Hours of Operation & Best Seasons to View
Hours of Operation
I get a large number of phone calls and emails concerning when the park is open to view the waterlilies.
The IWC is located in a public park called Civic League Park located in San Angelo, Texas.
Since it is a public park it is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. In simpler terms, we never close.
The physical address is as follows in Google Maps…
2 S Park St, San Angelo, TX 76901 USA
Best Viewing Times
The best viewing times are from about 9 am until noon daily. During this time frame you have the best chance to see the most blooms.
The hardy waterlilies and ISG’s open up between 6 am and 8 am unless it is cloudy or overcast and cool.
The tropical waterlilies begin opening between about 7 am and 10 am depending on how the sun is hitting them in the park.
The Victoria water platters and any tropical night blooming waterlilies open up between 9 pm and midnight but do not close until about 9 am the following morning.
Photo courtesy of Ken Grimm of San Angelo, TX
Photo taken using a DJI Phantom Pro 3.
In early afternoon most things are still open but as you get into the full heat of the day some hardy waterlilies and ISG’s begin to close due to the excessive heat.
Also of note is the fact that since we have so many fertile plants and lots of bees many first day flowers will close after a successful pollination and that can happen as early as an hour after that first day bloom opens.
The Best Seasons to Visit
The best time of year to see us is late in the Spring, throughout the Summer and into early in the Fall.
We generally have some ISG’s and hardy waterlilies blooming year round barring snow and ice temperatures.
Tropical waterlilies and Night blooming tropical waterlilies are normally blooming from about April until early October.
The Victoria water platters and the Australian waterlilies cannot go in until the water temperatures are stable higher than 72 degrees. Below 72 degrees they will go into dormancy and begin to die in the case of the Victoria plants.
The absolute best time to view them is from mid July to mid September. All plants are usually blooming or beginning to and are nearing their peak size. Once we pass the summer solstice the hardy waterlilies begin their slower growth and blooming cycle leading to winter but we keep them going and blooming until at least late September. Many times the first real cold fronts begin moving through in early October which puts many of the tropical waterlilies into dormancy.