Boat Ramps Near Cedar Park, TX
The closest Lake Travis ramp to Cedar Park is Cypress Creek Park off Bullick Hollow Road, at $5 a person, but its gates only open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. For a pre-dawn launch, Sandy Creek Park, about ten minutes from town down Lime Creek Road, has a ramp open 24 hours and proper restrooms for the same fee.
The twelve ramps sit on three lakes run by three agencies, and the agency sets the bill. Travis County charges $5 per person plus $7 per trailer per day at most of its Lake Travis and Lake Austin parks, the Army Corps of Engineers charges $5 per vehicle at its three Lake Georgetown parks, and the City of Austin charges by the car at Emma Long and $10 a launch at Walsh Boat Landing. Four people in one truck pay $20 at a county park before the trailer fee, and $5 at Cedar Breaks Park, the Lake Georgetown ramp nearest Cedar Park.
Our picks
- Launching before sunrise close to home: Sandy Creek Park. About ten minutes from Cedar Park, with a ramp open 24 hours and plumbed restrooms; $5 per person. Camping is suspended and there is no drinking water.
- The county's biggest Lake Travis ramp: Mansfield Dam Park. Four lanes, open 24 hours, and a wheelchair-accessible courtesy dock at what the county calls the lake's largest public ramp. The park itself warns of launch delays on busy weekends.
- A full truck on Lake Georgetown: Cedar Breaks Park. $5 per vehicle however many ride along, four lanes and a fishing dock, open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a 24-hour exit. Once its 39 trailer spaces fill, nobody else launches.
- Launching for free: Mary Quinlan Park. No park use fee at all, and a single-lane ramp on upper Lake Austin kept open around the clock; portable toilets and no drinking water.
- Camping with hookups and a 24-hour ramp: Arkansas Bend Park. Two ramps open 24 hours, restrooms and water fountains, and improved campsites with water and 20/30/50 amp hookups. Fees are cash only at the booth.
At a glance
| Option | Address | Lake | Managed By | Day Use Fee | Ramp Lanes | Ramp Hours | Restrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13601 Bullick Hollow Road, Austin, TX 78726source | Lake Travissource | Travis County Parkssource | $5 per personsource | 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.source | Portable toiletssource | ||
| 9500 Lime Creek Road, Leander, TX 78641source | Lake Travissource | Travis County Parkssource | $5 per personsource | Open 24 hourssource | Restroomssource | ||
| 16900 Cherry Lane, Lago Vista, TX 78645source | Lake Travissource | Travis County Parkssource | $5 per personsource | Open 24 hourssource | Restroomssource | ||
| 4370 Mansfield Dam Park Road, Austin, TX 78732source | Lake Travissource | Travis County Parkssource | $5 per personsource | 4source | Open 24 hourssource | Restroomssource | |
| 2805 Pace Bend Road North, Spicewood, TX 78669source | Lake Travissource | Travis County Parkssource | $5 per personsource | Open 24 hourssource | Out-house style toiletssource | ||
| 5019 Capital of Texas Hwy North, Austin, TX 78746source | Lake Austinsource | Travis County Parkssource | $5 per personsource | 3source | Open 24 hourssource | Portable toiletssource | |
| 1601 Quinlan Park Road South, Austin, TX 78732source | Lake Austinsource | Travis County Parkssource | Freesource | 1source | Open 24 hourssource | Portable toiletssource | |
| 1600 City Park Road, Austin, TX 78730source | Lake Austinsource | City of Austinsource | $5 to $10 per vehiclesource | 1source | 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.source | ||
| 1600 Scenic Dr., Austin, Texas 78703source | Lake Austinsource | City of Austinsource | $10 per boat launchsource | 2source | |||
| 2100 Cedar Breaks Rd, Georgetown, TX 78633source | Lake Georgetownsource | U.S. Army Corps of Engineerssource | $5 per vehiclesource | 4source | 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.source | Restroomssource | |
| 500 Jim Hogg Road, Georgetown, TX 78633source | Lake Georgetownsource | U.S. Army Corps of Engineerssource | $5 per vehiclesource | 4source | 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.source | Restroomssource | |
| 2101 CR 262, Georgetown, TX 78633source | Lake Georgetownsource | U.S. Army Corps of Engineerssource | $5 per vehiclesource | 4source | 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.source | Restroomssource |
What a day on the water costs, by who runs the ramp
Travis County's seven sites all read $5 per person in the table except Mary Quinlan Park, which is free, and the $7 trailer charge on top more than doubles the cost for someone boating alone. The three Corps parks on Lake Georgetown are the better deal for a crowded boat at $5 per vehicle, paid online or by QR code at the entrance rather than cash at the gate.
The two city ramps on Lake Austin work differently again. Walsh Boat Landing charges a flat $10 per launch by card at kiosks in the lot, with no per-person count. Emma Long Metropolitan Park charges an entrance fee of $5 per vehicle Monday to Thursday and $10 Friday to Sunday and holidays, and from March through September those weekend and holiday passes must be bought in advance and can sell out.
Which ramps you can use before dawn
Six ramps are listed as open 24 hours: Sandy Creek, Arkansas Bend, Mansfield Dam and Pace Bend on Lake Travis, and Loop 360 and Mary Quinlan on Lake Austin. At Pace Bend that is only the Collier ramp; Tatum and Tournament Point open at 8 a.m. The Lake Georgetown ramps run 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Emma Long 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Cypress Creek 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Walsh publishes no hours.
Lanes, trailer parking and weekend queues
Lane counts matter most on a summer weekend. Mansfield Dam and all three Lake Georgetown ramps have four lanes, Loop 360 has three and Walsh two, while Mary Quinlan and Emma Long have one. Parking can be the tighter limit: Loop 360, under the Pennybacker Bridge, has just ten boat trailer spaces, and Cedar Breaks stops launches once its 39 fill.
For a full day rather than a quick launch, Pace Bend's 1,368 acres have improved and primitive campsites and miles of trails, but it sits about 30 miles out at Spicewood and the toilets are outhouse style. Jim Hogg, the largest Lake Georgetown park, has 148 water-and-electric sites and a dump station.
The options in detail
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.
How we researched this
The list covers the three reservoirs with public trailer ramps within reach of Cedar Park, and each row's fee, hours and facilities come mostly from the agency that runs it: Travis County Parks, the City of Austin, and the Corps of Engineers, with Texas Parks and Wildlife's lake access pages filling in lane counts and some hours for Lake Austin and Lake Georgetown. Brushy Creek Lake Park, inside Cedar Park itself, and Lake Pflugerville are left out because they allow hand-launched craft only. Tom Hughes, Fritz Hughes and Selma Hughes parks have no boat ramp, the LCRA parks on western Lake Travis are 40 minutes to an hour away, and Lago Vista's city ramps are permit-based for residents.
Four lane counts are empty because neither Travis County nor LCRA publishes them for Cypress Creek, Sandy Creek, Arkansas Bend or Pace Bend; the "two" and "three" ramps at the last two are separate ramps in separate coves, not lanes. Emma Long's restrooms are blank because its only toilet notice concerns a water shutoff planned for October 2026. Russell Park's day use area and swim beach close every November 1 to March 31, though its ramp stays open. Lake Travis levels move week to week, and in September 2026 the county had a standing warning about submerged trees and debris, so look up LCRA's minimum usable elevation for your ramp before you tow.