Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is an excellent park to visit for the day or to camp for a few days. It is family friendly with some easy trails, great views and lots of areas to scramble over rock surfaces.

Book a reservation for a day pass for an overnight stay at least a week in advance or it is very likely that there will be not space and you will be turned away at the gate. Yes, even day passes routinely sell out 3 to 4 days in advance.

Enchanted Rock is a huge monolithic granite rock. Most people simply hike up the rock along the main trail. If you take the main route you will likely be following a line of other hikers until you reach the top. However, if you are a little more adventurous, I recommend that you hike along the Echo Canyon Trail until you see the BIG ROCK - you'll know it when you see it. Then cut through the brush and hike up the steep back side of the rock. You'll be rewarded with a more independent and secluded hike.

Of course the view from the top of the rock is why most people visit the park - it is great. You'll have a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. 

At the top of the rock venture toward the collection of boulders. You can scramble on top of the boulders, slide in between the boulders and if you can find the cave, you can immerse yourself within the boulders. You can find the cave by asking someone or looking for the X. Once you find the X you will need to drop down a crevice about 8 feet to enter the depth of the cave. Once you drop down into the crevice you are pretty much committed, because it is a little difficult to exit the crevice. The cave stretches for about 100 yards and takes 30 to 40 minutes to pass through. Once you walk about 20 feet, you’ll be in complete darkness without a light. I recommend that you only enter the cave if you have a headlamp and you secure all of your valuables in a zipped pocket within a backpack. There are sections in the cave where if you drop your light, keys or phone you will not be able to retrieve them. Other than that, have fun walking, crawling and sliding through the cave.

There are walk up campsites on a big open field. On this occasion we stayed at the Moss Lake Primitive Campground. The campsite is nestled amongst a forest. There is plenty of trees and shade to hang a hammock and relax. Texas State Parks require 2 inch tree hugging straps to hang a hammock. There are not facilities at this site, so Leave No Trace principles should be practiced.