Do you love the outdoors and horses? If you're looking for a rustic but comfortable experience, horse camping in Castell is the way to go. Equestrian camping is the best way to experience nature. You're sure to find the perfect site for your Texas horse camping excursion.
Flowing over and around huge slabs of limestone, the Pedernales River can be turbulent. But most often it is tranquil, and a great place to relax and recharge. We are just 30 miles west of Austin. Come over for an afternoon swim or hike, or load up your gear for an overnight adventure. The river awaits! Choose a site with water and electricity or hike to a primitive site. Bring your group to the Youth Group Camp or Equestrian Group Camp.
If you travel with your four-legged family members and are going to be in the Texas Hill Country, you will be happy to know that this RV Resort especially caters to your four-legged family members.
Come visit our beautiful new Log Home Clubhouse. Don’t want to cook in your RV. Come enjoy our fully equipped clubhouse kitchen. We also have an outdoor grill and hot tub for your use. Need some exercise after dinner. Take a stroll down Freedom Lane. Enjoy watching the donkeys play, and the horses graze. Enjoy the serenity you get when you walk down this path.
28 pull-through sites
Accommodating small and big rigs with multiple slide-outs and tag-a-longs.
High-Speed Internet.
30/50 amp hook-ups.
Water/Sewer hookups.
Horse Boarding.
$55 / night
Ranger
Body
Scout
Shaffer Bend Recreation Area is a great destination for nature lovers, close to Lake Travis and great outdoor activities. Relaxing on the beach or enjoying the sunrise from the 15th location is an experience not to be missed. Don't forget to de-stress with a io games after a day of exploring!
Guide
Stayed on the 'hill side' and really enjoyed the park. Most sites you pull in paralllel to the road which is nice. Had deer through our site every day. Really good hiking but some of the trails were closed due to race events. Close to town and not too far of a drive to Fredericksburg and went to the Nat'l Pacific War Museum and that was well worth the drive. Here in October so park was about 1/8 full if even that.
Guide
This beautiful RV park in Texas Hill country was booked years in advance for the eclipse. But on our suggestion the very accommodating proprietors opened up a pasture in back to dry camping. The facilities are comfortable and clean. Worked out well.
We towed with an electric vehicle, on the last day they let us move to an empty site with hookups and charge from the 50 amp outlet, which opened up a better route home.
TravelerThe tent sites are huge and spread apart. Picnic tables and fire rings at each site. Flush toilets and showers. A highway run through the camp so there is some noise from that, mainly during the day. Town is 2 miles away.
RangerThis was a halfway stop between Tennessee and Big Bend . Large campground with nice facilities and trails . Unfortunately it rained the nights we passed through . Nice place in the off season . I bets it’s packed in the summer
RangerGreat park near the Guadalupe River, amenities were as nice or better than most TX State Parks. Great trail along the River can be accessed from park.
GuideMy boyfriend and I came here for a weekend backpacking trip and had a great time! We hiked 2 miles down wolf mountain loop then about a quarter mile on the camping trail to the primitive sites on Saturday. We arrived at the campsites around 5pm and there were so many people camping it kinda looked like a shanty town (but in a cool way!) Even though there were lots of spots filled we managed to find a decent spot fairly quickly that was somewhat secluded. The next morning we hiked to Jones Spring and also checked out the remnants of the Trammels house. When we came back to out site just about all the other campers had already packed out and we had the whole camping trail pretty much to ourselves Sunday. We packed out Monday morning and before leaving the park checked out the bird blind, (which didn’t require a hike), then drove north to the falls. The falls had a short but somewhat taxing hike, since coming out was steep uphill, but it was a beautiful sight! After that I walked down to the swimming area, which was absolutely gorgeous, but the water was very cold of course in November so I just waded around a bit. The hike back from the swimming area was short but very strenuous! Very steep uphill! Overall it was a fantastic experience!
Guide2 different entrances - you must check in at the big station and get a gate code to get to your 30 amp site, water and electric only. Grab the map, you will definitely need it. There are almost no signs to direct you. The map is badly done, but it's al you will have. Do not arrive after dark, or you will never find your site. There is no one around to ask if you do go astray, so be prepared to turn around, and watch for 1 weathered gray wooden sign about 18 inches above the grass, letters carved into the wood in matching gray weathered letters and numbers. The site is gravel pull thru with some shade. 30 amp and a faucet. Fire ring/grill unused due to burn ban. Concrete picnic table, and on site occupied armadillo nest hole under on of the oaks. Dumpster down the road about 50 yards, trailhead for teal hiking trail the other direction about 50 yards.
GuideWe set up at site 15 it has an awesome view of the river/lake and it’s walking distance down to the waters edge. Great spot to fish for some bass or take a dip in the water. Looks like you can also have a fire out in the sand as we found some charred wood out there, there is ample spacing at the site with a fire ring, and a table provided and plenty of shade. The trees are great to set up a Hamic, which we did, which gave you an awesome view of the water and the sunrise in the mornings. They have good trails not too difficult, the only negative items I can mention are the various amounts of stickers everywhere we got plenty on our ankles and our hands other than that there was an issue with loud music from a venue outside of the park that would echo through the valley not much could be done about their music, but the on-site personnel contacted the local authorities to have a talk with them and the music wasn’t a problem after the first night. I’m definitely coming back here in the summer since the water is so close and so cool. Do we great to cool down on those hot days. 
GuideGreat stay. The site we had was walking distance to the sandy beach of lake Travis. Great fishing and the sand carrier up so it’s a soft bedding for the evening. Lots of tree cover to help combat the sun. There is a table, a fire ring, and a grill at each site. Walking trails are nice for a stroll not too difficult and not much elevation change. Only negative is the amount of stickers everywhere. Got one right between the toes and a venue near the park plays music if there is an event. The echo of the rock face by the lake didn’t help it. That’s not the parks fault though.
TravelerI went for an early morning hike in full swing Texas summer heat. I decided to do the Falls hike following the water and Hackenburg loop. Ended up doing around 3 miles right before 10:30 (started at 9). From there the sun started to beat down and enjoy some time in the water but heads up as of today the water was pretty low. So many wildlife saw some deer, birds (singing the whole time I was there) and some cool lizards!
RangerOne of my favorites you can do a lot of different activities from horse back riding swimming hiking biking. The facilities are well maintained and the sightseeing is wonderful.
This site has no shade at all but is close to one of the trails to swim
TravelerRelaxing and clean. Very windy, so no bugs! Dogs love running along water’s edge and jumping in. Horses ok too from the looks of it. Sites 1-13 closer together and more in site if each other but still ok. Great hiking and walking. Small RV plus tent for us.
LegendThe campsites were decent size and well-spaced with buffers in between. Many of them have small pavilions over the picnic tables. All sites in electric area also have a fire pit, water and 20/30 amp electric.
Bathrooms were small but decent and well-maintained.
Note that cell service was quite weak to nonexistent (Verizon and T-Mobile) unless you were out hiking and reached a high spot.
Beautiful area to explore and the nice trails made for plenty to do. The river is super low right now (April 2022) so no water fall, but walking around on the rock formations made for a unique experience.
Also a good campground for some dark skies at night.
TravelerExcellent park, great hike to falls
RangerThis park has fantastic hikes, new clean restrooms with showers, and great spacious campsites.
Only con (if you consider it a con) is that with ATT, there is no service at the campsites.
GuidePedernales is a classic Texas state park with a lot to offer and a short distance from Austin. It is often fully booked and your best chance to book a spot is far in advance or create a notification through the Texas State Parks site if a spot opens up. In the warm weather there's lots of swimming to be had, not in the falls themselves which are prone to flash flooding, but in another part of the park. Occasionally the water is home to poisonous algae which makes the water neither kid or dog friendly. Many of the sites have small shelters over their picnic tables.
GuideAs typical for Texas State Parks, this is well maintained, scenic with good trails. River can be dangerous during rainy season with flash floods but otherwise beautiful views and some great swimming. RV as well as primitive sites.
LegendI gave this park a 5 because I loved the park and campground. Lots of trails and very large beautiful peaceful sites with their own pergola, picnic table, and campfire ring. The only negative there, was trying to level. They have several level sites, we just didnt happen to have one.
GuideStacy was wonderful to work with and we really enjoyed our stay. Large wide RV spaces with full hookups with great views of the river. This park also offers cabins as well as vintage trailers for your stay. There is a lovely walking/biking trail that also has picnic tables and BBQ grills.
RangerLarge, spaced out sites with nicely covered picnic tables, lantern hook, and fire pit. It was nice to not easily see your neighbor. This park has it all with very many miles of trails for good hiking, rugged mountain biking, and has the beautiful falls to explore. You can even swim in parts of the river. This place is a gem and is not very far away from Austin! Two downsides: no cell service in the campground and only one dump station for quite a few RVs.
RangerIt’s good and hidden but well worth it! The swimming it awesome! Bring goggles and water shoes! Water snakes a plenty! There’s cool natural rock slides. We will definitely be back!
GuideAs the title suggests, this is a pretty decent little primitive camping site. The camping area is along the top of cliffs, affording a nice view. The sites are decently spread out. The sites seem like they are used on a fairly regular basis, which makes sense as this is outside of Austin. I am hoping that the primitive camping is still open, as it was a little while ago that I camped, but I decided to go ahead with the review and share the pictures. Overall it is recommended, although there are better primitive camping experiences especially if you are willing to drive a few hours, such as lost Maples. Another good thing is that you can go check out the falls which is kind of the thing that most people do you come to this park. Enjoy!
GuideIt was a beautiful day. Got there a little late right around 3pm. Didn't know what really to expect since it was our first time there (My husband and myself) . He chose the camp site ahead of time online. They only had primitive camping available. Primitive entails a minimum 2 mile walk over 3 creeks (luckily dry this time of year) and no running water. You literally have to plan accordingly and don't over pack. Proper shoes are a must. We learned the hard way that over doing it is over packing . When we finally got to a good camp site sun was quickly fading and we pitched a tent and a hammock in the dark with little light seeing as you cannot have a fire in this camp. Woke up with several spider guys all in the tent and on top between the screen and tent topper. Next time I will use more hammocks and one less tent if I'm primitive camping. Overall it was a good lesson in camping and will be back again.
Guide
Very nice host, very affordable, really enjoyed our short stay
GuideWe have stayed here many times. The park is separated into two sections by a busy road. The office and the River section of the park is on one side. The other side has a lot of great hiking/biking trails. They only have 10 50Amp sites, in Sycamore loop. All other sites are 30Amp. Most RV sites have Sewer, but there are a few that don’t, so watch closely as booking. We prefer the hill side of the park, Deerfield loop to be exact. It is further away from the road and you feel like you are in the country.
Horse camping in Texas offers a unique blend of outdoor adventure and equestrian-friendly amenities, perfect for those looking to explore the great outdoors with their horses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Castell, TX?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Castell, TX is Pedernales Falls State Park Campground with a 4.6-star rating from 88 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Castell, TX?
TheDyrt.com has all 5 equestrian camping locations near Castell, TX, with real photos and reviews from campers.
