Landa Park in New Braunfels: What To Do There and the Story Nobody Tells

BY: Vanessa Bradford, REALTOR, VHB Homes



Landa Park is 51 acres in the middle of New Braunfels, it is free to walk into, and it is open every day from 6am to midnight. Most people come for the water and leave without ever hearing what happened here.

The water is the reason this town exists. Comal Springs sits right in the middle of the park and it is the largest springs in Texas and in the whole American Southwest. Seven major springs and dozens of smaller ones come up out of the Edwards Aquifer at the base of a limestone bluff, and the water holds at 72 degrees every day of the year. That is why the spring fed pool feels the way it does in August. It was built in the early 1900s and it is one of the oldest bathing pools in Texas. People were swinging off a rope into that same water a hundred years ago.

Now the story. Joseph Landa bought this land in 1859 and his son Harry opened it as Landa's Park in 1898. The railroads ran excursion trains here from San Antonio and Austin and folks called it the Beauty Spot of Texas. Then Harry's mother died and her will forced the whole estate to be sold. Investors bought it in the 1920s, the Depression took them down, and in 1933 the park closed. By 1935 there was a twelve foot barbed wire fence around the entire thing and the people who grew up here were standing on the outside of it.

Here is what New Braunfels did. Pete Nowotny and the Junior Chamber of Commerce got up a petition asking the city to buy it. It went to a bond election and this town voted three to one to tax themselves. On May 25, 1936 the city closed on 128 acres for eighty thousand dollars. Then the mayor called a city holiday and more than a thousand people showed up with their own rakes, hoes, axes and hammers and tore that fence down by hand. Women baked cookies and brewed coffee. Neighboring towns sent help.

You will see websites saying the land was donated. It was not. Nobody gave New Braunfels this park. New Braunfels bought it back.

What is here now: the spring fed pool and two more pools at the Landa Park Aquatic Complex, a miniature train that a local named David Schoenvogel has kept running for about forty years, paddle boats on Landa Lake, mini golf, Panther Canyon hiking trails, three playgrounds, a fishing pier, sand volleyball, and the 18 hole Landa Park Golf Course at Comal Springs. There is also Founder's Oak, a live oak with a seventeen foot diameter that dates to around 1700, which means it was already old when the first German settlers arrived in 1845.

After nineteen years selling real estate out here, this park is the best answer I have for why people move to New Braunfels and never leave. A free spring fed swimming hole, a public golf course, river access and a hundred year old arboretum, none of it behind a gate, all of it owned by the town. You cannot build that somewhere else. There is exactly one Comal Springs.

If the Hill Country is on your mind, buzz me. I will help you find your spot.

As always, I hope to see y'all around town.


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is Landa Park in New Braunfels free?
Yes. Landa Park is free to enter and there is no parking fee. The park is open daily from 6am to midnight. The Aquatic Complex, the miniature train, mini golf, paddle boats and the golf course each have their own hours and fees.

What are Landa Park hours?
Landa Park is open every day from 6:00am to midnight. Individual attractions inside the park keep their own seasonal hours, so check with the City of New Braunfels before you go.

How cold is the water at Landa Park?
The spring fed pool at Landa Park stays at a constant 72 degrees year round because it is fed directly by Comal Springs out of the Edwards Aquifer. It is the same temperature in January as it is in July.

Who owned Landa Park before the city?
Joseph Landa purchased the property in 1859 and his son Harry Landa opened it to the public as Landa's Park in 1898. It was sold to investors in the 1920s, closed in 1933, and the City of New Braunfels bought it in 1936 for eighty thousand dollars after residents approved a bond election by a three to one vote. The land was never donated.

Is Wurstfest part of Landa Park?
The Wurstfest grounds sit at the entrance to Landa Park at 120 Landa Street and the City of New Braunfels lists them among the park's features. Wurstfest itself is run by the Wurstfest Association, a separate nonprofit that owns part of that ground and leases the rest. Wurstfest 2026 runs November 6 through 15.

Is there a golf course at Landa Park?
Yes. Landa Park Golf Course at Comal Springs is an 18 hole public course owned and operated by the City of New Braunfels at 180 Golf Course Drive. It opened as nine holes in 1938, expanded to 18 in 1972, and was fully renovated by Finger Dye Spann in 2014.

What is there to do at Landa Park with kids?
The miniature train, three playgrounds, the zero depth splash pool, paddle boats on Landa Lake, mini golf, and the Panther Canyon hiking trails. Bring a cooler, coolers and outside food are allowed at the Aquatic Complex, but no glass and no alcohol.


Vanessa Bradford is a licensed Texas REALTOR, License #811394, with Real Broker LLC, serving New Braunfels, Bulverde, Boerne, Spring Branch, Canyon Lake and greater San Antonio.