Walk down to a cove off Hurst Creek this month and you'll see something most Lakeway residents haven't seen in the better part of a decade. Water where mudflats used to be. Docks floating instead of sitting on their pilings like beached furniture. The low ridge locals call Sometimes Island back underwater, exactly where it belongs.
In mid-July 2026, Lake Travis reached full pool for the first time since 2019, roughly seven years, after repeated rounds of heavy Hill Country rain sent floodwater down into the Highland Lakes and pushed the lake past its full mark of 681 feet above mean sea level. As of August 2, the LCRA's official reading has the reservoir at 100.0% full.
If you moved to Lakeway during the drought years, this is not the lake you know. It is the lake your neighbors have been talking about.
What "full pool" actually means for the way you use the lake
Full pool is a specific number, not a mood. The Lower Colorado River Authority manages Lake Travis for flood control and water supply, so its level swings with rainfall and drought. "Full pool" is 681 feet. Below that, the lake is in its normal conservation range. Above it, the lake enters its flood pool, and the LCRA may release water through Mansfield Dam to manage the rise.
The practical translation matters more than the elevation. For most of the last seven years, Lake Travis sat well below full, exposing sandbars, boat ramps left high and dry, and the low-water landmark locals call "Sometimes Island." As of mid-July 2026, those are underwater again, and the lake looks the way longtime boaters remember it.
Back in April, the lake sat at 663.3 feet msl and 72.7% full. In roughly three months it climbed nearly eighteen vertical feet. That is the shift you are feeling every time you drive over the 620 bridge.
The coves that came back
When the lake is low, everyone crowds the deep water near the dam. When it is full, the map opens back up. A fuller lake means more of it is navigable: coves that were mudflats are open water again, more ramps are usable, and the shoreline sits closer to where it did years ago. Coves, channels, and launch points that were unusable at low water are back in play, which spreads boat traffic out and opens up more places to anchor, swim, and fish.
For Lakeway residents, that mostly means the arms of the lake closest to home are usable again:
- Hurst Creek arm near mile marker 14, protected water tucked behind the point
- The Lakeway cove between markers 16 and 17, where the resort marina sits
- Rough Hollow cove at marker 18, deeper into the western reach
Each of these had shallow entry points during the low years. They don't now.
Where locals are launching this month
If you have your own boat trailer, ramp access is finally boring again, which is the highest compliment you can pay a lake ramp. If you don't, the marinas within a fifteen-minute drive of most Lakeway homes have room to help.
Lakeway Marina, at 103 Lakeway Drive next to Lakeway Resort & Spa, is the closest option for most residents on the south side of 620. It runs boat rentals, party barges, ski boats, jet skis, pontoons, and stand-up paddle boards, with permanent or daily slips available and a full-service repair facility on site. Its ship's store carries the only non-ethanol fuel on the lake, which the older boat crowd cares about more than they will admit.
Hurst Harbor Marina sits near mile marker 14 in the Hurst Cove across from Lakeway City Park, with one of the most naturally protective moorings on the lake, and by road it is just one mile off HWY 620 on Clara Van Trail. If you want a slip that stays calm when the afternoon chop kicks up, this is the one people in the know point to.
Sandy Creek Yacht Club & Marina on Lime Creek Road runs a different playbook. It offers gated slips for boats up to 100 feet, a ship's store, fuel, and Shack 512 Restaurant on site, with a tram system and dock carts from the parking lot down to the pier.
For members who prefer a club model, Nautical Boat Club operates several Austin-area locations including Volente, Lakeway, and Northshore, with membership meaning you show up and the boat is clean and fueled.
One thing to check before you launch
A full lake is not the same as an unrestricted lake. When the LCRA is actively moving water, downstream boating stops.
While the Mansfield Dam floodgates are open, boating downstream is restricted. The City of Austin has closed Lake Austin, Lady Bird Lake, and the Colorado River below the dam to all watercraft, including kayaks and paddleboards. If your usual weekend is a paddleboard loop on Lady Bird before brunch, check the LCRA river operations report before you load the car. Travis itself stays open, but the reservoirs below it come and go with gate operations.
What's on land through the end of August
The lake filling up coincided with the Lakeway Arts District's strongest late-summer slate in years. If you are hosting family in from out of town this month, the calendar is doing you a favor.
TexARTS presents Rock of Ages at the TexARTS Lakeway venue runs July 10 through August 9, an '80s jukebox musical with weekend 7pm performances plus Sunday matinees at 2pm. This is the last week of the run.
Magnolia Musical Theatre presents The Addams Family runs July 15 through August 15 at Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave, Wednesday through Saturday at 8pm on the Central Lawn and Pavilion, free with no tickets required. Bring low chairs. Come early for a spot.
"Around the World" Travel Photography Exhibit opens Saturday, August 8, 2 to 3pm at the Lake Travis Community Library. It is the kind of quiet neighborhood event that gets missed by anyone who doesn't already live within ten minutes of the library.
Big Band Bash at the Lakeway Activity Center features the 17-piece Republic of Texas Big Band with David Cummings and Lisa Clark on vocals, free and open to all ages, with the band accepting donations after the show. Bring your own drinks and snacks. It is one of the most consistently underrated evenings in town.
For everything else, the Lakeway Arts District calendar is the source residents actually use.
The through line
The full lake and the full calendar are not two separate stories. They are the same one. When Travis is low, the marinas quiet down, the coves near home go unusable, and the summer default becomes "drive somewhere else." When the lake is full, the neighborhood pulls back inward. You launch from the marina you can see from your driveway. You watch a musical at the Galleria on a Wednesday. You end up at Shack 512 because you tied up there anyway.
Seven years is long enough that a full generation of Lakeway kids has never known a full pool summer. If you moved here in 2020 or later, this August is the version of Lakeway your neighbors kept promising you existed. It is worth the afternoon out to see it.
If you have been thinking about how this stretch of the lake fits into your own next chapter, whether that is a first waterfront home, a move up to a cove view, or a thoughtful sale while buyer confidence is high, Bea Love Homes would love to talk it through with you. Book an appointment when you're ready.
