This report is from Aquatic Adventures. Be sure to stop by on the way to the lake they are open seven days a week to take care of all of your diving needs.
Mansfield Dam Park
Damside there is alot of submerged junk left over from the
construction of the dam. If you take a 135 degree heading
from the surface just below the diveflag painted rock @
643' (35' below if lake is @ 678') you'll find a stripped out
ski boat, from here go west to find two mirrors under the
ledge, or go east @ 624' is the barge, further down @ 598'
is the sailboat. A link to a map & table of the area near the
dam.
There are also several good overhangs to explore
here. Sometimes you can hear the turbines that generate
electricity running from the dam even when you are far
from the dam, pretty spooky at night especially on
Halloween. DO NOT go near the dam when the lake is up
or they are releasing water! The floodgates could be
opened anytime and don't make the noise that the turbines
do. The intakes for turbines are very deep in the center of
the dam while the gates are the openings covered by a
grates that look like a jail cell that are 664'.
Coveside there are grottos here around 80 ft. Many have
airpockets large enough for two or more divers to have a
quick conversation with the water at shoulder level. One
grotto though not large enough to hold a conversation
inhabits a large bass that doesn't appear to like visitors.
Across the cove is a nice wall dive with a large tree. There
are also supposed to be some caverns, but I haven't seen
them myself.
Hippy Hollow
A shallow dive. Clothing is optional so don't be suprised to
see alot of nude sunbathers.
Tom Hughes
Another good grotto dive area for intermediate divers. I did
my first pumpkin carving here. Don't expect to do this one
by car when the water is down without some rappeling
gear. Even when the water is up you can expect a difficult
climb down with your gear to the water. Visibility is usually
pretty good here especially since alot of divers don't go
here due to the climb down.
Volente Beach
This is a good site to dive either early morning or late a
night, lots of boat traffic other times. There are some nice
overhangs under the marina and one of the deep ones has
a hole in the roof of it that emerges into the center of the
floor of a shallower area. Its also interesting because of
the marina above but this should be treated as overhead
diving because you can't surface anywhere you might need
to. CAUTION watch out for the boats! Further east of this
site is an unravaged sunken boat. Rumor has it there is an
old barn and other remains of a town but these would be at
a very deep depth, 578' or lower and visibility due to the
sediment bottom was 3-5' on a good day. One visit trying
to find this town was enough.
West Point
Shallows of West Pt. This is a good dive site for novice
divers but you can only get to it by boat. It was originally
used by a local dive shop as a training site but is not
currently in use. You will need a dive flag for this area.
There are some submerged platforms here and plenty of
boat wrecks. There is even a portable building down there
somewhere.
Wall of West Pt.
I only did this one time and I think it is
definitely worth going back to explore. Lots of good
overhangs with good visibility. Of course you must go by
boat.
Windy Point
Public or Private side. Both are very accessible by car. I
prefer the public side especially during the week for night
dives when at least last summer with the drought you could
park very close to the water. At least three sunken boats, a
volkswagen bug, a lawnmower, a motorcycle and two dive
platforms are between the two parks.
Last summer 2
divers found the remains of a diver at 520' who had been
lost for the last 14 years. Visibility at this site can vary
greatly, I would strongly suggest when diving any of these
sites to have a backup air supply. Your dive buddy isn't
going to do you any good if you can't find each other.
Point on Windy Pt.
About 597', following the wall going
south you'll find several large grottos that catfish frequent.
If planning to visit the grottos here I would suggest saving
your money and going to the public side to save yourself a
long swim. This is a good dive during the week, visit the
grottos while there's still light, come up to watch the sunset
and then do a night dive going towards the private side.
Thanks to Aquatic Adventures for this great dive report on lake Travis.