Best Glamping near San Saba, 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.

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.

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!

I would rate this park 3.5 out of 5 stars. The park has a variety of facilities which earns it a 4 star rating. But the quality of the facilities only earns it a 3 star rating. So it averages out to 3.5 in my opinion.

Lake Brownwood State Park is pretty much located in the center of Texas. However, it is a bit of a drive from many of the major cities like Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas. It is fairly convenient to reach from Abilene and San Angelo. If you need to pick up camping supplies there are grocery stores and sporting good stores in the nearby town of Brownwood.

The main attraction of the park is that it is situated on the shores of Lake Brownwood. There are ample opportunities to take advantage of lakeside activities like swimming, boating and fishing. There are a variety of camping options with tent sites, cabana sites and RV sites. At most of the sites there are nice oak trees that provide shade and can support a hammock. Note that Texas State Parks require 2 inch suspension straps when hanging a hammock. There are boat ramps, fishing piers and a loop hiking trail. The hiking trail is a loop trail, fairly level, but I would say moderately interesting. The real attraction of this park is the lake.

Some of the facilities such as the restrooms and the cabanas are a bit dated and could benefit from an update. The staff was very friendly when I visited. And the other campers were respectful.

I would like to say that I visited the park during a weekday when the park had few visitors. However, I've heard that on the weekend the park fills up quickly and can be quite busy.

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.

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.

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.

I stopped here on my way back from camping at Enchanted Rock. Getting to this park takes a while, going through lots of back roads. Once you get to the park, you have to drive miles in to get to the headquarters. The camp roads are tight, so be careful getting to your site. Once there, you'll have miles of trails to hike. If you take the trails near the creek though, be sure you're able to navigate without trail markers as there are few and not very noticeable. One final note, the speed limit is 20 for the miles it takes to get in the park. DOn't go faster. The state patrol knows people get antsy and they will write you a ticket. They know most of them are from out of town, so they make it really easy to pay your fee. :^)

Lots to do in the park - My recommendations are the Falls and the Caves. Only 15 sites so reservations are a good idea.

This trip was so fun!

This is a beautiful green park with tons of waterfalls, hiking trails, swimming, and nature. You can hire a rafting trip from nearby and join a ranger hike to the caves too. The campground is nice and simple but all the sites are wonderfully close to the river. If you choose a walk-to tenting site you can be right next to the river. There’s also a backpacking area a few miles down one of the hiking trails. This is a great park to enjoy nature. Not sure if there are hot springs, but the swimming is fed by springs.

You can work with a local guide and go into a cave - lots of fun and the guide was great. The campsite is ok... you go there for the other areas of the park not the sites. The sites are along the river but little to no shade, lots of stickerburs and it can get buggy. Also the showers are just an outdoor shower head really meant for rinsing off after being in the river.

I came here for a day trip to hike to the Gorman Falls. What a site! The Colorado River was really full so no kayaking happened, but the river is great for kayaking and fishing. They also have cave tours. The park is an underdeveloped park so the camping is a little primitive. I definitely will be back to camp, explore, and kayak.

To be honest, I prefer to stay at Sulphur Springs camp down the road unless I'm staying at the group campsite here. The RV sites are a bit primitive. The hiking is extensive here. Definitely go down to Gorman Falls. Downriver from the falls is Gorman cave. You can do a guided tour or explore on your own with a flashlight. Do not disturb any bats. You can kayak up and down river if the water levels are right.

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!