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.

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.

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.

ok to start off, this state park should really put its main office at the entrance of the park instead of driving to end of the park, just to drive back to the entrance where the camp grounds are. Really inconvenient. The primitive campground was about 1.5 hike to our site, which wasn’t much for a view or since it’s so far from anything else. The hiking trails were great and definitely get your steps in. Grasshopper littered the floors near campgrounds and no open fires are allowed. But plenty of exploring can be done if you follow the trails.

1. It is a long drive from the gate to the office/campground/riverfront area. So don't panic when it seems like you've been driving forever since the gate and start worrying about somehow getting onto the wrong road and being completely lost.
2. This is a a very popular park, especially on warm weekends, and the office is rather small. So get there as early in the day as you can to avoid crowds. I think the limit is 10 people at a time in the office, so you may have to wait outside a bit. But don't worry. There's plenty of shade around the office. Ice was $4.00 a bag there, too. I didn't spend much time in the office, and didn't really pay much attention. Just in and out.
3. No water or electrical hookups.
4. Compost toilets.
5. No sex-segregated wash/shower facilities. There were two community faucets and one community showerhead out in the open.
6. Multiple trail types, from completely shaded and mostly flat along the river to mostly out in the open in rugged terrain. Trails very well maintained with very little trash evident.
7. Some areas in the park are prone to flooding, so pay attention to weather reports. Don't get caught in the wrong place in a rainstorm.
8. Forget about cell service. Curiously enough, I had WiFi because my RV spot was closest to the office. But neither my son nor I had cell service for some miles before arriving at the office area.

What a beautiful park! It’s not for the faint of heart due to the steep ascents & descents, but the falls were worth the effort. The trails provided a decent amount of shade to keep us cool enough despite it being warm in the sun. Beautiful river along which you can camp and picnic. We visited after a fair amount of rain had fallen, so the park entrance was flooded and only SUVs could safely cross the bridge. This may have worked to our advantage as it wasn’t too crowded.

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.

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.

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!

Between the swimming hole and Gorman Falls you have some great views and amazing hiking! Saw some deer and hogs while out hiking on this property. Armadillo are all over the place as well.. Do be aware the cell service is pretty much nonexistent down at the campsites. There was a general store that did canoe/kayak trips a while back but not 100% sure after the pandemic.