Hamilton Pool Preserve

Reservations

General Information

Make your reservation before coming to the preserve.

Fees

You make your reservation online by paying $12 per vehicle with a credit card. You will also pay additional per person entrance fees when you arrive at the preserve.

Cash only at the preserve. Credit and debit cards are not accepted. All fees are non-refundable.

With each reservation you can bring a maximum of one vehicle and a maximum of 8 people. Additional vehicles or people require additional reservations. Bicyclists and pedestrians can bring a maximum of 8 people per reservation, but they must still pay the per-person entrance fees upon arrival.

• At least one person named on the reservation must be present to use the reservation. Photo identification is required upon arrival at the preserve.
• Only one vehicle is allowed with each reservation. No more than 8 people with each reservation.
• Your reservation receipt will be emailed to you shortly after you make the reservation.
• Swimming is NOT guaranteed with your reservation. Swimming is sometimes not allowed due to high bacteria.

Rescheduling

The deadline to reschedule a reservation is midnight before your reservation. You cannot reschedule on the same date as your reservation.

Time Slots

There is a morning time slot (9:00 am - 12:30 pm) and an afternoon time slot (2:00 pm - 5:30 pm). Each time slot requires a reservation.

Morning Reservation Period

No entry is allowed after 12:30 pm. Recreational activities end at 12:30 pm. Visitors must exit the preserve by 1:00 pm.

Afternoon Reservation Period

No entry is allowed after 5:30 pm. Recreational activities end at 5:30 pm. Visitors must exit the preserve by 6:00 pm.

Pedestrian, Bicycle, Motorcycle

Only one vehicle/motorcycle allowed per reservation. Additional vehicles require additional reservations. Pedestrians and bicycle groups will be allowed up to 8 people per reservation, but they will also pay the $8 per person Entrance Fee.

Reservations are not valid for commercial use or for shuttle.

Warning

We can only guarantee reservations made through our official Travis County Hamilton Pool Preserve website. Purchases made elsewhere may not be legitimate.

Know Before You Go

Public Information Line

Please call the Public Information Line for the most up to date status of the preserve at 512-264-2740. The message is updated daily and when heavy rain changes our status during the day. On rare occasions, the preserve closes to all visitors due to weather-related public safety concerns and emergencies.

Swimming

The swimming status is determined by bacteria levels and recent rainfall. We allow swimming all year long on days when the bacteria levels and recent rainfall are acceptable, but swimming is NOT guaranteed. Please check this page for an up-to-date status on swimming. Be aware the water temperature can drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and spring. That's very cold for swimming!

There is no lifeguard on duty so swim at your own risk. Life vests are provided by the pool, while supplies last.

Pets

Pets are prohibited. No exceptions, not even if the pet is on a leash or kept in your vehicle. For information about service animals, please see our FAQ page.

Hiking Trail

The hiking trail to the pool is a quarter of a mile long. It is steep, narrow, and rugged with uneven steps. Sturdy shoes are recommended. It takes approximately 30 minutes to hike from the parking lot to the pool and back.

Guided Hikes

Join us on a guided hike through Hamilton Pool Preserve. Our tour begins in the dry uplands and descends 80 feet into a canyon which features a wide diversity of native plants and animals. Along the way, learn about the history of Hamilton Pool and how its unique geological features were formed. The tour ends at the collapsed grotto, waterfall, and pool. The tour lasts about an hour.

Guided hikes are unfortunately cancelled until further notice due to COVID concerns.

Food and Water

Bring drinking water. Drinking water and concessions are not available.

Activities

While the park provides access to the listed activities, Travis County Parks does not provide any equipment, except life vests for swimming.

Amenities

There is no electricity or running water.

Fees

We accept cash but do not accept credit or debit cards at the entrance booth.

Rules

The following are prohibited:

• Camping
• Cooking
• Drones
• Fireworks
• Glass containers
• Ground fires
• Pets
• Public display of consumption of alcohol
• Tobacco products

For more information, view the Parks Rules and Safety page.

About

Hamilton Pool Preserve was designated a nature preserve by the Travis County Commissioner's Court in 1990. Located 3/4 mile upstream from its confluence with the Pedernales River, Hamilton Creek spills out over limestone outcroppings to create a 50-foot waterfall as it plunges into the head of a steep box canyon. The waterfall never completely dries up, but in dry times it does slow to a trickle. However, the pool's water level stays pretty constant, even during periods of drought.

The preserve is home to the Golden-cheeked Warbler and a great variety of other birds. The diverse vegetation of Hamilton Pool ranges from semi-arid species in the uplands to riparian species in the canyon. The uplands of the preserve are a juniper and oak savannah with a variety of native grasses and wildflowers. Several rare plant species including canyon mock-orange, red bay (western-most colony of this eastern species), and chatterbox orchid are known to occur in the canyon areas along Hamilton Creek.

Hamilton Pool Preserve is a part of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve (BCP). The BCP encompasses more than 31,000 acres of endangered species habitat owned by Travis County, the City of Austin, The Nature Conservancy, the Lower Colorado River Authority, Travis Audubon Society, and private landowners. The BCP represents a regional effort to balance protection of endangered species habitat with economic development. For more information about the BCP, contact [email protected].

A unique natural area surrounds this pool, collapsed grotto and canyon, formed by thousands of years of water erosion. Lush plant communities, a variety of wildlife species and natural shelter attracted the area's first inhabitants. Cultural remains date back over 8,000 years.

Prior to the 1800s, Tonkawa and Lipan Apaches lived in the area. In the mid 1860s, Morgan C. Hamilton owned the property now known as Hamilton Pool Preserve. His brother, Andrew Jake Hamilton (the 10th governor of Texas), evidently visited this beautiful grotto while he was governor. In the 1880s, the Reimers, an immigrant family from Germany, bought the property to raise sheep and cattle. Legend has it that their eight-year-old son discovered the collapsed grotto.

Although ranchers might have considered the grotto a safety hazard for their livestock, the Reimers soon realized its value as a recreational area and opened the property for public use. Around the turn of the century, only a handful of people had the transportation to come out and enjoy the cool, serene surroundings. By the 1960s, and on into the 1980s, Hamilton Pool's popularity soared, but the land suffered from sheer the number of visitors and few restrictions.

In addition to the impact from the visiting public, cattle, sheep, and goats grazed the delicate ecosystem for several decades, resulting in changes to the native vegetation. In 1980, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department cited Hamilton Pool as the most significant natural area in rural Travis County. In 1985, Travis County purchased 232 acres from the Reimers family and implemented an aggressive land management plan to restore Hamilton Pool. Now, the lush fern-canopied cliffs are making a comeback, as are the rolling hills and meadows of the uplands.

Ongoing land management practices at Hamilton Pool Preserve include prescribed burns, prairie restoration, endangered species surveys, biological inventories, and water quality monitoring.