Gus Fruh Water Level — Live Conditions

Lower Greenbelt, below the Loop 360 gauge

USGS reading Aug 27, 9:20 PM CT · 1 hour old

🔵 Gus Fruh is rated Pools only for swimming — an estimated 0.1 cfs is flowing through this reach. Swimmable across a wide range; deepest and cleanest at 20–60 cfs.

Measured at Aug 27, 9:20 PM CT (1 hour old) — that is when the gauges reported, not when you loaded this page. USGS transmits every 15–30 minutes, so the creek may have moved since.

Estimated from USGS readings at Barton Creek at Loop 360 (0.0 cfs) and Barton Creek Above Barton Springs (0.4 cfs), the two gauges bracketing this spot — the estimate is only as current as the older of the two. See the full Greenbelt dashboard.

What Gus Fruh is like

A deep, cliff-lined pool prized for its shade and its rope-swing reputation. The limestone wall keeps the pool cool through the afternoon, and the depth here holds up better than the upstream falls during low flow — which is exactly why locals default to Gus Fruh in late summer.

Gus Fruh is the low-flow refuge of the Greenbelt: its pool is deep enough to swim even when the upstream falls have gone quiet, so the 1–5 cfs range that thins Sculpture Falls to a trickle still leaves a real swim here. Water quality still tracks discharge, though — the lower and stiller the creek, the murkier the pool gets, and below 1 cfs it is standing water rather than a flowing creek.

Does Gus Fruh usually have water in August?

Gus Fruh sits between two USGS gauges and isn’t measured directly, so its seasonal record is read from both of them rather than from a blend. Barton Creek loses water into the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone as it crosses the Greenbelt, so the two stations genuinely disagree — that spread is the honest answer, and it is shown rather than averaged away. Everything below is a daily mean, compared against each gauge’s own record for the same calendar date.

Barton Creek at Loop 360

USGS gauge 08155300 (opens in a new tab)

The most recent daily mean discharge USGS has published for Barton Creek at Loop 360 is 0.0 cfs, for August 26, 2026. USGS publishes recent daily means as provisional and may revise them. That is a whole day’s average, not the live reading above — after rain the two can be far apart.

Across the 49 years of daily statistics USGS holds for August 26 (1977–2025), the median daily mean for that date is 0.0 cfs. 0.0 cfs sits between the 90th and 95th percentile for that date. In at least 90% of those 49 years the daily mean for August 26 was under 1 cfs — the point where the cascades stop and only the plunge pools hold water. Taking every calendar day in the record, the median day at this gauge is under 1 cfs in every month of the year.

Days flowing so far in 2026: 14 of 238; Days whose mean was 1 cfs or more, out of the 238 days USGS has published for this gauge in 2026.
Last 7 days vs the 7 before: 0.0 cfs, level with 0.0 cfs; Median daily mean for August 20–August 26, 2026 against the week before it.
Last 30 days vs the 30 before: 0.0 cfs, level with 0.0 cfs; Median daily mean for July 28–August 26, 2026 against the 30 days before it.
The same week a year ago: 0.0 cfs; Median daily mean for August 28–September 3, 2025.
Past 12 months: 0.0–575 cfs, median 0.0; 364 daily means, August 28, 2025 to August 26, 2026.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System, gauge 08155300 — daily mean discharge (parameter 00060, statistic 00003) for August 28, 2025 to August 26, 2026, and USGS daily statistics for August 26 across 1977–2025 (49 years). USGS computes those statistics from approved daily means and notes they may not match figures in its official publications.

Barton Creek Above Barton Springs

USGS gauge 08155400 (opens in a new tab)

The most recent daily mean discharge USGS has published for Barton Creek Above Barton Springs is 0.4 cfs, for August 26, 2026. USGS publishes recent daily means as provisional and may revise them. That is a whole day’s average, not the live reading above — after rain the two can be far apart.

Across the 27 years of daily statistics USGS holds for August 26 (1999–2025), the median daily mean for that date is 0.1 cfs. 0.4 cfs sits between the 50th and 75th percentile for that date. In at least 50% of those 27 years the daily mean for August 26 was under 1 cfs — the point where the cascades stop and only the plunge pools hold water. Taking every calendar day in the record, the median day at this gauge is under 1 cfs in February and March, and August through October.

Days flowing so far in 2026: 9 of 238; Days whose mean was 1 cfs or more, out of the 238 days USGS has published for this gauge in 2026.
Last 7 days vs the 7 before: 0.4 cfs, level with 0.4 cfs; Median daily mean for August 20–August 26, 2026 against the week before it.
Last 30 days vs the 30 before: 0.4 cfs, level with 0.4 cfs; Median daily mean for July 28–August 26, 2026 against the 30 days before it.
The same week a year ago: 0.0 cfs; Median daily mean for August 28–September 3, 2025.
Past 12 months: 0.0–584 cfs, median 0.1; 364 daily means, August 28, 2025 to August 26, 2026.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System, gauge 08155400 — daily mean discharge (parameter 00060, statistic 00003) for August 28, 2025 to August 26, 2026, and USGS daily statistics for August 26 across 1999–2025 (27 years). USGS computes those statistics from approved daily means and notes they may not match figures in its official publications.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System. All three Barton Creek gauges are compared the same way on the Greenbelt flows dashboard. What these numbers mean for a swim at Gus Fruh specifically is in the flow-band table below.

Is there enough water for a swim at Gus Fruh?

The shaded band on both charts is 5–50 cfs — the discharge window this site rates Fair or Good, where the water is deep enough to swim and the current isn’t the problem. Gus Fruh isn’t gauged, and its estimate is held between these two stations rather than read off either one, so when both charts sit inside the band this spot does too.

Barton Creek at Loop 360 — last 90 days

At Barton Creek at Loop 360 (USGS 08155300), the most recent daily mean USGS has published is 0.0 cfs, for August 26, 2026. The shaded band is 5–50 cfs, the window rated Fair or Good for swimming. Gus Fruh is estimated between this gauge and Barton Creek Above Barton Springs, not measured at either. The dashed line is this gauge’s median daily mean for August 26 across 49 years of USGS record: 0.0 cfs.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System, gauge 08155300 — daily mean discharge (parameter 00060, statistic 00003). USGS publishes recent daily means as provisional and may revise them. The vertical axis starts at zero.

Barton Creek Above Barton Springs — last 90 days

At Barton Creek Above Barton Springs (USGS 08155400), the most recent daily mean USGS has published is 0.4 cfs, for August 26, 2026. The shaded band is 5–50 cfs, the window rated Fair or Good for swimming. Gus Fruh is estimated between this gauge and Barton Creek at Loop 360, not measured at either. The dashed line is this gauge’s median daily mean for August 26 across 27 years of USGS record: 0.1 cfs.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System, gauge 08155400 — daily mean discharge (parameter 00060, statistic 00003). USGS publishes recent daily means as provisional and may revise them. The vertical axis starts at zero.

Getting there

Enter from the Gus Fruh trailhead on Barton Hills Drive in the Barton Hills neighborhood — a short, family-manageable walk down to the creek. Street parking near the trailhead is limited and fills early on summer weekends.

Where Gus Fruh is

Gus Fruh
Pools only
0.1 cfs, estimated from the two gauges either side
Short walk from the Gus Fruh trailhead on Barton Hills Drive — limited street parking, fills early.
30.24888° N, 97.79677° W
Gus Fruh access, Barton Hills Drive
Where most people park for Gus Fruh.
30.24933° N, 97.79516° W
Barton Creek at Loop 360
Dry at the gauge
0.0 cfs measured here
Upstream of Gus Fruh.
30.24465° N, 97.80223° W
Barton Creek Above Barton Springs
Pools only at the gauge
0.4 cfs measured here
Downstream of Gus Fruh.
30.26354° N, 97.77223° W

Gauge positions are the surveyed coordinates USGS publishes for each station. Swimming-hole and trailhead positions come from OpenStreetMap (ODbL), retrieved 8 August 2026 — good to a few tens of metres, which is enough to show which end of the Greenbelt a spot is on and not enough to navigate the last hundred feet by.

How to read the flow bands

Condition	Discharge (cfs)	What it means at Gus Fruh
🔵 Pools only	under 1	Standing water in a deep, shaded, cliff-lined basin — still a swim when the upstream falls have stopped, but murkier and warmer the longer it sits.
🟡 Low	1–5	The Greenbelt’s low-flow refuge. The pool keeps its depth and its shade while the upstream cascades have gone quiet.
🟢 Fair	5–15	The pool turns over and clears. This is when locals start picking Gus Fruh over the falls.
🟢 Good	15–50	Deepest and cleanest — the cliff-shaded pool with the whole creek moving through it.
🟠 Strong	50–120	The pool is deep and the current through it is strong. Confident swimmers only.
🔴 Dangerous	120+	Swift water in a deep, walled pool with limited exits. Stay out.

Frequently asked questions

Does Gus Fruh have water right now?

This page shows a live estimate for Gus Fruh, interpolated from the two USGS Barton Creek gauges that bracket it (Barton Creek at Loop 360 and Barton Creek Above Barton Springs) and refreshed every few minutes. As a rule of thumb: below about 5 cfs only the deeper pools hold water, 15–50 cfs is ideal flowing water, and above roughly 120 cfs the creek is dangerous.

Is Gus Fruh flowing right now?

“Has water” and “is flowing” aren’t the same thing at Gus Fruh. Gus Fruh is the low-flow refuge of the Greenbelt: its pool is deep enough to swim even when the upstream falls have gone quiet, so the 1–5 cfs range that thins Sculpture Falls to a trickle still leaves a real swim here. Water quality still tracks discharge, though — the lower and stiller the creek, the murkier the pool gets, and below 1 cfs it is standing water rather than a flowing creek.

What water level is best for swimming at Gus Fruh?

Swimmable across a wide range; deepest and cleanest at 20–60 cfs. Gus Fruh is the low-flow refuge of the Greenbelt: its pool is deep enough to swim even when the upstream falls have gone quiet, so the 1–5 cfs range that thins Sculpture Falls to a trickle still leaves a real swim here. Water quality still tracks discharge, though — the lower and stiller the creek, the murkier the pool gets, and below 1 cfs it is standing water rather than a flowing creek.

Does Gus Fruh usually have water in August?

Gus Fruh sits between two USGS gauges and is not measured directly, so its seasonal record is read from both. At Barton Creek at Loop 360 (USGS 08155300), the median daily mean discharge for August 26 across 49 years of USGS daily statistics (1977–2025) is 0.0 cfs. In at least 90% of those years the daily mean for August 26 was under 1 cfs. Taking every calendar day in that record, the median day there is under 1 cfs in every month of the year. At Barton Creek Above Barton Springs (USGS 08155400), the median daily mean discharge for August 26 across 27 years of USGS daily statistics (1999–2025) is 0.1 cfs. In at least 50% of those years the daily mean for August 26 was under 1 cfs. Taking every calendar day in that record, the median day there is under 1 cfs in February and March, and August through October. USGS computes these day-of-year statistics from approved daily means and notes they may not match figures in its official publications.

How do I get to Gus Fruh?

Is it safe to swim at Gus Fruh after rain?

Be careful. Barton Creek is a flash-flood-prone watershed and discharge can spike from a few cfs to several hundred within hours of heavy rain upstream. Fast, turbid water also carries bacteria and debris. Wait for levels to drop back into the 15–50 cfs range and for the water to clear, and heed National Weather Service flash-flood warnings and City of Austin Watershed Protection advisories.

More Greenbelt water levels

Sculpture FallsUpper Greenbelt, between the Lost Creek and Loop 360 gauges Twin FallsUpper Greenbelt, near the Loop 360 bridge Campbell's HoleLower Greenbelt, approaching Barton Springs

Planning a Greenbelt day? Check the live Barton Creek dashboard for every gauge and swimming hole at once, read our local playbook for Twin and Sculpture Falls, or see what changed with Barton Springs Pool's 2026 reopening.