LOCALE: Mansfield Dam

[Abel]

Mansfield Dam
On Lake Travis
Austin, Texas

Photo-Ops Map location here

[jordankreationz]

Any pictures of this area so I can get an idea of whether to visit there on my short trip or not?

TIA if ya got them...

DJ

[Gordon]

I saw this one on the map and struggle a bit with why it's included. I've swam around the dam, ride my bike past it a few times a month, but have never felt the urge to point my camera near it.

[Mongo]

Its kind of neat to see once, but I dont know if Id call it a photo op or not.. If the lake were full and the sail boats were out on the Travis side, maybe....

[Stephen H]

Let me relate a recent experience. I went up to Lake Lavon, NE of Dallas. Down by the dam is a parking area, a fishing area, etc. I took a photo or two, and noticed a neat looking door and stairway on the dam, so I got my tripod out to get a better shot of it. Just about then, I hear someone hollering from across the way "You can't take pictures there!" It was the park ranger. He told me that it was illegal to take pictures of the dam for security reasons, it was a restricted area, threatened to call the sheriff, etc. (There weren't even any signs or anything, and it's a public area with no guard gate to get there) Well, sometime after that, I got to checking into it and as best I can tell, it is not a restricted area, and he was just talking out of his hat. That is a Corps of Engineers lake, and it appears that the commander has the authority to limit activities as he sees fit, but he also has to post any restrictions, and as far as I could tell by talking to them and from the internet, there simply weren't any restrictions on photography actually in force. There was an awful lot of beating around the bush, but no one could ever come up with an actual statement or rule that limited photography in any way, including the ranger and his superviser.

Now, if you've never heard of Lake Lavon, it is because it is a two-bit lake that no terrorist in his right mind would look at twice. Meanwhile, it appears that tourists can and do tour the innards of Hoover Dam and photograph to their heart's content, and that is perfectly okay.

So, just be aware that someone may pop up and say "you can't take pictures here!", regardless of whether there are actually any rules to that effect, or regardless of how stupid such a prohibition might seem. If you can do it discreetly, you might inquire beforehand if there are ANY recreational restrictions in effect (ask 'em "Can I photograph the dam" and you'll probably get the same runaround I did). That way, if someone says "This is a restricted area", you can say "Well, I talked to ____ and he said there were no restrictions in effect."

[Reuel]

We toured Hoover Dam once (before 911) and were told "Take all the dam pictures you want!"

[High_Boost]

here is one I took of the lake austin side of the dam at night