Twin Falls Water Level — Live Conditions

Upper Greenbelt, near the Loop 360 bridge

USGS reading Aug 28, 4:00 PM CT · 40 minutes old

🔵 Twin Falls is rated Pools only for swimming — an estimated 0.2 cfs is flowing through this reach. Comfortable at 10–40 cfs; crowded when flowing well.

Measured at Aug 28, 4:00 PM CT (40 minutes 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 Lost Creek (0.5 cfs) and Barton Creek at Loop 360 (0.0 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 Twin Falls is like

Shallow, sunny ledges and a shaded pool beneath a short double cascade. The Loop 360 gauge (USGS 08155300) sits just downstream, which makes this one of the better-bracketed spots on the Greenbelt — but the reading shown here is still an estimate between two gauges, not a measurement taken at the falls.

Like Sculpture Falls upstream, Twin Falls needs real flow for the cascades to run. They weaken through the 1–5 cfs range and stop below 1 cfs, leaving standing pools instead of falls — and more people than water on a hot weekend.

Does Twin Falls usually have water in August?

Twin Falls 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 Lost Creek

USGS gauge 08155240 (opens in a new tab)

The most recent daily mean discharge USGS has published for Barton Creek at Lost Creek is 0.5 cfs, for August 27, 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 37 years of daily statistics USGS holds for August 27 (1989–2025), the median daily mean for that date is 0.5 cfs. 0.5 cfs sits between the 50th and 75th percentile for that date. In at least 50% of those 37 years the daily mean for August 27 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 August and September.

Days flowing so far in 2026: 224 of 239; Days whose mean was 1 cfs or more, out of the 239 days USGS has published for this gauge in 2026.
Last 7 days vs the 7 before: 0.5 cfs, level with 0.7 cfs; Median daily mean for August 21–August 27, 2026 against the week before it.
Last 30 days vs the 30 before: 1.0 cfs, down from 8.3 cfs; Median daily mean for July 29–August 27, 2026 against the 30 days before it.
The same week a year ago: 0.6 cfs; Median daily mean for August 28–September 3, 2025.
Past 12 months: 0.2–470 cfs, median 2.5; 365 daily means, August 28, 2025 to August 27, 2026.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System, gauge 08155240 — daily mean discharge (parameter 00060, statistic 00003) for August 28, 2025 to August 27, 2026, and USGS daily statistics for August 27 across 1989–2025 (37 years). USGS computes those statistics from approved daily means and notes they may not match figures in its official publications.

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 27, 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 27 (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 27 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 239; Days whose mean was 1 cfs or more, out of the 239 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 21–August 27, 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 29–August 27, 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; 365 daily means, August 28, 2025 to August 27, 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 27, 2026, and USGS daily statistics for August 27 across 1977–2025 (49 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 Twin Falls specifically is in the flow-band table below.

Is there enough water for a swim at Twin Falls?

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. Twin Falls 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 Lost Creek — last 90 days

At Barton Creek at Lost Creek (USGS 08155240), the most recent daily mean USGS has published is 0.5 cfs, for August 27, 2026. The shaded band is 5–50 cfs, the window rated Fair or Good for swimming. Twin Falls 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 27 across 37 years of USGS record: 0.5 cfs.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System, gauge 08155240 — 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 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 27, 2026. The shaded band is 5–50 cfs, the window rated Fair or Good for swimming. Twin Falls is estimated between this gauge and Barton Creek at Lost Creek, not measured at either. The dashed line is this gauge’s median daily mean for August 27 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.

Getting there

The easiest swim access on the Greenbelt: park at the Twin Falls / Gaines trailhead off MoPac (Loop 1) and it’s a short hike down to the water. That convenience makes it the busiest spot on the creek on summer weekends.

Where Twin Falls is

Twin Falls
Pools only
0.2 cfs, estimated from the two gauges either side
Short hike from the Twin Falls / Gaines trailhead off MoPac — the easiest access, and the busiest.
30.24894° N, 97.81300° W
Gaines Creek / Twin Falls trailhead off MoPac
Where most people park for Twin Falls.
30.24416° N, 97.81009° W
Barton Creek at Lost Creek
Pools only at the gauge
0.5 cfs measured here
Upstream of Twin Falls.
30.27410° N, 97.84475° W
Barton Creek at Loop 360
Dry at the gauge
0.0 cfs measured here
Downstream of Twin Falls.
30.24465° N, 97.80223° 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 Twin Falls
🔵 Pools only	under 1	Standing pools, no falls. Because this is the easiest access on the Greenbelt, expect more people than water on a hot weekend.
🟡 Low	1–5	The double cascade weakens to a trickle. The shaded pool beneath it still swims; the sunny ledges are for sitting on, not swimming over.
🟢 Fair	5–15	The cascades come back and the pool turns over. Comfortable, and busy.
🟢 Good	15–50	Both falls running into a full pool — the state everyone pictures when they picture Twin Falls.
🟠 Strong	50–120	Real force through a narrow double drop, in the busiest spot on the creek. Watch children closely.
🔴 Dangerous	120+	Swift-water conditions at the most crowded access point on the Greenbelt. Stay out of the creek.

Frequently asked questions

Does Twin Falls have water right now?

This page shows a live estimate for Twin Falls, interpolated from the two USGS Barton Creek gauges that bracket it (Barton Creek at Lost Creek and Barton Creek at Loop 360) 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 Twin Falls flowing right now?

“Has water” and “is flowing” aren’t the same thing at Twin Falls. Like Sculpture Falls upstream, Twin Falls needs real flow for the cascades to run. They weaken through the 1–5 cfs range and stop below 1 cfs, leaving standing pools instead of falls — and more people than water on a hot weekend.

What water level is best for swimming at Twin Falls?

Comfortable at 10–40 cfs; crowded when flowing well. Like Sculpture Falls upstream, Twin Falls needs real flow for the cascades to run. They weaken through the 1–5 cfs range and stop below 1 cfs, leaving standing pools instead of falls — and more people than water on a hot weekend.

Does Twin Falls usually have water in August?

Twin Falls sits between two USGS gauges and is not measured directly, so its seasonal record is read from both. At Barton Creek at Lost Creek (USGS 08155240), the median daily mean discharge for August 27 across 37 years of USGS daily statistics (1989–2025) is 0.5 cfs. In at least 50% of those years the daily mean for August 27 was under 1 cfs. Taking every calendar day in that record, the median day there is under 1 cfs in August and September. At Barton Creek at Loop 360 (USGS 08155300), the median daily mean discharge for August 27 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 27 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. 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 Twin Falls?

Is it safe to swim at Twin Falls 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 Gus FruhLower Greenbelt, below the Loop 360 gauge 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.