Sunday, May 24, 2020

A deeper look into the history behind the former Burnet Road Water Park and Burnet Road Super Slide in Austin, Texas.

The Burnet Road Water Park was one of the water parks which operated during the 1960s and 1970s. Not much is known about this water park but is known is this water park is one of Austin’s forgotten water parks. This water park boasted two slides and a splash pad. (Ref: https://allandaleneighbor.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/AllandaleNeighbor07AprilFINAL.pdf)


Construction for Burnet Road Water Park began in late 1967. Burnet Road Water Park would open a year later in 1968. Burnet Road Water Park was located next door to the Burnet Drive-In. Now this waterslide that was a giant slide which was actually a generic waterslide painted in orange and white colors. A splash pad for small children was constructed using ground level concrete. The waterslide was a regular giant slide. The splash pad was a small 3 foot concrete square operated by a pump.

This water park also had another slide which was not a water slide that was called the Super Slide aka the Burnet Road Super Slide. The Burnet Road Super Slide was similar to the Capital Plaza Super Slide located between I 35 and Cameron Road. Both slides were designed by the same company hence the similarities. Coincidentally both slides were painted the same colors. (Ref: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/39617/txu-oclc-12033646-1974-08-28.txt?sequence=3&isAllowed=y)

As for the Burnet Road Super Slide you would ride down the slide using a burlap sack. The cost was ¢25 cents per slide. There were a bunch of these slides across the country in the late 1960s. Of course people had gotten bored with them quickly and these types of attractions closed.

Trying to catch air on the bumps is what many people attempted or tried to do. Sides between the lanes gave people burns on their skin. So not too many people attempted doing this. These slides were a liability hazard and safety issue for children as they were the ones who were often getting hurt while going down these slides. Of course the slides got hot during the summer.

The atmosphere was friendly and the owners played some good music too. The family-friendly atmosphere proved to be good for children which were the demographic of people who used the Super Slide.


However this water park and slide would not stay open for very long as many waterparks in Austin came and went. A child broke their neck riding the giant waterslide sometime in 1970. The owners closed the water slide afterwards as they could not get insurance for their attractions or cover them. So they were shut down by the state for not getting proper insurance beforehand.

Yet the Burnet Road Super Slide remained open for a year. This attraction had much closer supervision than the waterslide. Operators sat at the bottom to ensure safety for the customers. The cost was still ¢25 cents per slide and you would ride down the slide using a burlap sack.

 The Burnet Road Super Slide was moved to Camp Longhorn on Inks Lake in Bluffton, Texas in 1971. The Burnet Road Super Slide was used as a water slide at Camp Longhorn. The Burnet Road Super Slide remained untouched for a few years before finally being removed sometime in the mid-80s. The slide has since been dismantled and no longer exists.

The former Burnet Road Water Park and Burnet Road Super Slide are now home to Burnet Road Self Storage and Leslie’s Pool Supplies.


Burnet Road Water Park was located at 6326 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas, US 78757.

*Burnet Road Water Park was also known as Burnet Road Super Slide.
*Burnet Road Water Park had already shut down by 1971.

No comments:

Post a Comment