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Mansfield Dam Dive Park - Austin TX


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Mansfield Dam Dive Park is a shore accessible fresh water dive site, located at 30.395236,-97.909278, Austin, TX. This dive site has an average rating of 3.34 out of 5 from 29 scuba divers. The maximum depth is over 150ft/46m. The average visibility is 5-10ft/2-3m. Training platforms are available.

Diving is almost as easy as stepping right from your car door into the lake. We have provided dive stairs, a wheelchair-accessible ramp, and a courtesy dive lift to ease the trek from hillside to lakeside. Underwater amusement has been enhanced by the addition of four underwater dive platforms at various lake levels. Also, an underwater trail and compass course will be laid out to connect dive attractions such as sunken boats, historic dam construction materials, and geological points of interest.

As its name suggests, Mansfield Dam Park is located adjacent to Mansfield Dam on the main body of Lake Travis and serves as one of the primary access points for boaters. Other popular attractions are picnicking, swimming, and sunbathing.

Open on May 20, 2000 this newly renovated recreational area boasts a wide array of amenities for the public. Planners of Mansfield Dam park have skillfully created a park which accommodates many groups, including scuba divers, swimmers, boaters, picnickers, and nature enthusiasts.
Available Activities
  • boating
  • picnicking
  • scuba diving/night diving
  • sunbathing
  • windsurfing
  • swimming
Amenities
  • barbecue grills
  • boat ramp - until Lake level reaches 636 feet
  • designated swim cove (boats prohibited)
  • drinking water
  • pay phones
  • picnic tables
  • restrooms
  • concessions
  • under water dive park
  • dive stairs and ADA lift
  • courtesy dock
  • playscape
  • covered shelters
  • hiking trail
  • swim platform
From the intersection of RR 620 and FM 2222, travel south 4.9 miles. Turn right onto Mansfield Dam Road, just south of Mansfield Dam. The park entrance is on your left.

Dive Site Map

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Comments
Soly47 - 5/31/2022 2:47 PM
I went scuba diving here on 5/25/2022. Average viz: 11-15ft/3-5m. Water temp: 71-75°F/22-24°C.
Went here during the week, and were the only ones on the site. Water level was about 30ft low in the lake, so it was a little bit of a walk from the parking area to a spot to set up. Water temp was in the 70’s until you got down pass the 40’ mark. Fun place to just get in the water. We rented tanks at Toms dive shop in Austin, but had the rest of our own stuff. With the water being as low expect some time to get your gear down. We used the stairs at the northern side, and had to take multiple trips to get everything down. Be aware the if you leave the the buoy area there is a chance for fishermen to be in the area. Most of the ones we saw stayed well to the East.
JonG - 7/14/2021 2:10 AM
I went scuba diving here on 7/7/2021. Average viz: 11-15ft/3-5m. Water temp: 76-80°F/24-27°C.
Overall, I’m giving this a better rating than Windy Point. It’s probably close to a 3.5-star rating (slightly above average). It’s good, no major complaints, but unimpressive.

Compared to Windy Point:

Cost: (MD) $5 vs (WP) $10 to $15
Dive Entrance: (MD) Gradual Slope vs (WP) Very Steep Rocky Cliff
Non-Diver Activities (MD) Trails, Bathrooms, Swimming Area, Boat Ramp/Dock, Nice Looking park, Shade, Camping Available vs (WP) Outhouses, Can Swim in Dive Park, Little Shade, Camping Available
Hauling Equipment: (MD) Setup at your car, and a short walk to the dive-site. (WP) Much longer haul from parking lot. Carts available, but heavily needed. Picnic tables, if WP isn’t overcrowded.
Attractions: I haven’t dove the attractions at MD yet, so I’ll have to report back later.
Visibility: It’s about equal at both locations. (MD) More algae (WP) More silt
Fish: (MD) More plant-life, some fish (WP) More fish at dive-platforms due to being fed.

Overall, this is at least as good as WP in nearly every way, if not better. The $5/person cost & gradual slope make this a far better site for my practice-dives & equipment-checking dives.
Joe_T - 5/26/2021 10:57 PM
Here is a video of a dive we did at Mansfield Dam park.
youtube.com/watch?v=ppmb3LUe6lU
Aguaguy - 5/26/2021 7:31 PM
I went scuba diving here on 5/26/2021. Average viz: 11-15ft/3-5m. Water temp: 66-70°F/19-21°C.
Aguaguy - 10/22/2019 1:17 PM
I went scuba diving here on 10/21/2019. Average viz: 11-15ft/3-5m. Water temp: 66-70°F/19-21°C.
joeh9845 - 8/05/2019 12:18 AM
Rating Added: 4
Fun Dive
Aguaguy - 7/21/2019 11:03 PM
I went scuba diving here on 7/21/2019. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water temp: 76-80°F/24-27°C.
Summer alge infesting lake, very green bad viz.
Aguaguy - 5/18/2019 10:10 PM
I went scuba diving here on 5/12/2019. Average viz: 41-50ft/12-15m. Water temp: 66-70°F/19-21°C.
Aguaguy - 4/12/2019 12:59 AM
I went scuba diving here on 4/11/2019. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water temp: 66-70°F/19-21°C.
First Time diving a dam.
Joe_T - 12/27/2016 12:24 PM
I dive here weekly, what a local treasure!
ScribeDiver - 8/06/2016 11:34 PM
I went scuba diving here on 7/15/2016. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m.
Warmer weather has algae up and visibility, but the water temp is refreshing farther down and its an interesting course.
ScribeDiver - 8/06/2016 11:32 PM
I went scuba diving here on 7/15/2016.
Warmer weather has algae up and visibility, but the water temp is refreshing farther down and its an interesting course.
Diver237 - 10/06/2015 5:31 AM
I went scuba diving here on 7/12/2012. Average viz: Under 5ft/2m. Water temp: 71-75°F/22-24°C.
Lake Travis clean up.
Jason081180 - 8/24/2015 10:58 AM
I went scuba diving here on 6/13/2015. Average viz: 11-15ft/3-5m. Water temp: 71-75°F/22-24°C.
First lake Dive and First time so deep. We found the sunken boat but not the airplane.
SkyDogJack - 8/07/2015 2:31 PM
I went scuba diving here on 8/7/2015.
What made this dive special, besides escaping the 100 plus heat was hanging out on the platform at 60 feet, just chilling and seeing four lights and divers emerge from the dark, pass me and head over the rain straight down to practice some decompression diving down to 200 feet. Kinda like the movie,"The Abyss". Made my day.
Greg - 11/25/2014 8:08 AM
I went scuba diving here on 11/23/2014. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water temp: 61-65°F/16-18°C.
Conner and I decided to dive here after attempting to dive the Comal River (closed due to heavy rain previous day), North Park @ Canyon Lake (closed for some reason also), Jacob’s Well (closed to swimmers until Spring 2015). Lake Travis was a bit chilly, around 64 degrees. The viz was not that great in the afternoon, around 2:30pm...only about 7 feet. We cruised along the ledge underwater, saw rocks, tree stumps, sun fish. During our safety stop, a small catfish came up and swam around us.
Xzadist - 8/04/2014 7:37 AM
Me and my brother Did a dive here over the weekend. Although we trudged our way to the cove opposite the boat ramp. Not much to see 3-5Ft viz. We did on the other hand find a small grotto around 30.397389, -97.902178 about 26 ft down.
Greg - 6/22/2014 6:25 PM
Saw three divers at the surface today and asked them what the viz was...they said about 5 feet. We went swimming at the Mansfield Dam Park and the temp was in the high 70’s, low 80’s. I didn’t have my dive computer so I couldn’t tell for sure.
ocho - 8/06/2012 2:23 PM
Rating Added: 3

Did my lake dives here so I didnt see much. Id like to revisit as a certified diver!!!
Flory - 2/01/2012 5:51 PM
Rating Added: 3
The day that I went to Mansfield to dive, I was pleasantly surprised. The viz was amazing for the middle of summer in a lake...I’d say about 15 to 20 feet and not muddy either...very clear. Not much fish to see but I was there for a Lake Travis clean-up so a fish would have been nice, but not my objective that day.

I’ve been meaning to go back to see if the viz is still as good as when I was there...