Balcones Park & Pool

Thank you to Karl Hanson with H&H Design & Build, Inc & all the volunteers for another successful BOPAS Collection Event!

We helped nearly 100 neighborhood families correctly dispose of their batteries, oil, paint, antifreeze, and styrofoam (BOPAS) with our event! All told, the collection filled a large trailer, plus three large vehicles! All the materials were dropped off at Austin Resource Recovery where they were disposed of properly.

The event this year was VERY heavy on styrofoam. Karl saved us by being willing to strap much of it down into his trailer bed. In addition, Matt Mitchell was a huge help with jumping in to help drive another car full of foam to the drop-off point..

Thanks to all of our other wonderful volunteers at the event: Michael Lewis, Carolyn Scherrer, Sharon Reed, Dale Butler, Bethany Metzger, Andy Davis, Max Davis, Sam Davis, William Davis, and Tanner Callais!

A special thanks to our event sponsor & neighbor, Karl Hanson with H&H Design and Build, Inc for making this event possible!

Start gathering those dead batteries, used oil and oil filters, leftover latex paint cans, and antifreeze PLUS clean/dry styrofoam and plastic film!

Because Milwood Neighborhood Association will be collecting Batteries, Oil, Latex Paint, Antifreeze, Styrofoam and Plastic Film on Saturday, April 13th, 2024 from 8:30-9:30am to St. Stephen’s Baptist Church.

We must close at 9:30am or earlier if we fill up to be able to get the materials to the City site and unloaded there in time to meet our scheduled drop off time.

Click HERE for the rest of the details.

Let’s celebrate summer, our pool & great neighbors at Balcones’ Potluck Pool Party
Saturday, June 1 from 2 to 4pm at Balcones Pool, 12017 Amherst Dr, Austin, TX 78759.

We welcome everyone to bring a main dish, side or dessert to help us make this a complete community gathering!  Please bring your own water bottles or drinks of choice (no glass).

Please RSVP HERE so we can plan accordingly.

Admission to Balcones Pool is ALWAYS FREE to all!

Please note that we will reschedule in the event of rain so check back or expect an email to the address you RSVPed with.

So come on out, bring a dish, meet your fellow neighbors, make friends with your soon to be swim team and swim lesson mates!

Swim Lesson Registration for Balcones Pool is ALSO Open! The Swim Lessons are in 2 week groups on every Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri for 30 minutes and only $57! Then you can stay and practice what you learn before and after! A great way to get your kids swimming!

And Balcones Barracudas Swim Team is a GREAT way to help become a proficient swimmer, all you have to do to join is be able to get across the pool, it doesn’t have to look good. Only $80 for the summer. Very relaxed and fun!

https://www.austintexas.gov/swimming

To Register go to & choose the Aquatics box in the first row of pics: https://web2.vermontsystems.com/wbwsc/txaustinwt.ws

Swim Lessons

The Aquatics Division offers instructional programs for all ages.  A wide variety of swim lessons are available for students 6 months to adult.  Program registration for Summer 2024 opens April 01 2024 at 8:00AM for residents and 10AM for non-residents.

Summer 2024 Program Guide – English | Spanish

To register for all Austin Parks and Rec programs, please visit www.austintexas.gov/parksonline

Swim Team

The recreational Swim Team Program is organized to develop the potential and serve the recreational needs of boys and girls who are interested in learning about competitive swimming. Swim Team Information

To register for all Austin Parks and Rec programs, please visit www.austintexas.gov/parksonline

Scholarships Available!

The Austin Parks and Recreation Department offers scholarships to those who qualify.  This scholarship can be used for swim lessons or many other Austin Parks and Recreation classes.  For more info and to download the application, please visit austintexas.gov/pardfinaid.

The Aquatic Division also offers a scholarship that may cover up to the entire cost of one class or program.  To find out more, download the applications here: English(PDF) | Spanish(PDF)

Bring either form to the office or follow the direction on the form to send it in.  Please remember that these forms may take up to 3 weeks for processing.

Thank you so much! We are truly grateful that 44 of you chose to contribute $3,955 to our park’s campaign. Thanks to your donation we reached our maximum Match Opportunity of $3,500 through Austin Parks Foundation and are now one big jump closer to getting the improvements made regarding the drainage issue at Balcones Park’s Pavilion and Playground with a total of $7,455! We do have an estimated $11,000 to $12,000 to get to so if you missed the chance & want to you can go through this link.

Thank you again,
Friends of Balcones Park

Help Improve Balcones District Park Pavilion & Playground Drainage!

If you’ve visited the pavilion at the Balcones District Park, you might have noticed that water from the roof has caused erosion between the building and the playground (see the picture below). We’re focused on fixing this for this year’s Amplify Austin Day.

The annual Amplify Austin donation drive starts on Wednesday, March 6! For 24 hours, from 6 p.m. on March 6 to 6 p.m. on March 7, we want to raise as much money as we can for this project.

Best of all, Austin Parks Foundation will match our first $3,500 raised!

Follow this link to make a donation or to learn more about the project details. The project is already approved by the city’s feasibility team, putting us one step closer to making the much-needed improvement.

We are so excited to announce that PARD has agreed to improve our basketball court! We already have two a little bit lower basketball goals for the kids that split the court! Please NO dunking or they won’t last long. Next we will see the current, older basketball goals get new backboards and then in a few months we will get lights added. These will have a timer and will not be able to be turned on after 10pm. In addition, we will get the basketball court resurfaced so it will be a smoother, safer place to play. ENJOY!

Please save the date to help clean up and care for Balcones Park. There will be projects for all ages including:

1- Cleanup trash/litter in Balcones Park, along trails and in creek greenbelt.

2- Trail maintenance/erosion repairs – Creekside Trail & NWCT near bridge

3 – Tree weeding and mulching around parking lot

4 – Butterfly Meadow and Rain Garden planting, seeding and maintenance (if anyone has shade tolerant plants they can contribute (coneflower, salvia coccinea, wine cups, columbine, etc. please email us)

5 – Invasive Species Removal

Sign up link Balcones District Park and Greenbelt – Spring Cleanup

If you would like to help lead a work group, please let us know!

We are excited about our upcoming It’s My Park Day at Balcones District Park on Sat. Nov. 4, 2023.

Thanks to Boy Scout Troop 421 for helping manage this event. Please sign up here or just join us at the event itself. Please note in years past we have been able to offer shirts for volunteers, however this year we can’t guarantee that as the projects city-wide are so numerous!

We are looking for someone who can step in and help us lead this project. If you are interested please email us at milwoodna1 (a) gmail.com

Sign up and Mark Your Calendars!
Milwood Art Day
Saturday, Nov. 11
from 10am to 2pm

Milwood Art Day is a bi-annual event, celebrating local artists in the North Austin area. It is free and open to the public and draws hundreds of visitors from throughout the Milwood & Walnut Crossing neighborhoods and all around Austin. Over the years since its beginning, Milwood Art Day has brought together over 50 artists, which included adults and kids who are painters, photographers, jewelry makers, ceramic artists, print makers, mosaic artists, performance artists, musicians, bakers, fine food purveyors, marching bands, balloon twisters and so much more!

Click HERE to register your art.
Click HERE to sponsor this event.

Milwood Art Day is open to artists of all disciplines who live in North Austin. Artistis are invited to display/sell their works during the event, either in the central location at the Texan Market’s parking lot, their front yards, or another artist’s yard or group hub. The Central Location will take place, primarily at 12400 Amherst Drive and scattered throughout.

In addition to art, there will be food, music and other creative endeavors. The weather looks to be a perfect fall day, so get out and have some fun while enjoying the arts.

Become a sponsor of the event HERE for great neighborhood presence!