What 674.67 ft means on Lake Travis

Public boat ramps · sorted by minimum level

• Camp Creek Parkusable

  min 667.00 ftcloses 7.67 ft lower

  LCRA

• Cypress Creekusable

  min 667.00 ftcloses 7.67 ft lower

  Travis County

• Gloster Bend Recreation Areausable

  min 662.00 ftcloses 12.67 ft lower

  LCRA

• Muleshoe Bend Recreation Areausable

  min 660.00 ftcloses 14.67 ft lower

  LCRA

• Pace Bend – Collier Coveusable

  min 653.00 ftcloses 21.67 ft lower

  Travis County

• Pace Bend – Tatum Coveusable

  min 653.00 ftcloses 21.67 ft lower

  Travis County

• Arkansas Bendusable

  min 647.00 ftcloses 27.67 ft lower

  Travis County

• Jones Brothers Parkusable

  min 645.00 ftcloses 29.67 ft lower

  City of Jonestown

• Sandy Creekusable

  min 640.00 ftcloses 34.67 ft lower

  Travis County

• Mansfield Damusable

  min 637.00 ftcloses 37.67 ft lower

  Travis County

• Pace Bend – Tournament Pointclosed

  min 631.00 ft

  Travis County · LCRA lists this low-water ramp as closed; it is underwater at current levels.

• Bob Wentz at Windy Pointpaddle craft

  no published minimum

  Travis County · Non-motorized boats only.

Minimum usable elevations: LCRA public boat ramp information (retrieved 2026-07-07). Conditions change, so check with the operator before towing a boat out. Lakes may be closed to boating during floods.

What each level means

Approximate. Based on published thresholds (ramp minimums, full pool, spillway, records), but every cove is different.

1. Emergency spillway territoryabove 714.00 ft

   Above 714 ft water can pass Mansfield Dam's emergency spillway, with severe flooding around the lake. Never reached; the record is 710.44 ft (Dec 25, 1991).

2. Lake flooding (NWS)685.00–714.00 ft

   At 685 ft NWS calls it flooding on Lake Travis: minor at 685, moderate at 691, major at 695. Lakeside parks, roads and low docks go under; Mansfield Dam releases run hard. The October 2018 flood crested at 704.39 ft.

3. In the flood pool682.00–685.00 ft

   More than a foot over full pool, the lake is storing floodwater. Releases follow federal flood-control rules; expect debris and shifting shorelines after events.

4. Near full668.00–682.00 ftnow · 674.67 ft

   Essentially all public ramps usable, coves and docks in good shape. Full for water supply is 681 ft.

5. First pinch points653.00–668.00 ft

   The highest ramps (Camp Creek and Cypress Creek at 667 ft, Gloster Bend 662, Muleshoe Bend 660) close through this range; upper-lake coves get shallow.

6. Widespread low-water impact637.00–653.00 ft

   Pace Bend (653), Arkansas Bend (647), Jones Brothers (645) and Sandy Creek (640) close; many private docks sit on dirt.

7. Severe drawdownbelow 637.00 ft

   Even Mansfield Dam ramp (637 ft) is unusable. For scale: the 2008–16 drought bottomed at 618.56 ft; the record low is 614.18 ft (Aug 14, 1951).

NWS flood stages for the lake

NWS judges flooding on Lake Travis by the lake’s own level at gauge MSDT2. Its action stage (681.00 ft) is within a foot of full pool (681.00 ft), where the lake is just full, so the ladder shows full pool instead.

now = lake gauge · 12:00 PM CDT