Embrace summer vibes with these fun city-owned amenities

Sweet summertime is back, which means longer days, globs of sunscreen, delicious popsicles, and fun adventures out in the sun — but where do we go to enjoy our summer paradise?

For starters, the city of Granbury offers several outdoor amenities that are perfect for the sunny season.

GRANBURY SKATE PARK

According to the city’s website, at approximately 6,000 square feet, the Granbury Skate Park is designed for enjoyment by skaters of all ages and skill levels.

Located at 1081 Crossland Road, the design takes the general shape of a triangle, consisting of three plaza lanes and a fully encapsulated bowl. The center of the triangle is a large landscaped area.

The plaza elements include several rails and ledges, a four-stair set, bank to bank, and a quarter pipe.

The skate park bowl has three pockets, with depths ranging from 3.5 to 5.5 feet. The metal skate park blends into concrete at the shallow section, which allows skaters to roll in to begin their runs.

"Skateboarding kind of ebbs and flows in its popularity,” said Jeff Newpher, communications manager for the city of Granbury. “As goofy as it sounds, after the Winter Olympics and the X Games, you'll see a little bit of a spike after those international events where more people show up to the skate park.”

The Granbury Skate Park is open from 5 a.m.-11 p.m.

"It's really an interesting place if that's what your interest is,” Newpher said. “It's really cool that Granbury has a place specifically for those types of activities.”

GRANBURY DISC GOLF COURSE

Located in the same area as the Granbury Skate Park at 1100 Crossland Road, the Granbury Disc Golf Course sits on a beautiful 32-acre piece of land that consists of hills, creeks, natural draws, and three ponds that all come into play.

The course has 22 holes with multiple pin placements and all tee pads are concrete, according to the city’s website.

“Granbury’s Disc Golf Course is one of those hidden gems in Granbury,” Newpher said. “What's so unique about it is that it’s kind of famous regionally amongst disc golfers. They'll have tournaments here. It's just something that has gained popularity regionally, not just in Granbury, but (our course) is one of the higher rated courses in the area.”

The course has both open and wooded holes, and features a good variety of hole distances as well, from 205 feet to more than 590 feet.

The Granbury Disc Golf Course is open from 5 a.m.-11 p.m.

GRANBURY CITY BEACH PARK

Granbury City Beach Park is located in the heart of town at 621 E. Pearl St. on Lake Granbury.

Featuring a splash park, a variety of beach rentals, and thatched roof picnic pavilions, the city beach offers a perfect place for summer activity.

“When I was in temporary housing when I first moved to Granbury, I had a view of the beach, and I was just amazed that not only did we have a beautiful sunrise almost every morning, but it was over the lake and the beach,” Newpher said. “That's just such a rare commodity for a city in Texas and for a city the size of Granbury as well.”

Beachside Toys & Takeout operates out of the Tiki Hut located on the beach, according to the city’s website. Beachside Toys & Takeout offers rentals for kayaks, paddle boards, tubes, bicycles, and surreys, while also offering a variety of refreshing snacks.

The life jacket loaner station is also a permanent unmanned station stocked with free life jackets for visitors to borrow.

According to the city website, a new addition to the beach this summer is the city’s friendly beach monitors. Wearing neon vests with the city logo on the back, the beach monitors are easy to spot if you need assistance at the beach. The beach monitors are there to make sure everyone is following the rules and help beach visitors with questions. If necessary, beach monitors are prepared to alert the police to handle rule-breaking at the beach.

“The city takes pride and upkeep of the beach," Newpher said. "When I lived in a place where I overlooked the beach, there were city employees out there using all kinds of different tools to keep it clean, to rake it, and to make it look nice. We rely on residents and visitors to do their part to clean up as well, but you know, there's wildlife there and occasionally, they will show up after our cleanup crews have been through. Unfortunately, the wildlife doesn't clean up after itself very often, but the people do and certainly the city staff are out there on a very regular basis, making that sand and beach area (spotless for attendees).”

Admission to the beach is free, and is open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m., or subsequent to sunset, whichever is later.

"I would encourage everyone to go, even if all you do is kick your shoes off, walk into the sand and have a seat under the covered pavilions," Newpher added. "You can enjoy it without even getting in the water.”

GRANBURY CITY POOL

The Dana Vollmer Municipal Swim Center is a public pool facility. According to the city website, the 4,280 square-foot pool contains 196,000-gallons of water, and ranges from four to 12 feet deep. The pool has six 75-foot swimming lanes, a water slide, and a shaded kiddie splash area for toddlers.

Pool hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on Tuesday, 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. on Wednesday, 11 a.m.- 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 1-6 p.m. on Sunday. The pool is closed on Mondays.

The pool will remain open this season until July 30.

Although there are still several other summer activities available in Hood County put on by other businesses and organizations, these city-owned amenities are definitely a great place to start.

“The city isn't trying to be the provider for everything that your kid could do in-between the last day of school and the first day of school,” Newpher added. “There are so many other recreational places like, church activities, clubs, and athletics. The city can provide skate parks, disc golf courses, beaches, and pools, but there's so many other things that other groups provide that we're OK with not being the only way to get your kids engaged in fun activities during the summer.”

For more information on city summer activities, visit granbury.org online.