in August.

Once a perennial spring that kept flowing even during extreme droughts, Jacob's Well has been drying up with increasing frequency over the last two decades thanks to drought and overpumping. Its new intermittency is a warning sign that the Trinity Aquifer is diminishing rapidly.

The popular swimming hole was suspended because of below average spring flow and water levels.

"There was always clean, clear flowing water coming out of Jacob's Well. We are sure by looking at written and oral histories it doesn't seem that Jacob's Well ever stopped flowing prior to the year 2000," says Sturdivant. Since then, the well has stopped flowing 6 times.

Year round the water temperature is a constant 68(f) degrees.

Jacob's Well has since been restored and a new church modelled along the designs of the Crusader-era church houses the well inside it, in a crypt on a lower level.

Summer is a great time to go out and have fun in the water. But recreational waters—including swimming pools, lakes and oceans—can sometimes get contaminated with bacteria and viruses. Swimming in contaminated water can make you and your family sick.

The Jacob's Well Exploration Project, of which Gregg Tatum is the director, has mapped the cave system. It plunges to 140 feet at its deepest point; 14 stories underground, underwater. There are two tunnels, A and B.

The most renowned incident associated with Jacob's Well is the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, as described in the Gospel of John (John 4:4-42). “Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

How much does it cost to swim at Jacob's Well? ›

Jacob's Well is open to the public from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM daily. Hikers and other non-swimmers do not have to pay an entrance fee or make a reservation. However, they should arrive early as the park can reach capacity. Swimmers must pay a fee of $5 for children ages 5-12, $9 for adults, and $5 for seniors.

The water inside Jacob's Well comes from the Trinity Aquifer, which spans the entire southwestern portion of the state. It no longer spouts water at 170 gallons per second due to development in the area. Today, the "fountain" has been reduced to a mere ripple on the surface.

Hays County purchased Jacob's Well Natural Area in 2010 with voter-approved park bond funds. The Parks Department is working to restore, protect and preserve the natural area for the public to enjoy. The Cultural and natural heritage of Jacob's Well has made if an integral part of the Wimberley experience.

WIMBERLEY, Texas – The Hays County Parks Department announced on Tuesday, April 30 that Jacob's Well Natural Area is suspending its 2024 summer swimming season until further notice.

By the 330s AD, the site had been identified as the place where Jesus held his conversation with the Samaritan woman, and was probably being used for Christian baptisms. By 384 AD, a cruciform church was built over the site, and is mentioned in the 4th century writings of Saint Jerome.

The most renowned incident associated with Jacob's Well is the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, as described in the Gospel of John (John 4:4-42). “Now he had to go through Samaria.

It's now thought to be the second-largest fully submerged cave in the state of Texas. It has an average depth of 120 feet and sits on 80 acres of protected land. The water inside Jacob's Well comes from the Trinity Aquifer, which spans the entire southwestern portion of the state.

Jacob's Well was a simple but beautiful treasure. The exterior of the Church was picturesque and the interior well is so historic. You can drink water from a well that Jesus drank from.