The Summer Before: Fort Worth Water Gardens and ClearFork Farmers Market

Super exciting—this past weekend, one of my roommates and I checked two things off my summer bucket list: going to the Fort Worth Water Gardens and the ClearFork Farmers Market! We were sitting around our apartment last Friday night, trying to figure out what to do with ourselves, when she pointed out that it would be the perfect time to go to the Water Gardens. So, off we went!

After living in Fort Worth for four years, I am a bit ashamed that this was the first time I made it out to the Water Gardens (it’s less than 15 minutes from my apartment and I, unknowingly, passed it every time I went to my internship this last semester).

A bit of history about the place: The Fort Worth Water Gardens were built in 1974, designed by architects Phillip Johnson, who also designed the Amon Carter Museum in downtown Fort Worth. The Water Gardens boast three separate pools with three distinct designs and purposes, celebrating the different characteristics of water.

Serenity Pool

Waterfall Walls

There is the Quiet Pool (in the background of the picture above), the Dancing Pool (the one with the colorful lights and fountains) and the main attraction, the Active Pool (the other two pictures below). The Active Pool is sunken nearly forty feet into the ground and you can walk from the top to the bottom via free-standing steps that descend the side of one wall.

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If you are ever in Fort Worth, I would recommend taking an hour of your day to visit the Water Gardens! It’s quite beautiful and even though you are downtown, it’s surprisingly quiet. My roommate and I ended the evening by climbing to the top of “The Mountain” between the three pools, chatting, and people watching.

The next morning, we did something I’ve been so, so excited to do since the beginning of the summer: the ClearFork Farmer’s Market! They have so many cool vendors listed on their website and I was excited to buy some local DFW produce and products.

My roommate and I decided to ride our bikes there (because #health). It took us less than 20 minutes to get from where we started, and there were a lot of people out running and cycling on the trail despite the ruthless, 10am Texas heat!

My first impression: it’s very trendy! There is a restaurant called Press Cafe right next to the vendor booths, lots of people working out, and families exploring the various vendor booths. When we arrived, they were just finishing up one of their free, Saturday morning yoga classes. I would love to go back for one of those! They had a good sized class of people of all ages doing yoga–it was pretty cool to see.

While there were a lot of vendors selling a lot of fun and different products, I was pretty disappointed by the lack of variety in the produce selection. They had a lot of the basics, like potatoes, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and cucumbers, but no fruit options or leafy green vegetables.  It might be better to go later in the summer or early fall, as they might have a greater variety of produce available during those times.

All that being said, I did end up getting some cucumbers, smoked goat cheese (amazing!), and red potatoes (un-pictured).

Something that made my roommate and me unexpectedly happy–The Beignet Bus! Now, my roommate loves The Beignet Bus but I had never had it, or a beignet, before. Let me tell you, these did not disappoint! They were fresh, hot, and the absolutely delicious. I’ve been missing out on these for far too long.

Overall, I would count this past weekend as a success! My days left in Fort Worth are dwindling faster than I (or my roommates) would care to admit, but bigger things are yet to come. Thanks for reading and check back next week for more 🙂

Until next time,

Michaela