DFW - Open Water Swim

I've swum at Rock Ledge several times.  (I may even be going this weekend, although is very uncertain right now.)  It is a popular spot for a couple of reasons:

1) The shoreline is somewhat scalloped, meaning that you can start at the beach and swim across the first 'cove' to the promontory about 500-600m away.  The next one is another 500m away (or 1km you swim there nostop from the start.  If you're looking for a longer swim, the third headland is 1.5k each way.

Here's a link to a map of the area, with the medium distance marked:  http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=379843

2) Beginner friendly.  You don't have to swim straight across.  If you follow the shoreline a little closer, you can stand up an just about any point on the swim.  If you swim straight across, the water is shallow/beach near each promontory, too.  You can rest there before returning.  (Note: I still never swim there alone.  It's just not my preference.  "Always take a buddy", that's my advice.)

3) Groups are reassuring.  (Similar to my last point.)  Team-in-training uses this area for some of their OWS sessions, too.  If you happen to be swimming at the same time as them, you may be pleased to find kayaks in the water watching over their group.  It also give you some other triathletes to chat with.

One piece of advice I'd offer is to plan on swimming early.  Grapevine is a popular lake, bother for fishing in the morning, as well as water sports throughout the day.  When I go, I usually plan to be in the water just after sunrise.  You're may still see a fisherman in the area (but they're pretty good about avoiding swimmers).  It's a bigger problem if you wait, because the water skiers and jet skiers get on the lake, and they are most often not as aware of us.