Searching for a tent camping spot near Buchanan Dam? Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Buchanan Dam, including sites, reviews, and tips. Each spot offers quick access to one or more of Buchanan Dam, Texas's most popular destinations.
Colorado Bend State Park is one of central Texas’s most popular destinations. Two hours northwest of Austin, this park offers cave tours, river recreation, and over 35 miles of hike and bike trails. Visit in the off-season and enjoy a break from the intense Texas heat or take a dip in the cool, clear waters of Spicewood Springs for a refresher on warmer days. Texas’s tallest waterfall, Gorman Falls, is the prime attraction for visitors of Colorado Bend State Park. This 70-foot marvel can be reached from a moderate 3-mile hike where you can enjoy cool mist from the spring-fed waters upon your arrival. There are 15 drive in campsites at Colorado Bend where you can park RVs up to 30 feet, though the rest require some extra work to reach. 28 walk-in campsites can be found in the main campground, as can two primitive group campsites near the river. Looking for even more rugged seclusion? Hike to the Backcountry Windmill area where you will find designated backcountry sites just a mile from the trailhead. Every camper will find what they need at Colorado Bend State Park.
$14 - $24 / night
Sites #1-29 are only for tents, and are along the riverbank. You must carry your gear about 50 yards. Water is in the area, but not at each site. Picnic table Fire ring Water nearby Lantern post Restrooms nearby
$13 - $23 / night
Moss Lake (eight sites) and Walnut Springs (12 sites) are a 1 to 3 mile hike over rugged terrain. We charge an excess vehicle fee of $6 per car, per night, for each vehicle over two per campsite. No ash-producing fires are permitted in this area. You may use containerized fuel stoves that can be turned off for cooking. Minors (under 17) who are not camping with a sponsored group must provide a written consent form to stay overnight. No hammocks allowed in primitive camping areas.
Magical, Mystical, Enchanted Climb the ancient dome for amazing Hill Country views.
The massive pink granite dome rising above Central Texas has drawn people for thousands of years. But there’s more at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area than just the dome. The scenery, rock formations and legends are magical, too!
Things to Do You can hike, backpack, camp, rock climb, picnic, bird, study nature, geocache and stargaze. (You cannot swim here or ride bikes on the trails.)
Hiking Explore nearly 11 miles of hiking trails. Take a virtual tour with our Interactive Trails Map.
All trails close 30 minutes after sunset, except the Loop Trail. The Summit Trail may close in wet weather. Check our trail status here or visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed. Rock Climbing Rock climbers must check in at park headquarters. You can pick up route maps there and read the climbing rules. Read through our Climbing Information before you come.
Pets To protect this Natural Area, pets are only allowed in the designated day-use picnic areas, the campgrounds, and on the Loop Trail (pets are not allowed on any other trail). Don't leave pets unattended, including in vehicles and at campsites, and keep them on a leash no longer than six feet at all times.
Shopping Our park store carries some gift items. You can buy wood for campfires at the park. Please bring your own drinking water, as it is in short supply due to the ongoing drought.
Get involved Enchanted Rock needs your help! We will match your abilities to our many needs. You might guide a group to the summit, lead a tour of the loop trail, provide information to park visitors, or help maintain park facilities. Visit our Volunteer page to learn more.
Join or donate to the Friends of Enchanted Rock.
Outfitters and guide services The following guides lead rock climbing tours at Enchanted Rock:
Austin Ascents, austinascents@gmail.com Outpost Wilderness Adventure, info@owa.com Rock-About Climbing Adventures, Adam@Rock-About.com Texas Climbing Adventures, info@texasclimbingadventures.com Ranger Programs Enjoy a star party or a nature hike led by a park ranger, or contact the park for special tours for your group.
Check our Events page for upcoming programs. Become a Junior Ranger! Pick up a Junior Ranger Activity Guide and borrow an explorer pack. Email us to schedule a school or youth group tour. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Area Attractions Visit Fredericksburg for a taste of German culture in the Texas Hill Country. There you can shop, dine, visit museums and find outdoor activities. Stop by Llano, known as the “Deer Capital of Texas,” for museums, music and more.
President Lyndon B. Johnson was born near Johnson City. Learn about this colorful Texan at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park. Tour the Texas White House and Johnson’s boyhood home. The Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site and the Sauer-Beckmann living history farm are nearby.
Drive the Peach Loop, one of TPWD’s Great Texas Wildlife Trails. It will lead you to some of the best wildlife observation points in this area.
$10 / night
This is a backcountry wilderness, low-impact, limited footprint camping area. It is not a group camp area. All tents must be in the boundary of the sites, with only four people per site. Camping outside the designated area is prohibited. Campsites are one mile from the Windmill Trailhead, but you can park at any trailhead in the park to customize your hike. The Windmill Backpack Area is five miles from the river and the main campground. No water or toilets are available in this area. No open fires are allowed, but you may use containerized fuel stoves for cooking. Carry out all trash and dispose of it properly.
$10 / night
Scout
Was planning on tent camping nearby and left a day early and all the hotel room were booked. Tried finding a tent site and no luck. Found this place online and figured I'd give it a shot. First come first serve, pick your spot, fill out the card, put it and 25 bucks in a drop box and good to go. Very easy system. I do think 25 bucks for a place with no running water, no electric, and no actual bathroom is expensive but this park is actually extremely nice and the view is great. Can camp right on top of the river.
Guide
Tent camped 14JUL20, 1 night.
First, it was 108 the day I camped, in a tent, with no AC! (I did have a fan though.)
I 👏🏽 love 👏🏽 this 👏🏽 park👏🏽!! Hiked about 12 miles of trails and every one had a payoff. I could have spent a week hiking that park if I had time.
The sites are HUGE and have cool features like retaining walls. Not a lot of trees though but I barely noticed until I remembered I suffer from cedar fever, (went to school at UT.) Thought I had the COVID as I left until I remembered I camped under a cedar tree, haha.
BE WARNED, there is zero cell coverage once you get into the park. Might not be an issue for some but I had to drive up to the ranger station a couple times to let my wife know i was okay.
The water was low when I was there but it was clear and cool and absolutely beautiful.
This park exemplifies the Texas Hill Country!
I’ll be back soon.
Guide
This is not a campground this is an adventure park that has a campground. They have everything from primitive dispersed tent camping to RV site hook ups all the way up to a $600 per night cabin. They have excellent off road trails for stock trucks up to rock crawling rigs. They have a basic general store near the tent camping area that is decently stocked (yet overpriced) and they have food trucks that are sometimes open sometimes aren’t. The bathrooms are maintained and spacious enough that they don’t feel over crowded. They also have a shooting range on site so if you want the true Texas Hill Country experience you should check out HFAP. Be respectful on the trails not only to other people but also by not tearing up the trails themselves.
Guide
My son and I tent camped at Enchanted Rock and we had a blast. We hiked continuously through the weekend. The high dome was hard but the perimeter trails and smaller dome were so fun. Rock climbing, caves and other fun activities. Texas classic.
Guide
But there are two large smokers. Public bathrooms and showers. Can easily walk down to the river for floating or fishing. These tent sites are not very private or dispersed so keep that in mind. Everything was fairly clean. There was a large public pool and a basketball court but we didn’t get a chance to check them out and use them. We had a nice view of the golf course from our tent site.
Traveler
First time camping there. It a smaller but super cute area for tent camping. Friendly and well taken care of camp area. Easy access to the water.
Guide
I’ve stayed here lots of times in tent sites, RV sites, and the cabins. I like them all and especially love the hikes and swimming.
Scout
This was my first time tent camping alone without my dad. And it wasn’t tooo terribly bad. I say beginner spot because you can buy pretty much all you need there other than a tent. But they have air pumps encase you left yours
Scout
We have been camping here for years. We love going to the observatory at night. The tent sites are spacious with giant oaks for shade. A lot of sites with lake access.
Guide
We camped here for several days to get some rock climbing in at nearby spots. It was a great open campground for tent camping. It was quiet but slightly dusty. The bathrooms were clean and staff was nice. If you like hiking trails this is good area for it.
Guide
At this state park you can tent camp along side the river. There are some aweso.e trails and one that leads to a water fall. You can fish, kayak, hike, or just sit by a camp fire and relax. There are no showers and the toilets are all compostible toilets but not bad.
GuideCamped here this weekend and it was enjoyable! Plenty of amenities, including restrooms with showers, a general store, and firewood vending machines (which were all empty, but still cool!)
Tent camping lot was near the restrooms but booked too late to be on the water. Staff was friendly and helpful! Definitely planning to return.
GuideWonderful summer time spot, plenty of drive-up tent sites (don’t settle for the first you see unless it’s a busy weekend) great cliff jumping and deep-water soloing opportunities for the seeking. Also great swimming/fishing holes. Hiking is short but nice.
GuideTent Camped 28JUL, 1 night. Even at half capacity the park was humming. Camp store/marina onsite. Got 10 miles of hikes in as well as a great sunset and sunrise (all from the fishing pier. Site 224 had amazing trees and was close to the bathrooms & the Devil’s watering hole without feeling cramped. Definitely camping here again this fall.
Legend
This is an LCRA park on Lake Travis with primitive sites. Mainly tent camping. There's a trail system that weaves around in a big circle mainly used by mountain bikes but perfectly good for hiking too. Others have commented about the bluebonnets, but really, now that the lake is up, the area where the flowers were is now covered by water. Fish on!
Guide
I go camping here every year! Its pretty hard to get a walk in tent site on the weekends so book way in advance. The sites are always clean the bathrooms are great. The walk in sites have easy access to the small dome for an easy evening hike.
GuideFantastic short stay in Pace Bend on Lake Travis. We paid for the improved tent camping site but ended up switching to a site North Gracy Cove which had way better views of the river and more privacy. We still went back to use the showers and running water at the improved site though.
Gracy Cove was a great spot for a swim to cool off on a hot day. No boats allowed.
RangerI have gone tent camping a number of times at Ink's Lake. The campsites have always been of a good size with a fire ring, water, and bathrooms a short walk away.
I have often seen deer in the morning by my tent.
The hiking trails are ok. The best one is probably near the Devil's Watering Hole where you see waterfalls.
Swimming is great and there is a place near the Watering Hole where you can jump off rocks into deep water.
All in all, it's a great place to go to.
GuideIt's a nice property to explore. There's a lot of camp sites here, both for RV and primative tent camping. In fact we liked the primative sites better just for the inclusive nature surroundings. The campground is right on a bend of the colorado river and it's good for swimming, fishing, floating, etc. The bathrooms aren't the cleanest and the electric service would flicker at times. We did have a nice time. I wish the RV area had more trees.
Traveler
This place is inexpensive, but you get what you pay for. Primitive camping, but they do have a community bathroom and showers. They usually have wood for sale if you want to build a fire. Beware of stickers and ants. They are abundant. There are no designated tent camping spots. Just find a place you like and put your camp there. It’s kind of like camping on a ranch pasture minus the cattle. Also, the location marked on the Dyrt map is incorrect. Oxford Ranch is south of Llano on Hwy 16, not north.
Guide
Natural springs w/tent & RV camping (NO PETS), fishing, kayaking, lake access, hammock areas and day use picnic w/grills. CASH ONLY FACILITIES!! Family owned. Beautiful Butterfly garden great for yoga, reading or enjoying the mind of a gardener. Several RV w/H20 & electric hookups (reservations required). Tent sites are not #, random locations (30 acres), plentiful and 1st come 1st serve. Toilets/showers near RV sites, portable toilets farther out. Pack it in/out, dumpster at office area. Love this place and grateful the owners share their haven with the public!
Ranger
We have family in the fredicksburg Texas area and the hotels in town are VERY expensive. We had seen this park before as it is next to the airport and golf course, so we decided to try to get a reservation for thanksgiving weekend. I booked through reservation.gov indicating I wanted a tent spot. I thought the cost was high, but chalked it up to being Fredicksburg. Once we got to the park, the park agent told me we had gotten a RV spot and there was no place to stake a tent, but they had a field used for tent camping which was only $10.00 per night! She was so nice in changing our site. The field for “primitive” camping is one you drive into and pitch a tent which worked great for us. There is a beautiful nature trail by the park. The bathrooms are fine, heated which was nice as it was chilly for Texas. Wifi is included I your stay. We will definitely use this park again.
GuideThis is a park that we have been to multiple times. It is beautiful. The RV sites are Water and Electric only. There are primitive sites as well as water only for tent camping. The sites are large and there is wildlife everywhere. In my pictures you will see we had a deer walk right into our site several times. There are tons of trails and geocaches around the park. Make sure you hike down to the falls and wander up and down the river. There are tons of small alcoves that are private and make for beautiful pictures.
Guide
It’s not super private and there are only 2 bathrooms (one men’s and one women’s) serving the entire site and the shower is inside the bathroom so if someone is showering you may be waiting quite awhile to be able to potty. The site was clean and each tent site came with some extra tables and chairs and a picnic table. Had a grill and a fire pit at ours. Dumpster available so you don’t have to take all your trash with you.
Scout
You have the choice of camping at a tent site, park your RV, to glamp in a yurt or cabin, or even walk out to a more secluded “TentRR” site. Regardless of what choice you make, there’s a community kitchen with small appliances/dishes and the bathhouse with showers, toilets, and vanities. It really is the best of both, especially if you’re trying to camp for several days and would like to stay relatively clean and well fed. We’ve stayed there three years in a row now!
Guide
Tejas Park is perfect for those in the area looking for tent camping without wanting to be surrounded by RV’s.
Tejas is right on the river, ample opportunities to wet a line if you like. The Goodwater Loop runs right by the campground. The Goodwater Loop is a 26 mile trail that will take you completely around the lake.
The spots are spaced out and each has a large tent pad capable of firing multiple tents. Each spot has a table and fire pit. There is a Vault toilet as well as a water spigot.
The campground is sparsely populated during the week and cans be found completely empty regularly. Expect the campground to be filled up during the weekends though.
TravelerIf it’s family time you are searching for or just somewhere to get away. This is a good place to go. Although some tent sites had views of their neighbors, they were still far enough apart to have privacy and they were very well kept up with and clean.The port a potties were not very clean but the bathrooms and showers were very clean and private. The view of the wildflowers was amazing, the lake was refreshing and we got to see a Bald Eagle along with the Golden Cheek Warbler and Black Vireo! Plus we were able to enjoy the dark sky at their observatory and then from our tent!
Tent camping near Buchanan Dam, Texas, offers a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying various outdoor activities. With several well-reviewed campgrounds in the area, you can find the perfect spot to set up your tent and unwind.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Buchanan Dam, TX?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Buchanan Dam, TX is Colorado Bend State Park Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 32 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Buchanan Dam, TX?
TheDyrt.com has all 21 tent camping locations near Buchanan Dam, TX, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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