Lake Travis on the cheap?

[lachrimae]

Hello everyone,

Any suggestions on the best place to dive L. Travis for cheap?

I've been diving Windy Point (private) but find their $15 weekend entrance fee a little high (2 people = $30).

Have also been to Mansfield Dam park in the past but am concerned that the low water level will create a hell of a hike across the rocks to get to the water. Anyone know the current status or how hard the hike is from the parking area?

I'd appreciate any ideas for other spots, or possibly even other spots in the N. Austin area (i.e. L. Georgetown?).

Mark in Leander

 

[ianr33]

Windy Point public is $8/vehicle,same as Mansfield. You can park down on the new beach so the walk to the water is not too far,definitely easier than Mansfield. only downside is that the park closes at dark.

 

[PeppermintPaddi]

12345

 

[PeppermintPaddi]

I haven't been to Windy Point Public on a weekend since school got out. It used to get really crowded. There's a nice alternative these days though. I believe the way it works is that you can park by the Lake Travis Scuba building (where you 1st turn into WP Private), pay $5/person and the shuttle will take you down to the water and back all day. You don't pay to park so it's only $2/more expensive than WP Public, even for 2 people. If I'm wrong I'm sure Robert will jump in here. I think it's $4/person if you are only making 1 round trip.

Even cheaper, dive WPPub early in the morning during the week. You can park 50 feet from the water, the slope is gentle, the vis is better, and the guard isn't there, so you get in free. The Pecan Grove is right there at 65+ feet, and getting shallower all the time.

I live closer to Lake GT than Travis, but I can't find anyone except Public Safety Divers who've been in it. The last 2nd hand report I got was 1 feet vis on the wall side, and you needed a boat for that. OTOH there's supposed to be all kinds of equipment in the river channel near the dam that they didn't get out because the lake pretty much filled overnight after a big storm. Maybe it's time to do some navigation practice.

 

[ianr33]

I haven't been to Windy Point Public on a weekend since school got out. It used to get really crowded.

Being able to park down on the sand helps thin the crowds,otherwise I agree it would be miserable. Take a tarp if you go,stops everything getting covered in sand.

 

[lachrimae]

Thanks for the tips, I'll reply to this thread to let you know how it goes.
Not sure yet if I'll do the $5 shuttle or get there at the crack of dawn on Saturday to see if I can beat the guard to their post...

Was at the edge of the pecan grove last weekend and decided sub-60ft was a little chilly for my bones... but if it's early enough it won't be too hot and I'll try it with a suit.

If the lake gets down to ~615ft like it did back in 1951 someone needs to take a lot of pics of the dive areas for future reference...

Take care,
Mark

 

[Lake Travis Scuba]

There's a nice alternative these days though. I believe the way it works is that you can park by the Lake Travis Scuba building (where you 1st turn into WP Private), pay $5/person and the shuttle will take you down to the water and back all day. You don't pay to park so it's only $2/more expensive than WP Public, even for 2 people. If I'm wrong I'm sure Robert will jump in here. I think it's $4/person if you are only making 1 round trip.

The shuttle operates on the weekend while the boat is out with charters. You can ride for $2 one way or $5 all day. Talk to the shuttle driver to arrange drop-off and pick-up.

While diving from the boat is not the least expensive option, you will get to dive some interesting sites that you can't access from shore.

Thanks PeppermintPaddi for mentioning this option.

 

[driftwood]

While it is not in north Austin and the initial cost is $200+, Spring Lake in San Marcos is a great deal if you dive regularly. First, the visibility is incredible for a local lake and there are a lot of critters to keep you occupied. Second, once you have completed the Diving for Science course the certification to dive in the lake is good for life, there are no entrance fees and if you are nice, they will fill your tanks for free. If you do 10 two tank dives, the initial cost is roughly equal to diving at Barstow's. After that, you are money ahead.

On the downside, the initial cost is high, the lake is pretty shallow, you have to get approval for each day you want to dive, they assign you an area to work in and from north Austin it is a hour drive. In addition, right now due to the extreme drought, the staff will severely cut back on approving dive requests when the flow drops below 75cfs.

 

[Zinc]

For non-locals, FYI - Windy Point Private has an official name, Bob Wentz Park.

More info can be found here: Bob Wentz Park, Travis County, Texas

Safe diving

 

[lachrimae]

We arrived at Windy Point park (i.e. Bob Wentz) on Saturday morning at 8:30am and drove down the boatramp to the new "beach" area which is quite large. They had some cones blocking cars off from the West side but we were allowed to drive past the cones to drop off our gear pretty close to shoreline as long as we parked the car back in the normal area. During our time there (8:30 to 12:30pm) there weren't more than 5 cars parked on the new beach at a time, and they were just fishing or hanging out (no other divers).
One downfall to diving that area (as mentioned earlier in the thread) is the sand that gets on the gear. We brought a tarp which helped a great deal but you still don't walk away with clean gear like you would from WP Private or a Lake Travis Scuba trip.
The diving was pretty much the same as you would get at the private park but with the addititional benefit of having fewer divers that murk it up.
Travis water level was ~639ft and there was a pretty steep drop off that West side starting almost immediately. We stayed shallow (45ft) and saw some grottos and nice overhangs but there weren't many fish in the area, probably due to a lack of hand feeding .

Thanks again for the tips, we were quite happy with our $8 adventure and will keep Bob Wentz on our list of options...