Fun little lake and park tucked in east Austin. After entering the park you can go left or right and travel about a mile in either direction by car. Passing multiple turn outs where you could set up camp or a picknic close to the water. read more

I found this park and lake to be charming it was nice and quite --not too many people on the weekdays, so if your looking to get away from the crowds this is a good place to take your family. The boat traffic seemed to be reasonable. https://hubpages.com/travel/Walter-E-Long-Metropolitan-Park-Lake-Austin-TX-Reviews However, I have heard that if there is an event going on.. it can be very crowded. Some people have been turned away at the gate. So far, I have not found any event postings on any websites related to Lake Walter E. Long. I know they have had triathlon events at this park in the past. The park was clean, mowed and well maintained. The picnic tables were well maintained and there was plenty of trash cans around to dispose of your picnic items. I did not like the portable restrooms strung though out the park, and the road could use some repairs. read more

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I am somewhat obsessed with studying native plants - it is not only my passion but also my job. For my 1,000 review I would like to spread my passion for rare native plants. The Iris Albicans is a 3,410 year old Iris that is a sterile hybrid that spreads by rhizomal growth and division as it can not produce seeds. I found this rare Iris on a recent hike at Walter E Long and it is worth many returns! read more

Walter E Long Park - Parks Near Me - Austin, Texas

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It's a nice park out away from the city. Don't go here when there is an event going on, it will take you literally 1 hour to get out of the place. All roads merge to one single exit lane (stupid) But all in all a nice place to visit and either swim, fish, or just chill. read more

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This park pretty much give the patrons an opportunity to carry out the major outdoor activities like fishing, kayaking, running, swimming, camping. Its not too far away from the city and the best part is it is never too crowded. There is a charge of $5 to enter the park though. The only downside to the place is that it is less scenic, decently maintained and doesn't have that WOW factor to attract the park users again and again. For fishing enthusiasts there is a small shop which sells basic gears and bait right outside the main entrance. read more

I've been out to Walter E. Long about 3 times within the last month or so, and I quite enjoy going out here. I come out to fish and have had decent success with bank/wading fishing. i have pulled in a few perch, blue gills, crappie, and baby large mouth bass. I've so far only been on the weekdays in the early morning, usually wednesday or thursday about 7am and its nice and quiet, not too many people out and plenty of good spots to hang out and fish. there is a bait shop right outside the park gates if you need some supplies, but from what i hear they charge a nice premium. I really want to get out farther in the water and see what kind of big guys i can rope in. all the ones i've caught so far have been small, but with the number of guys in boats, there has to be some good fish out there. I've met a few really nice people out there who have been willing to give me tips on lures and good spots to bank fish, and have had nothing but good experiences out there so far. read more

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This lake is a lake that is controlled by the power plant so even in the winter time the water is a little bit warmer than throughout Texas because is used to keep the turbines cool a nice late to come out for fishing kayaking or just playing around on the shore. read more

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Took my old pooch swimming here, with my son. Nice place, really easy to get to, & not at all crowded. My dog had a blast swimming in a secluded little area by the closed boat dock. Sure wish I still had my boat, I'd be out there all day long! Looked like fishing was good. Guy caught what looked like a huge Bass just as we were leaving. $5 park entrance per car on weekdays, $10 Fri., Sat.& Sun. read more

Not impressive. No place to walk my dogs. Kind of sketchy. What a waste of a nice plot of land with a pretty lake.

Walter Long Park ... aka Decker Lake ... is a strange and unusual place as far as parks go. It is in a land far, far away from central Austin (read: 4 miles from the intersection of MLK & 51st street). Because of this, only a select group of park-goers gather here, but they do so for very different reasons. The eclectic mix ranges from boaters and fishermen to triathletes, Tejano-truck men, and little ol' me. I will start by saying that the main reasons I regularly go to this park all have to do with my dog. To understand why my dog has driven me to frequent this park, it is important to understand the personality profile of my little, canine friend. You see, while my dog is exceptionally well-behaved at home, in public he likes to pretend that he is a trained killer. Despite the hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars spent on training, I/he/we (I'm not quite sure who is to blame) have not quite mastered behaving in public. As a result, I go to Decker Lake, where the crowds are small and the spaces are big, and my dog can get his ya-ya-s out. After gaming the system by parking outside the fence and paying our $1 walk-in fee (as opposed to the more expensive drive-in fee), we are largely left to our own devices. Once in a while we either catch glimpses of other park-users or if there is a triatholon, we are turned away altogether, but these occasions are few and far between. In case you haven't been to Decker Lake, let me give you a little run-down of some of the other park-users that you may encounter: The boat, sea-doo, and fishing crowd makes use of the lake, which is actually a reservoir created by a dam that (apparently) cools the generators at Decker Creek Power Plant. When I see people swimming, boating, and fishing there and wonder if this industrial lake is safe, I just think of Homer Simpson and then everything is fine. The triathletes travel solo and in packs. At times, there will be an actual triatholon going on and there will be hundreds of people making their way through the park. These armies of people have bikes, spandex, energy-goo, and friends in tow. These are the days when I take my theatrical dog and turn right around and leave because he would implode in the middle of this kind of sporting excitement. We are all in training, whether for a triathlon, or just the next day of life, but sometimes you can see competition in full effect at the park. According to the City of Austin, it yields "endless amounts of outdoor recreational activities" and I have seen it with my own eyes both on land (in the form of bikers and runners) and by sea (in the form of boaters and swimmers). There are other days when I have entered the park and rather than finding throngs of athletes, I have found collections of Tejano-truck men. These are the guys who like to hang out near/in/on/around (choose your favorite preposition) their trucks and listen to Tejano music at top volume. I assume that they are also drinking lots of adult beverages. While this is not my preferred style of entertainment, I think that Decker Lake is probably a good place to partake in Tejano truck man activities, because there are very few other people who will will bother you or be bothered by you. In all seriousness, what's great about this largely undiscovered and (thankfully for me) underutilized park, it has plenty of space and provides a nice change from some of the more congested parks in the city center. So, Whether you like swimming in an industrial lake, wearing spandex, or listening to Tejano music, Decker Lake may be just the place for you. One word of caution: watch out for that girl with the crazy dog! read more

I've had three experiences here - a company picnic, an open water swim to prepare for a tri, and a triathlon last weekend. All in all, great experiences each time. It's a nice place to swim (albeit cold in April, though that's not the park's fault), was a VERY nice place to run, and honestly, I'm really happy that there is a place like this, that feels so far away from it all but also just a very short drive, that can sponsor awesome events like this! Looking forward to doing another triathlon here this summer! Yay Decker! read more

Lake is a little chopping on windy days. Don't prefer the taste of the water but I drank a good amount of it during IronMan 70.3. Crime rate doesn't seem bad but I did get punched in the face a few times while swimming, I'm sure it was an accident. Also got ran over by a canoe but he apologized afterwards. Don't ride your bike in the grass or you might end up with a flat tire. read more

What time the park closes on Monday to Friday? This is one of the good place. I would like to know what time the park closes . Thank you

Great traffic free lake. The crowd is a little "low-rent", but it's just because it's so far east Austin. There's a great, secluded picnic area on the backside of the lake read more

So we were going to the lake to you know enjoy the day but we had to wait about 30 min for the capacity of cars to lower. We saw about 15-20 cars exit the lake and so we try to enter but the people woukd not allow is to go in we tried to come back but they would still not allow us to come in. We are very upset that we were not able to enjoy the day at the lake read more

This park is located just 12 miles from downtown Austin, Texas and is a great place to get away from the Highland Lake crowds during the summer. Boat Ramps are usually open as this is a constant level lake, portable bathrooms available and plenty of parking. Some shade available in park but could use more. read more

The grounds are awful. Very messy with no trash cans. No shade. The water is gross. The view is disgusting. read more

I got there after 5pm, on sept 4th. I paid over 70 dollars for a pass that is good for 20 visits, as this place is not far from my house, and I thought it'd be a nice place to take my dog to.. And now I regret paying that amount. The crowd was already very loud, but I did see the police driving around, and thought it'd be safe. But as it got darker the cars that were circling the park blaring their music just got even louder. I got back to my car to have a beer bottle tossed at me from one of those cars, along with being yelled at. Another family near me were also frightened, and loaded up and left the park, I soon followed, but had trouble getting out, as some of these cars stopped in front on me, music blaring, causing me to fear that I was about to be attacked. I certainly will not recommend this park to anyone, neither will I take my dog back there, unless the city of Austin does something about this problem. I did write the Austin city council about my horrible experience. read more

I've grown up near this Lake. I think it's quite charming, and quiet. Beautiful lake. Love it

Went down here to go bass fishing. The place basically consists of a park and a small lake right next to some sort of power plant. There is usually a fee to get in, but the entrance was not manned at that time. There are two boat ramps and the place wasn't too crowded. Unfortunately, out of a party of four, only two people were able to catch one bass each. The place was ok, but the fish weren't biting. read more

Visited this park for the first time today and we're a bit disappointed. When I'm charged to enter a place, I have some expectation that those fees are used to keep it up. Unfortunately, this park was lacking in a few places. The roads throughout are atrocious - terrible potholes. There are no walking paths throughout the park. The bathrooms were closed with gates - so instead you were stuck using porta-potties. We didn't see any drinking fountains. There were a lot of picnic tables - but without actual bathrooms with running water, I wouldn't be too keen on having my lunch here. The few positives: it's nice to be on the water and the views are pretty (if you ignore the power plant - haha). There is a gravel walking path on the far right along the dam portion of the water which we enjoyed. If this park was free - it would have been 3 stars. I think we'd only come back if we were going to kayak or canoe in the lake. Otherwise, I think there are a lot better park options that don't cost a penny (e.g., Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park). read more

Don'[t be surprised if you get out there to fish or boat and they won't let you in. The woman that turned us away said this happens about once a month. This time for a triathlon. Nothing on the COA or TPWD websites that I could find. What a waste. I pay taxes too. read more

Enjoy the lake before they begin a plan to start draining the lake and convert it into a reservoir