SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — The springs that once played host to an underwater theme park are now protected, and the group leading conservation efforts at Spring Lake is offering an up-close view of the area’s ecology.
The springs that form Spring Lake, the headwaters of the San Marcos River, host a variety of endangered species, including the Texas blind salamander.
The health of the springs has a direct impact downstream on popular tubing and swimming spots.
“We’re trying to teach how to be good stewards of their environment, of where they live,” said Miranda Wait, deputy director of Spring Lake operations for the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment.
The center is a Texas State University research organization that works to protect the area.
To that end, the Meadows Center is now offering Splash into Science snorkel tours of the protected waters. Happening every weekend in October, and perhaps longer depending on the weather, the tours immerse visitors — literally — in the lake’s ecology.
“You are in the experience instead of on top of the experience,” Wait said.
Register for one of the remaining weekend tours here. The snorkel tours, available to anyone 12 years or older who can pass a swim test. The cost is $45 per person, and that includes snorkel gear, a wet suit, and a life jacket.
Read more from KXAN here.