(Photo by Will van Overbeek)
For more information, visit the Hamilton Pool Preserve website or call the public information line at 512/264-2740. The messages are updated daily at 8:30 a.m. or at the onset of closures due to heavy rains or hazardous trail conditions.
Consider this a public service announcement to save you time and a trip if you didn’t already know, but as of May 15, and through September 30, you need to have a reservation to enter Hamilton Pool Preserve. Reportedly, the pool is booked out weeks in advance, so if it’s your aim to go, get cracking with your reservations.
The non-refundable reservations allow you to pick a date and time slot – between 9 a.m. -1 p.m. or 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. – and each reservation is good for one vehicle only. The reservation fee is paid online, and the entrance fee is paid at the entrance gate (cash or local check only).
Sometimes, rainfall and other conditions, such as high bacteria content, may cause the pool to be closed to swimming, in which case, you’re kind of out of luck because swimming isn’t guaranteed and the reservation can’t be changed.
That said, the system in place is meant to protect the historic swimming hole marked by a dazzling 50-foot waterfall plunging into the steep box canyon.
