Hamilton Pool Preserve is a recreational destination located in the Texas Hill Country west of Austin. Reservations are required to visit, and it is open for hiking and sight-seeing. Hamilton Pool is a natural pool that was created when the dome of an underground

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

collapsed due to massive

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...

thousands of years ago. The pool is located about west of

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

off Highway 71. Since the 1960s, Hamilton Pool has been a popular summer swimming spot for Austin visitors and residents. Hamilton Pool Preserve consists of of protected natural habitat featuring a jade green pool into which a waterfall flows with water temperatures reaching 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The pool is surrounded by large slabs of limestone that rest by the water's edge; large stalactites grow from the ceiling high above. The ceiling and surrounding cliffs of the grotto are home to moss, maidenhair fern and cliff swallows. The Ashe juniper (cedar) uplands of the preserve are home to the endangered

golden-cheeked warbler The golden-cheeked warbler (''Setophaga chrysoparia'') is an endangered species of bird that breeds in Central Texas, from Palo Pinto County southwestward along the eastern and southern edge of the Edwards Plateau to Kinney County. The golden- ...

. The natural pool and creek are not chemically treated, so water quality is monitored regularly and swimming is occasionally restricted. Hamilton Pool is part of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve and is a protected environment.

History

Prior to the 19th century, the

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe indigenous to present-day Oklahoma. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the federally recognized Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. ...

and

Lipan Apaches Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan Indigenous people, who have lived in the Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European and African contact, they lived in New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, a ...

lived in the area. In the mid-1860s,

Morgan C. Hamilton Morgan Calvin Hamilton (February 25, 1809 – November 21, 1893) was an American merchant, politician from Alabama and Texas, and brother of Andrew Jackson Hamilton. Both men were unusual as Unionist (United States), Unionists in Texas during th ...

owned the property now known as Hamilton Pool Preserve. His brother,

Andrew Jackson Hamilton Andrew Jackson Hamilton (January 28, 1815 – April 11, 1875) was an American politician during the third quarter of the 19th century. He was a lawyer, state representative, military governor of Texas, as well as the 11th Governor of Texas during ...

, evidently visited the grotto while serving as Texas governor (1865–66). In the 1880s, the Reimers' family, immigrants from Germany, bought the property to raise sheep and cattle. Legend says that their eight-year-old son discovered the collapsed grotto. Although ranchers might have considered the grotto a safety hazard for their livestock, the Reimers soon realized its value as a recreational area and opened the property for public use. Around the turn of the 20th century, the site did not attract many visitors, but by the 1960s, and on into the 1980s, Hamilton Pool's popularity had increased. The land suffered from sheer numbers and few restrictions. In addition to impact from the visiting public, cattle, sheep and goats grazed the delicate ecosystem for several decades, resulting in changes to the native vegetation. In 1980, the

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and historical areas. Its mission is to manage ...

cited Hamilton Pool as the most significant natural area in rural

Travis County Travis County is located in south central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Austin, the capital of Texas. The county was established in 1840 and is n ...

. In 1985, Travis County purchased from the Reimers family and implemented an aggressive land management plan to restore Hamilton Pool. Now, as a result of the restoration plan, the ecosystems of Hamilton Pool are recovering. Ongoing land management practices at Hamilton Pool Preserve include prescribed burns, prairie restoration, endangered species surveys, biological inventories and water quality monitoring. In February 2021, a series of five winter storms, including

Winter Storm Uri Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

and Winter Storm Viola, swept through Texas in rapid succession.

Ice wedge An ice wedge is a crack in the ground formed by a narrow or thin piece of ice that measures up to 3–4 meters in length at ground level and extends downwards into the ground up to several meters. During the winter months, the water in the gr ...

s formed in the overhanging cliff and the frequency of

rockfall A rockfall or rock-fallWhittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984. . is a quantity/sheets of rock that has fallen freely from a cliff face. The term is also used for collapse of rock from roof or walls of mi ...

s greatly increased, resulting in the closure of the pool itself. A portion of pool re-opened for swimming in May 2022 but has intermittently closed since then due to high bacteria levels. The trail underneath the overhang remains closed.

Ecology

Flora

The preserve is home to the chatterbox orchid (''

Epipactis gigantea ''Epipactis gigantea'' is a species of orchid known as the stream orchid, giant helleborine, and chatterbox. This wildflower is native to western North America from British Columbia to central Mexico. This is one of the most abundant orchids of ...

'') and the eastern red bay (''

Persea borbonia ''Persea borbonia'' or redbay is a small, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae), native to the southeastern United States. It belongs to the genus ''Persea'', a group of evergreen trees including bays and the avocado. ''Persea borbonia' ...

'').

Other

Filming location

The 1990 movie ''

The Hot Spot ''The Hot Spot'' is a 1990 American neo-noir film directed by Dennis Hopper, based on the 1953 novel ''Hell Hath No Fury'' by Charles Williams, who also co-wrote the screenplay. It stars Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, and Jennifer Connelly, and f ...

'', the 2007 film ''

Teeth A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, t ...

'' the 2010 film ''

Predators Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

'', the 2011 film ''

The Tree of Life ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', and the 2015 music video for the song "Charlie Gray" by the Dallas-based indie-rock band Valise all filmed scenes at Hamilton Pool.

Access

Hamilton Pool is open every day for hiking and sight-seeing. Reservations are required for entry and these are made online through the Travis County Hamilton Pool Preserve Website. The online reservation fee is $12. Additionally, there is an $8 Travis County Park entry fee per person, with various discounts for seniors, disabled veterans.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://parks.traviscountytx.gov/find-a-park/hamilton-pool, Travis County Parks, Tx: Hamilton Pool Preserve, official website
Texas Outside: Hamilton Pool

Austin Explorer: Hamilton Pool Preserve

Wild Texas: Hamilton Pool Preserve

Pictures of Hamilton Pool by Brian P. Barnes
Waterfalls of Texas Protected areas of Travis County, Texas Nature reserves in Texas Landforms of Travis County, Texas