Olmos Dam

I didn’t even know there is a neighborhood called Olmos Park until yesterday. Man, there are some great looking houses and nice cars in this neighborhood.
Anyway, I decided to come here to check out the dam. There weren’t too much to see, you can see the basin from the top of the dam (although you can’t walk on the dam). You can do a nature hike in the basin, but it can be muddy.
There are ants in the grass so be careful where you are stepping, I got some ant bites on my ankle.
There is a mile long sidewalk from one end of the street and to the other side, it got some elevation.

Well, I had quite the unique experience here & I am not even sure I should make it public knowledge, but here goes!
LOVE THIS PLACE! A friend of mine, knowing I was having a «wee bit» of stress in my life, went to the Goodwill & got me some old dish ware & took me down into the dam. It was a beautiful walk, albeit a bit littered (which of course, I added to – forgive me), but beautiful nonetheless. We went up into a little area that had stairs & took you up onto a metal bridge that stuck out from the dam. The little alcove area & stairwell had obviously been frequented the local artists as there was graffiti everywhere. Some was actually quite good :)
It was an excellent stress reliever to stand out on the little metal bridge and chuck old china & glasses onto the concrete wall & watch them burst into a million little pieces. Quite cathartic!

Olmos Dam was built between 1925 – 1927. The damn was constructed as part of the San Antonio’s early efforts to prevent flooding downtown. Construction costs were $ 1.5M. A big chunk of change back then.

Pretty views of Olmos Basin area.

Protecting San Antonio from floods since the WPA, this giant monolith is a gem!
It’s a beautiful big park along the front of the dam, with trees, and a place to watch the water come through the flood gates.
You can go behind the dam, if you walk along the walking path, there’s a stairway down. If you follow the path, you can go to the hangout behind the dam, where you can drink and go nuts!
There’s all kinds of wildlife in there, I’m sure… Coyotes, hawks, turtles.
There’s a tunnel that goes through the dam, if you climb through the flood gates, and climb up the last wall on the south. The tunnel is quite freaky, and there’s graffiti in there from the 50’s! Falcons! The tunnel is completely dark, so bring a flashlight.
Wear old clothes if you go exploring behind the dam, surprise, it can be a bit muddy!