Texas State Parks

[Zwylde 812]

Not as pretty as the Hill Country and West Texas parks but Brazos Bend offer up close encounters with these guys that make it worth while.   Lots of good trails with tons of good photo ops if your into animal photog. 

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

On 9/18/2019 at 3:23 PM, HenryJames said:

Went to Blanco over Labor Day after not having been since junior high. Easy drive from Austin, good for kids, and Real Ale.

Man, we lived in Blanco when we first got married. A little two room cabin about 150 feet from the river, in the neighborhood right across the river from the bowling alley / cafe. This would have been back around 1992 or so. The last time we went through there, a couple of years ago, it did not look even remotely the same. Well, maybe the Dairy Queen did, but not much else.

[F250 28768]

On 9/18/2019 at 2:19 PM, crash_davis said:

i did guadelupe river sp once.  we were sitting on lawn chairs in the guad.  upstream, a family allows their large dog to take a giant shit in the shallower rapids part.  we yelled at them to pick up the shit, they flipped us off and went their merry way.  we got out of the river, packed up and went home.  that was the straw that ruined the trip for us.  the 2 previous night of not sleeping because of the 50 fucking million raccoons in the bush and trees 10 feet the tents having a party every night was the other main reason.  haven't ever returned.

We live close to Guadalupe River State Park and used to go there a lot when my kids were little. Used to make random stop there all the time back in the day. Weekdays are ideal because the poors from San Antonio ruin the place on the weekends.

[Tylerocks 2553]

Been looking to take the dog on a good old fashioned day hike, that's just a short drive from Houston.

Looking at Sam Houston National Forest, Brazos Bend or Big Thicket.

 

Also, some buddies took a trip a few years ago to Devils River State Natural Area....it's just North of Del Rio.  It looks incredible....kind of a pain in the ass to get to (about 20 mi on rough gravel road) but looks to be worth it.  Kayaking, swimming, fishing.  Clear green/blue water...

[Nonbryan 173]

Took the family to Enchanted Rock this weekend for the 1st time.  We really enjoyed the views.  Hiking up to the top was a nice reminder that I need to get my ass back in the gym!  We were limited on time, so we were not able to jump off onto any of the other trails, but we definitely want to go back to hit up some of the side trails. 

[SimonBolivar 10958]

My rankings of the ones I've been to:

1.) Palo Duro

2.) Colorado Bend

3.) Enchanted Rock

4.) Dinosaur Valley

5.) McKinney Falls

6.) Mother Neff

7.) Cleburne

8.) Ft Parker

9.) Meridian

10.) Lake Whitney

11.) Padre Island (not a beach person)

12.) Galveston Island (not a beach person)

 

[Zepol87 9185]

On 10/2/2019 at 9:43 AM, Tylerocks said:

Been looking to take the dog on a good old fashioned day hike, that's just a short drive from Houston.

Looking at Sam Houston National Forest, Brazos Bend or Big Thicket.

 

Also, some buddies took a trip a few years ago to Devils River State Natural Area....it's just North of Del Rio.  It looks incredible....kind of a pain in the ass to get to (about 20 mi on rough gravel road) but looks to be worth it.  Kayaking, swimming, fishing.  Clear green/blue water...

Holy shit that is beautiful. I have never seen anything like that in Texas

[drt 638]

The river is amazing.  You are absolutely correct it is like nothing else in Texas, and it's worth learning to canoe/kayak/camp just to take the trip down the length of the river.  We did the shorter trip for the north half of the river.  I would go back in a heartbeat but it's not for everyone.

[michaelpshayes 417]

One more hard freeze to kill off all the mosquitos, etc. and Palo Duro will be paradise for hikers the next 2 months.  Lighthouse on a weekday morning is awesome and you will only see a few people ...it's great hike especially if you have young-ish kids or people who aren't used to hiking

[RollLeft 5044]

This past week my brother and I loaded up my nephews and went on a road trip.  If you have never driven the "Texas Alps" stretch between Medina and Vanderpool and then on to Leakey you have to do it.  It is arguably the most scenic drive in Texas.  It is just awesome.  It should be on your Texas bucket list.  Then after swimming Garner State park we headed to Del Rio.  It wasn't the destination but i had never driven the route from Del Rio to Big Bend and so that is the one we took. That drive over the Pecos and through the mountains of that part of Texas was just more than i ever expected.  It to is just awesome, majestic.   It made me proud to be a Texan.  Lastly, while Big Bend is a National park it also a State Park and it just doesn't get its due.  What a wonder.  We spent time all over that park.  From the Boquilla side to the Elena Canyon side and it is just breathtaking.  Just go, you won't regret it.  Headed to Palo Duro in a few weeks.    

Edited June 5, 2020 by RollLeft

[RollLeft 5044]

Palo Duro was awesome.  It definitely did not disappoint.  Great for camping and the trails, imo, are very family friendly.  I was struck by the stark contrast to its surroundings.  Amarillo still smells and Plainview to me has to be the most depressing part of the state yet in the midst of that whole area is an oasis that is Canyon, Tx and Palo Duro.   

I happened to drive the stretch of Hwy 82 from Wichita Falls to Lubbock.  Mainly because i hadn't driven it before.  Nice little drive especially between Seymour and Guthrie.  If you like old towns with old courthouses and jailhouses there are a few pics to take along the way.  Good stuff.

All that said having done the Big Bend a few weeks before there is no comparison.  TBB reigns supreme.  Not just in size, but also in beauty.  They are both a must see but if you had to pick one TBB is the way to go.  

[Vic Mackey 47027]

Went to Daingerfield and Atlanta a few weeks ago with my gf. Had a great time! We will be getting a season pass next year and hit up as many as we can get to.

[tchookem 3900]

My rankings of the ones I've been to:
1.) Palo Duro
2.) Colorado Bend
3.) Enchanted Rock
4.) Dinosaur Valley
5.) McKinney Falls
6.) Mother Neff
7.) Cleburne
8.) Ft Parker
9.) Meridian
10.) Lake Whitney
11.) Padre Island (not a beach person)
12.) Galveston Island (not a beach person)
 

Any of you Palo Duro vets have any suggestions for camping? Best camping sites? Anything we "must see" on the first visit?

Hoping to make it the Spring Break trip this year.

[stc 1461]

camped at inks lake recently and they're definitely limiting capacity on the camping. there only appeared to be 1 loop open in the tent camping area, lots of empty sites with a reserved sign but nobody there all weekend. they also only had half of the restrooms open on any given day. 

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

6 hours ago, stc said:

camped at inks lake recently and they're definitely limiting capacity on the camping. there only appeared to be 1 loop open in the tent camping area, lots of empty sites with a reserved sign but nobody there all weekend. they also only had half of the restrooms open on any given day. 

Looking at the reservation website, there's is almost no consistency across the park system.  Shoot.  Garner was full blast open all summer it seems.  

[LebongJames 1806]

On 9/27/2020 at 9:02 PM, tchookem said:

Any of you Palo Duro vets have any suggestions for camping? Best camping sites? Anything we "must see" on the first visit?

Hoping to make it the Spring Break trip this year.

You have to do the lighthouse and rock garden hike. We had our RV so I’m no sure where we camped but it backed up to nature with a ton of privacy and a pull through site. We also did the Paseo Del Rio trail to get the dogs some water. A lot of good biking as well.

[utee94 15815]

2 hours ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

Looking at the reservation website, there's is almost no consistency across the park system.  Shoot.  Garner was full blast open all summer it seems.  

I was at Garner for almost a month in July and they had  had quite a few "reserved" spots that never had anyone in them, pretty clearly trying to limit the overall numbers.  They also issued FAR fewer day passes than normal.

 

 

[mdmost 43001]

Bumping this as we're headed to Palo Duro in mid March for Spring Break. Definitely doing Lighthouse Trail and the Paseo Del Rio. 

[Hook'Em0608 96]

On 1/2/2022 at 10:43 AM, mdmost said:

Bumping this as we're headed to Palo Duro in mid March for Spring Break. Definitely doing Lighthouse Trail and the Paseo Del Rio. 

I’m not sure if Texas is playing that time of year but the wife and kids loved it when we went last summer.

[mdmost 43001]

It doesn't come back till the summer. We may go back but we already have our summer vacation paid for. 

[texasdago 7573]

On 10/16/2019 at 11:23 AM, drt said:

The river is amazing.  You are absolutely correct it is like nothing else in Texas, and it's worth learning to canoe/kayak/camp just to take the trip down the length of the river.  We did the shorter trip for the north half of the river.  I would go back in a heartbeat but it's not for everyone.

If you want similar (if not clearer) water but not as remote, check out Camp Wood.  

[Deej 76760]

Just a heads up. I reserved a day pass to Beuscher State Park to go kayak fishing on that cool little lake. Didn't notice that the lake is closed until 2023 to all fishing, bank fishing included, while they work on the dam.

[mdmost 43001]

Just got back from Palo Duro and had a great time. We stayed just outside the park gates at an AirBnB off Sunday Canyon Road. We got there early on Sunday and Monday so we could beat the crowds. Only had a couple car wait each time. When we left on Sunday around 2pm, the line to get in the parks was back to the stables outside the park. Lighthouse Trail was great. My kids were a little wimpy at first but powered through. We also enjoyed the Big Cave. We talked about coming back on our way to Colorado next summer and renting one of the Rim cabins and seeing the Texas musical. We took a suggestion from LTBear on here and drove to Quitiquah to check out Caprock Canyons State Park. That was also really awesome. The kids enjoyed seeing bison in the roads and off to the side. We also walked through the prairie dog town and saw about 10 pop up and chirp at us. I really enjoyed the steep drive. I wished we had more time to hike but it was nice to get to drive around. 

We're planning a trip to Fredericksburg on Easter weekend to check out Enchanted Rock. What are some other state parks we should check out around there? I know Pedernales Falls is a great one but I figure that might be better in the early summer when we could swim. 

[Hpara759 1778]

1 hour ago, mdmost said:

 Quitiquah 

 

[SimonBolivar 10958]

1 hour ago, mdmost said:

Just got back from Palo Duro and had a great time. We stayed just outside the park gates at an AirBnB off Sunday Canyon Road. We got there early on Sunday and Monday so we could beat the crowds. Only had a couple car wait each time. When we left on Sunday around 2pm, the line to get in the parks was back to the stables outside the park. Lighthouse Trail was great. My kids were a little wimpy at first but powered through. We also enjoyed the Big Cave. We talked about coming back on our way to Colorado next summer and renting one of the Rim cabins and seeing the Texas musical. We took a suggestion from LTBear on here and drove to Quitiquah to check out Caprock Canyons State Park. That was also really awesome. The kids enjoyed seeing bison in the roads and off to the side. We also walked through the prairie dog town and saw about 10 pop up and chirp at us. I really enjoyed the steep drive. I wished we had more time to hike but it was nice to get to drive around. 

We're planning a trip to Fredericksburg on Easter weekend to check out Enchanted Rock. What are some other state parks we should check out around there? I know Pedernales Falls is a great one but I figure that might be better in the early summer when we could swim. 

If you haven't done Colorado Bend then certainly hit that one up with the Gorman Falls trail being a must. It's a good hour from Enchanted Rock though so it might be worth a separate trip.

[SimonBolivar 10958]

How is the reservation system going these days? Pretty open or is it still pretty limited at some places?

[mdmost 43001]

2 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

How is the reservation system going these days? Pretty open or is it still pretty limited at some places?

For Palo Duro, I booked ours about 3 weeks ago and it was fine. You're screwed on campsites and cabins unless you're there online to snatch one up when they go live 30 days out. You're okay on day passes but I'd imagine some parks vary wildly. Palo Duro has about 900 available for each day. Tomorrow shows 635 day passes are still available there. Colorado Bend looks to have a lot less which is good to know since we're 30 days out from our next trip over Easter weekend. 

Edited March 16, 2022 by mdmost

[mdmost 43001]

On 3/16/2022 at 3:47 PM, SimonBolivar said:

If you haven't done Colorado Bend then certainly hit that one up with the Gorman Falls trail being a must. It's a good hour from Enchanted Rock though so it might be worth a separate trip.

We're doing a trip down to Colorado Bend next week. Just a few days. We figure we may try for Enchanted Rock on Easter Weekend, especially if the kids get out of school for Good Friday. That's up in the air a bit due to the ice days. 

No issues getting a pass for Colorado Bend. 

[SimonBolivar 10958]

30 minutes ago, mdmost said:

We're doing a trip down to Colorado Bend next week. Just a few days. We figure we may try for Enchanted Rock on Easter Weekend, especially if the kids get out of school for Good Friday. That's up in the air a bit due to the ice days. 

No issues getting a pass for Colorado Bend. 

Post hike meal at Storm's in Lampasas is a requirement for us too

Edited March 7, 2023 by SimonBolivar

[utee94 15815]

2 hours ago, mdmost said:

We're doing a trip down to Colorado Bend next week. Just a few days. We figure we may try for Enchanted Rock on Easter Weekend, especially if the kids get out of school for Good Friday. That's up in the air a bit due to the ice days. 

No issues getting a pass for Colorado Bend. 

Be sure to book E-Rock in advance, their day passes tend to fill up on holidays.  They allow booking a month in advance, so as of today, Good Friday is already  available for booking (and so far it still has plenty of availability for all entry time slots).  Tomorrow, the Saturday of Easter weekend will open up for booking, and then the next day, Easter Sunday, etc.

 

 

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by utee94

[mdmost 43001]

DISD just announced the kids don't have to make up the ice days so we're in for Easter weekend at Enchanted Rock. Plan to stay at an AirBnB in Fredericksburg. Any other parks close by that we should visit? I wanted to do Old Tunnel but the bats aren't back till May. We may save that for the summer when we do a Schlitterbahn trip. I think we may check out Longhorn Cavern State Park on that trip since it's on the way for us. We'll also save Pedernales for summer. Will hit up LBJ.  

When's the best time to visit Garner? We want it to be enjoyable but not oppressive. 

Edited March 9, 2023 by mdmost

[Tailgate 3021]

Big Bend State Park FTW. Get your asses out there.

[mdmost 43001]

We went to BBSP back when Covid was breaking out. Loved it. 

Booked Enchanted Rock and went ahead with a purchase of a park pass as we need an excuse to do this more often. There's another 3 day weekend at the end of April that I'm going to look at going somewhere. 

[CoachTex 2624]

Inks Lake State Park and Longhorn Caverns.

[GreenspointTexas 9600]

Just hit my 50th state park since COVID last weekend with the kids… Mission Tejas State Park. Too bad half the park was post-prescribed burn from last Friday

[Biff Tannen 45677]

8 hours ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Just hit my 50th state park since COVID last weekend with the kids… Mission Tejas State Park. Too bad half the park was post-prescribed burn from last Friday

Nice

[horn4life 3760]

Fun Fact that I just found out after many decades of fishing in Texas.  It is FREE to fish in Texas State Parks!  I nearly always have a current fishing license, but don't even not dip a line in the future for fear of not have a license!   

[deadshank 24652]

On 3/16/2023 at 2:29 PM, GreenspointTexas said:

Just hit my 50th state park since COVID last weekend with the kids… Mission Tejas State Park. Too bad half the park was post-prescribed burn from last Friday

A controlled burn is like a controlled fart.  It can turn to shit real quick. 

[mdmost 43001]

Colorado Bend State Park was great. We hiked to Gorman Falls which was fun. It wasn't flowing at a great speed but it was still pretty impressive. It was too chilly and the river was too low for kayaking. We did a cave tour which was interesting because you needed headlamps and a helmet. Required a bit of crouching and crawling. Saw a sleeping tiny bat. It wasn't like the cave tours I've done before where everything is illuminated and massive. Next up is Enchanted Rock on Easter weekend. Debating another trip at the end of April but since it's only a 3 day weekend, it's not as easy to go a longer distance. 

[utee94 15815]

On 3/8/2023 at 7:49 PM, mdmost said:

DISD just announced the kids don't have to make up the ice days so we're in for Easter weekend at Enchanted Rock. Plan to stay at an AirBnB in Fredericksburg. Any other parks close by that we should visit? I wanted to do Old Tunnel but the bats aren't back till May. We may save that for the summer when we do a Schlitterbahn trip. I think we may check out Longhorn Cavern State Park on that trip since it's on the way for us. We'll also save Pedernales for summer. Will hit up LBJ.  

When's the best time to visit Garner? We want it to be enjoyable but not oppressive. 

I love Garner any time throughout the summer.  It's way crowded of course and you need to book very far in advance if you're looking for camping spots. But the water in the Frio is cold enough to beat the heat even in July and August.  I should note, I have an RV with extremely effective air conditioning.

Garner's also nice in the Fall and Spring, but I'm less likely to jump in the water if it's cool/cold outside.

[utee94 15815]

On 3/8/2023 at 8:03 PM, Tailgate said:

Big Bend State Park FTW. Get your asses out there.

 

On 3/9/2023 at 10:24 AM, mdmost said:

We went to BBSP back when Covid was breaking out. Loved it. 

Just got back from 5 days at BB National Park.  Weather was crap, 34 and rainy and it snowed all day Saturday in the Chisos, but we did the basin/valley hikes like Santa Elena Canyon and it wasn't terrible.  The park did look extra beautiful with snow in the mountains, that's for sure.

 

 

[mdmost 43001]

43 minutes ago, utee94 said:

I love Garner any time throughout the summer.  It's way crowded of course and you need to book very far in advance if you're looking for camping spots. But the water in the Frio is cold enough to beat the heat even in July and August.  I should note, I have an RV with extremely effective air conditioning.

Garner's also nice in the Fall and Spring, but I'm less likely to jump in the water if it's cool/cold outside.

I may look at something outside of the park and then get day use passes to go swimming. I already looked at the cabins and they're all booked up through the end of August. Have you done Pedernales Falls SP? I'm trying to see if that's one worth doing this summer or tacking on to our Enchanted Rock trip. I don't know if will be warm enough by then for swimming. 

[utee94 15815]

7 minutes ago, mdmost said:

I may look at something outside of the park and then get day use passes to go swimming. I already looked at the cabins and they're all booked up through the end of August. Have you done Pedernales Falls SP? I'm trying to see if that's one worth doing this summer or tacking on to our Enchanted Rock trip. I don't know if will be warm enough by then for swimming. 

Yeah we do Ped Falls a lot, it's basically our default when we want to do something close.  It's really nice when the Falls are flowing.  Sadly the multi-year drought has had a pretty major impact on the water flow, but hopefully this Spring we'll get some rain and get it flowing better.

Bastrop State Park used to be my absolute fave for an easy nearby getaway, but the 2011 forest fires wiped out so much of its beauty.  It's gonna be a long while before that park recovers, and it won't ever get back to its former beauty in my lifetime.  Buescher State Park is next door and didn't burn as much in 2011, but a lot of it did burn during the next round of fires.  It's also a lot smaller.

There are two LCRA parks on Lake Bastrop that are decent.  Pretty small but almost always available because I guess people just don't know about them. 

And then there are a couple of Army Corps of Engineers parks on Lake Georgetown that we hit sometimes for quick getaways from Austin, and they also don't typically book up months in advance like the state parks do.  Their names are Cedar Breaks and Jim Hogg.

Edited March 21, 2023 by utee94

[mdmost 43001]

We just got back from a nice weekend in Fredericksburg. Drove down on Friday and did the Willow City Loop Trail. Wife loves wildflowers so she really enjoyed the drive. The whole area is blanketed with wildflowers right now. The rains really helped. We stayed in an AirBnB about 10 minutes outside of town. Country home with old wood floors and sheep in just beyond the fence. The kids really liked it a lot. Drove to Enchanted Rock early on Saturday morning. It was foggy going in which was interesting on the drive in as you could maybe see 100 feet in front of you on that two lane road through the hills. Climbed up the Summit Trail and loved the view. We then spent the rest of the day in town. Woke up this morning and after having a great breakfast at the Airport Diner, we stopped by Wildseed Farms before going to LBJ State Park. 

We may see about Old Tunnel State Park and Pedernales Falls around July 1-3 since we'll take off that Monday for July 4th. We also want to see about Lost Maples in November. I've always wanted to make the drive from Vanderpool to Leakey. Never been down that way to have the excuse to do it. 

We decided the Hill Country just makes you really love Texas, despite her flaws. Just such a change of pace from what we're used to in Dallas. I love driving down there. It's just good for the soul to see that much greenery. 

Edited April 10, 2023 by mdmost

[TwiceHorn 31452]

I got a reminder this weekend about how nice Cedar Hill SP is.  I have been there many times to camp just because of its proximity to Dallas.

But for the first time in a decade of mountain biking, rode the MTB trail there.  Quite a bit of fun as an intermediate, flowy trail without kill-yourself features.  A reminder that SW Dallas has some pretty nice geography.  The lake is a bit nondescript, and many/most of the campsites are in the lower areas down by the lake, but back up from the lake are some really nice hills and woods.

[mdmost 43001]

15 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

I got a reminder this weekend about how nice Cedar Hill SP is.  I have been there many times to camp just because of its proximity to Dallas.

But for the first time in a decade of mountain biking, rode the MTB trail there.  Quite a bit of fun as an intermediate, flowy trail without kill-yourself features.  A reminder that SW Dallas has some pretty nice geography.  The lake is a bit nondescript, and many/most of the campsites are in the lower areas down by the lake, but back up from the lake are some really nice hills and woods.

There are some great places to hike up in Cedar Hill. Dogwood Canyon Audobon Center, Cedar Mountain Trail, Cedar Ridge Preserve. A lot of southern Dallas also has great places like this. I wish the other half of Dallas would stop treating it like their toilet and dump area. 

[Butch Had Not 2969]

If you fuckers have never been to Monahans sand dunes in July. Don't know what you are missing.

[mdmost 43001]

We have, fucker. Went there after Big Bend Ranch and NP in March 2020. Still have the sled we bought there and plan to use it when we go to White Sands NP this fall. 

Edited April 11, 2023 by mdmost

[stc 1461]

went to pedernales falls on saturday, it's a trickle. there's not going to be any water in that river in july. 

[hobbes2702 13032]

5 minutes ago, stc said:

went to pedernales falls on saturday, it's a trickle. there's not going to be any water in that river in july. 

Was there about a month ago. The falls weren’t falls at all. Sad.