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Here’s a quiz: Name the three major clothing-optional swimming sites in Texas. Okay, this is a trick question. There’s only one major public site in Texas where nude swimming is allowed, and it’s Hippie Hollow, located on Lake Travis northwest of Austin. Hippie Hollow attracts 153,000 visitors annually. For years Hippie Hollow helped feed Austin’s reputation as the most laid-back city in Texas by offering a location where visitors from all walks of life – college students, laborers, lawyers, musicians – could skinny-dip and sunbathe to their hearts’ content. Local law enforcement turned a blind eye to the spot, as did LCRA, which acquired the land in the 1930s as part of its construction of Lake Travis and Mansfield Dam. But Hippie Hollow’s popularity (or notoriety, depending on your point of view) had grown to the point where the site was being overrun by visitors, parking, trash and problems with unhappy neighbors. In 1983 LCRA and Travis County struck a deal to develop the site as a county park, which opened two years later. In addition to the famed nude swimming and sunbathing sites, today’s 109-acre Hippie Hollow Park includes nature and hiking trails and restrooms. Some of the park’s acreage is habitat for the endangered golden-cheeked warbler and black-capped vireo and is off limits but offers opportunities for birdwatching. For all its amenities, don’t plan your next family campout at Hippie Hollow. The park is day-use only, and admission is restricted to adults 18 and older. No ground fires are allowed, nor are pets. Nor is any hanky-panky: "Remember that nudity is acceptable, lewd behavior is not," warns the park's Web page.
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