Best Glamping near Bend, TX

Ashley here from The Dyrt! It was great to add this glamping retreat that advocates for ecological protection. Each site provides comfortable amenities. Check them out and leave them some love!

Colorado Bend is beautiful and secluded. It is home to Gorman Falls, which is the tallest waterfall in Texas, but even besides that the park is gorgeous with awesome bluffs, river, trails, swimming hole, kayaking, and views. Definitely recommend visiting Colorado Bend for a day trip or camping.

Colorado Bend has something for everyone: comfortable camping for tents, campers, and large groups; fishing, swimming, and kayaking on the river; views that are second to none; a variety of hiking trails; and both a spring and a waterfall. This is one of my favorite state parks in Texas for camping in. The hike down to the falls does have a couple steep portions, but I have seen older people and small children make the trek without trouble. Wear pants, bring bug spray, and keep an eye out for scorpions (we caught two in one night, after one stung my wife - they’re not deadly, but definitely not pleasant). I recommend making sure the tent isn’t left open, and you’ll be fine.

Before I forget to mention it, there is also an excellent swimming hole fed by one of the creeks. Be sure to ask the rangers about it!

Colorado Bend State Park is a wonderful place to explore, relax, and be amazed! We picked a spot to camp that was just far enough from the road that we felt like we had the whole park to ourselves. We hiked during the day along the many trails, theres a beautiful waterfall in one part of the park that you have to see. Would definitely stay again!

Sulphur Springs camp is a great get away place if you want to put all electronics away but don't have the willpower. There is no cell service or Internet/wifi! All cabins have your basics - beds/ stove/fridge/bathroom/kitchen. All linens and dishes/cookware/linens and bath towels are provided . You are near Barefoot Camp and Colorado Bend State Park so you have plenty of things to keep you busy if you are adventurous. The camp gets its name from the natural sulphur springs at one end of the camp.

I love getting out of Austin and coming to Colorado Bend. There are so many great hiking trails, caves to explore, rocks to skip and stars at which to gaze!

Highly recommend getting advance campsite reservations. The first time we drove out we assumed we could walk-up but they have a lot of Boy Scout groups throughout the fall and spring. So we had to go to a nearby private camp on the river. Second time we knew better.

I highly recommend hiking Gorman Falls and swimming in Spicewood Springs!

A very nice State Park to go to. Most of the drive-in sites have a shelter. The walk-in sites are a pretty short distance from the parking lot.

Water for the walk-in sites are on the top of the stairs, so be sure to have something to lug water down to your campsite. On the drive-in side, water is in a central location.

Gorman Falls are beautiful and worth the hike. There is also a car that is half burried on the bank of the river you can check out.

The Spicewood Springs trail is full of little waterfalls and clear water. Very lovely. Swimming in the spring is also great after a hike.

Ice and firewood are cash or cheque made out to the Friends of Colorado Bend and can only be bought when the camp office is open.

The best thing about this place is the swimming,. It's a great place to cool off during a hot Texas day, with some cool waterfalls to check out as well. I haven't explored them, but I have heard that the caves that are there are supposed to be a pretty sweet too.

Pros:

• Very small park

• Great view of the lake as trees/shrubs are minimal

• Clean campsite except for the trash in the fire pit

• Most sites had 2 sewer hookups.

• Most sites had a nice distance from neighbor sites.

• Crushed granite surrounds the site parking pad so no muddy mess after rain

• Lantern pole, BBQ grill, fire pit with grilling grate and wooden picnic table at each site.

• Extremely clean restrooms/shower facility.

• Heated restrooms/shower facility(we camped the week after Christmas).

• Restroom/shower facility sink had hot water and soap dispenser

• Mini golf course in the park.

• 2 bar signal AT&T

Cons:

• With reservations made 153 days prior to arriving for our 4-night stay, we encountered confusion by a rude check-in clerk who told us to come back at 3 pm (it was then 230pm and we could clearly see our campsite was vacant). Since the entry lane was down to one lane, we tied up traffic for nearly 20 minutes until the check-in clerk finally realized that we were camping and not checking in for their cabins. I’m not sure why she didn’t see our truck and 28 ft bumper pull trailer.

•$6 fee to reserve on-line.

• No mention on the park website there was a burn ban in effect, so no ground fires permitted, not even for cooking.

• No site privacy due to minimal trees/brush throughout the park.

• Campsite BBQ grill and fire pit were next to each other, so it would have been difficult to gather around the fire pit.

• Good condition asphalt site parking pad was uneven side-to-side as we noticed nearly all sites in that condition with all requiring leveling.

• NOT A DARK SKY FRIENDLY CAMPGROUND! Numerous street lights throughout this camping loop and unfortunately we had one directly across from our site#11 which lit up our site like daylight! Who camps under a street light???

• Non-stop highway noise, even throughout the night, from Texas 261.

• Doors on toilet stalls were only 5 feet tall.

• Lots of large roadway speed bumps.

• No hiking trails.

• No park WIFI 

We used Black Rock as our “jumping off point” for various Hill Country Holiday Light displays, which worked out very well. Kingsland is closer to the park than Burnet where there is a HEB, Ace Hardware, Dairy Queen and local restaurants. Closest Walmart to Black Rock is in Marble Falls, along with a HEB.

The hiking in this park is awesome. We hiked to the falls which is challenging but worth it. The campsites are nice, many were closed when we were there due to flooding. The facilities are very basic, no running water and a small walk from the campsites. It was super cold when we were there, our tent had ice on it! Ps there is no service in most areas of the park.

We were really excited to visit, having heard great things about this park. We were amazed when we arrived at the configuration of campsites. In this gorgeous area, why put all the sites around a treeless field? Mountain biking and hiking was exceptional.

Cave exploring. Nothing else needs to be said. So much fun. Over came fear of daddy long legs, and little creepy crawlers.

No showers here, so be prepared. Awesome hiking trails.

Water activities were awesome due to the summer heat.

First 20 minutes at this park we had deer walking through our camp site.

Love this place.

This park has a variety of campsites available- hike in, walk in, and RV. Hike in sites are approximately a mile from parking and are primitive. The walk in sites are also primitive, but are a short walk from parking down a hill into a grassy field alongside the river. Some sites are tucked under large shade trees, which offers privacy, and some are near the river or in the open field. There is only an outdoor shower, compost toilets, and there is not phone signal at the bottom of the canyon. The area boasts several miles of trails, the park claims these are some of the best mountain biking trails in the state. Trails are rocky and mostly intermediate at best, key sites like Gorman Falls would be challenging for people prone to injuries or who are unfit. There are also springs that can be waded in and the park is very pet friendly.

River, lake, waterfalls, caves, canyons....what?! best burgers ever— right outside the park at the General store.