The Travis County Commissioners Court has approved a park-use fee hike, raising entry fees at Hamilton Pool and Hippie Hollow, as well as increasing field reservation fees. Travis County's Park fees were last raised in 2009.
The Parks department will raise the Hippie Hollow surcharge from $2 per vehicle to $5 due to an increase in the level of required law enforcement at the park -- a 20 percent hike since 2009 -- according to Travis County. The proposal also includes an additional $5 surcharge per vehicle at Hamilton Pool that is frequently at capacity and requires park rangers to manage the traffic.
Mary Quinlan Park, the popular Lake Austin boat ramp which was free, will also have $10 park fees.
The park fees look to offset operational costs in the Travis County Parks — basic services like utilities, restrooms, facility maintenance and law enforcement.
Overall, Travis County operates and maintains 33 parks and 7 properties leased from LCRA on Lake Travis.
