Boat ramps near Cedar Park, TX

Cypress Creek Park

The closest Lake Travis boat ramp to Cedar Park, a 15-acre county park off Bullick Hollow Road whose ramp and cove open onto the busy basin end of the lake. It is a launch-and-go spot rather than a place to spend the day: there is no drinking water and no electricity, and the toilets are portable. The creek splits the park in two, and each side has its own entrance. Gates run 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., so it is no use for a pre-dawn start.

Sandy Creek Park

A 92-acre park in one of the quieter coves at the basin end of Lake Travis, about ten minutes from Cedar Park down Lime Creek Road. Its boat ramp is open around the clock, which makes it one of the few nearby options for a pre-dawn launch, and the park has real restrooms rather than portable toilets. Camping has been suspended since late 2022 while a regional water project is built next door, and there is currently no potable water on site, so plan it as a day trip.

Arkansas Bend Park

A recently rebuilt 323-acre park on the north shore of Lake Travis near Lago Vista, with two boat ramps, a courtesy dock and two miles of shoreline. The ramps run 24 hours, and unlike most county lake parks this one has restrooms, water fountains and improved campsites with water and 20/30/50 amp hookups if you want to stay the night. Entry and amenity fees are cash only at the booth, so bring bills.

Mansfield Dam Park

Travis County calls this the largest public boat ramp on Lake Travis, and it is the default choice for most trailered boats: four lanes, a wheelchair-accessible courtesy dock, and enough depth to stay usable as the lake rises and falls. That popularity is the catch, and the park says outright that launching delays should be expected on busy weekends and holidays. Beyond the ramp there is a designated swim cove, an underwater dive park with sunken attractions, restrooms and seven covered shelters.

Pace Bend Park

At 1,368 acres this is by far the biggest park on the list, out at Spicewood on a peninsula in the west end of Lake Travis, with three boat ramps and cliffside camping. Only the Collier ramp runs 24 hours; Tatum and Tournament Point open at 8 a.m. It is the longest drive from Cedar Park of anything here and the toilets are outhouse style, but it is the one that works as a weekend rather than a morning out, with improved and primitive campsites and miles of hike, bike and equestrian trails.

Loop 360 Boat Ramp

A three-lane ramp on Lake Austin directly under the south end of the Pennybacker Bridge. At three acres it is a ramp, not a park: no drinking water, no electricity, portable toilets only. It is open 24 hours, which is rare this close to town. Parking is the real constraint, with ten boat trailer spaces inside the park, so a summer weekend means arriving early or not at all.

Mary Quinlan Park

A free 5.8-acre county park at the upper end of Lake Austin with a single-lane ramp the county keeps open around the clock. There is no park use fee at all, which makes it the cheapest launch on this list, and there is a basketball court and picnic tables for whoever is waiting on the boat. Facilities are minimal: portable toilets, no drinking water, no electricity, and camping is prohibited.

Emma Long Metropolitan Park

A 1,142-acre city park on the shores of Lake Austin off City Park Road, opened in 1939 and named after Austin's first woman council member. The ramp is a single lane, and what you pay is a park entrance fee rather than a launch fee: $5 per vehicle Monday to Thursday, $10 Friday to Sunday and holidays. From March through September, Friday to Sunday and holiday entry passes have to be bought in advance and they do sell out. Water utilities are due to be shut off for maintenance in October 2026, with portable toilets standing in for the usual facilities.

Walsh Boat Landing

A two-lane concrete ramp at the lower end of Lake Austin off Lake Austin Boulevard, run by Austin Parks and Recreation. It charges a flat $10 boat launch fee, paid by card at kiosks in the parking lot, with no per-person entry to work out. It is the furthest of these ramps from Cedar Park, sitting in central Austin rather than out on the lake, and city guidelines posted in 2020 prohibit commercial operations from boarding passengers at its docks and launches.

Cedar Breaks Park

The Lake Georgetown ramp closest to Cedar Park, on the south side of the lake near the dam, with a four-lane concrete ramp and a fishing dock. The Corps charges $5 per vehicle for day use and the ramps run 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a 24-hour exit; payment is now online or by QR code at the entrance rather than cash at the gate house. Behind the ramp are 64 campsites with water and electric, restrooms with hot showers, and a day use area with 41 covered shelters. Trailer parking is capped at 39 spaces, and once they fill no one else launches.

Jim Hogg Park

The largest of the three Lake Georgetown parks, on the north shore at mid-lake, with 148 water-and-electric campsites and a four-lane concrete ramp with a fishing dock. Fees, hours and payment work exactly as they do at the other Corps parks here: $5 per vehicle, ramp open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a 24-hour exit, passes bought online or by QR code. Restrooms have hot showers and flush toilets, and there is a dump station on site.

Russell Park

The furthest of the three Lake Georgetown parks, on the west side of the lake, with the same four-lane concrete ramp and the same $5 per vehicle day use fee. Camping here is tent sites and screened shelters rather than RV hookups, and the restrooms have running water and showers. One thing to check before driving out: the day use area and swim beach close every year from November 1 to March 31, though the boat ramp itself stays open year round.