Jacob’s Well Natural Area - The Watershed Association (2024)

FAQs

How deep is Jacob's well in Wimberley? ›

The Jacob's Well Exploration Project, of which Gregg Tatum is the director, has mapped the cave system. It plunges to 140 feet at its deepest point; 14 stories underground, underwater. There are two tunnels, A and B. A is 4300 feet long (three-quarters of a mile) and B is 1300 feet long.

But it's likely to be only a temporary respite. Once a perennial spring that kept flowing even during extreme droughts, Jacob's Well has been drying up with increasing frequency over the last two decades thanks to drought and overpumping.

About Jacob's Well

The settlers didn't dive into it, of course, but treated it instead as a drinking fountain and later used it to power a sawmill. They named it Jacob's Well because of its biblical magnificence. Since the well was discovered, at least 4,500 feet of it has been explored.

Low water levels forced Jacob's Well to close to swimmers. Now Blue Hole is closed, too. Drought and water scarcity in Wimberley have claimed a second victim. First, it was Jacob's Well, and now Blue Hole's water levels are two feet below the normal level.

By the 330s AD, the site had been identified as the place where Jesus held his conversation with the Samaritan woman, and was probably being used for Christian baptisms. By 384 AD, a cruciform church was built over the site, and is mentioned in the 4th century writings of Saint Jerome.

Jacob's Well closed in previous summers

It was the first time since 2000 that the well lost water flow. In late 2023, Hays County officials were worried that Jacob's Well might never return to normal. Harsh droughts brought the well to the brink of no return, damaging ecosystems and local economies.

Jacob's Well was a simple but beautiful treasure. The exterior of the Church was picturesque and the interior well is so historic. You can drink water from a well that Jesus drank from.

What a great way to spend the day. Please note, there is no swimming during the week after Sept 1, which was great for me because I had the place all to myself. If you follow directions from map quest it takes you to the closest point to Jacob;s well but you cannot park there.

Jesus met with a Samaritan woman (John 4) at Jacob's Well in Shechem. Today, this well is located in a Greek Orthodox church called, "The Church of Jacob's Well."

For the second year in a row, the iconic spring-fed swimming hole has stopped flowing, the consequence of drought and overpumping. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. It was a scorching day in July 2022 when I last peered into Jacob's Well.

How deep is the Jacob's well swimming hole? ›

From the 12 ft. (4 m) opening in the creek bed the cave system continues downward vertically for ~23ft (7m) and then continues at an angle through a series of silted rooms separated by narrow restrictions, finally reaching a depth of 137 feet (40 m). The main cave is approximately 4500 ft.

From the opening in the creek bed, Jacob's Well cave descends vertically for about 30 feet (9.1 m), then continues downward at an angle through a series of silted chambers separated by narrow restrictions, finally reaching an average depth of 120 feet (37 m).

seventy-five ft. deep, but it has prob. been filled with much debris over the years since it was dug. There are hardly any sites that have less doubt as to their authenticity than the site of Jacob's Well.

Legend was that it was bottomless and that blind fish inhabited it in an underground stream which could carry away anything that fell into it. It has since been determined that it is actually a 60 foot deep spring, much like several found in this area of the Red Hills.