Best Glamping near Telegraph, TX

Wonderful Texas park near Junction, TX and on the shores of the Llano River. Beautiful hikes, bird watching, swimming, fishing and relaxing.

This family friendly campground sits on the banks of the Llano River, with several spots for swimming, floating and fishing. The bird life is abundant and there are easy trails through the beautiful tall trees. This Texas State Park is very well maintained.

This is a beautiful park in a great part of the Texas Hill country.  Great hiking trails in this park as well.

This is a wonderful campground the plenty of trails for hiking and biking. The Llano river offers opportunities for kayaking & tube floating. The campsites are shaded and not on top of each other.  Restroom and shower facilities where clean and well kept.

All of the park personnel were friendly and knowledgeable and easy to find if needed. People were very respectful of the quiet hours.  There are bird blinds that are great for viewing the large variety of Texas birds.

On a motorcycle road trip with my dad and we decided to spend a night here. It was a weeknight so there were available sites upon arrival. I’d recommend reserving in advance just in case. I honestly had never even considered staying at this park until we realized it was near. This park has some of the bluest water I’ve ever seen in Texas. The fishing was good and the park is packed full of all sorts of animals. We saw deer, boar, raccoon, and armadillo. Just a heads up, the armadillo are all over at night but they’re not aggressive in case you’re wondering.

We stayed for a quick overnight here, didn't get the opportunity to really explore the park. Nice quiet park to enjoy. The spots are a bit close together, maybe 10 or 15 feet spaced, but the guests surrounding us were respectful and friendly. The restrooms were decent, not your standard pit toilets we've come to expect from state parks further west. They did offer free showers for guests, although nothing to write home about though. Campground hosts were super friendly. They have armadillos all over the campground that are comfortable with humans and not aggressive, which was fun for the family not from Texas.

Recommend this park to anyone in the area. Looks like a great park if you can spend a full day here or longer.

This might have been our favorite state park in the Hill Country of Texas, offering the perfect combination of good campsites, great hiking and biking trails, and opportunities to enjoy wildlife. It did not have good Verizon phone service, which is not necessarily a bad thing. 

The campground uses its space very efficiently while still giving each campsite some modicum of privacy. In addition, there were walk-in sites for more primitive seekers and a few backpacking sites off the trail system. The shelter over each picnic table is a nice touch, unexpected for a campground only costing $20/ night. The bathrooms were clean, and both the water pressure and temperature were excellent. The camp hosts do an excellent job keeping a very nice campground. The water and dump station are easily accessed on the way into or out of the campground.

Hiking opportunities begin right from the campground, and offer a wide range of effort and ability levels. Most of the trails are two-tracks so the uphill portions can be short and steep. The wildlife in this park range from wild turkeys to a host of seasonal migrant bird species. The park maintains several of the most luxurious bird blinds with stocked feeders so that you can enjoy many different species all in one place. We added a few new birds to our list. During the winter months, a large section of the park is closed after 3pm to accommodate the turkey roosting habits. We also saw dozens of feral pigs wandering the backcountry along with both Axis and White-Tail deer, and plenty of Armadillos. Fishing along the banks of the Llano River is also a popular activity, as is tubing during the warmer months.

The nearby town of Junction has a medium sized grocery store, lots of gas stations and a few restaurants, most of which are bundled by the interstate 10 exit. It’s a pretty part of the Texas Hill Country with a very laid-back vibe.

Been here several times over the years and it’s perfect for primitive camping! The staff lets you switch places if you want and are pretty friendly/easygoing. I have camps in the farthest campsite out campsite S, and really enjoyed it, although it is a little bit of a hike. The best spots on the trail is the south west corner kind of and also the north east area. The southwest area is kind of a bald on the top of a mountain. The north east part is where the cliffs faces and ponds are. Along the trail you will also find a few little clear faces here and there and a few kind of nasty springs which are full of dead leaves and even swimming leeches! I have seen snakes, tarantulas, lots of turtles, and some very visible fish along the stream. Overall this is one of the best primitive camping places that you will find in Texas to be honest! Highly recommend.

I chose to spend a few days at S Llano because of its reputation as a dark sky park. Unfortunately the night sky was clear only one night, but the sky was amazing. I haven’t seen so many stars in 30 years or so. The park is large, with all types of camping. Something for everyone. Water and electric sites are most common, but they also have primitive camping that is either drive in or walk in. We stayed in a water/electric site that was near the only bathroom in this section of the park. The sites are mostly level, and we were fortunate enough to get a perfectly level concrete parking pad. All sites in our section had nice picnic tables under patio covers. There are some amazing trails to hike, from easy short ones to some steep and difficult ones. This is a birders paradise, with more species of birds here than I ever imagined. There is also a huge wild turkey area, but we did not see any. You can swim and tube in the Llano River, and they rent tubes in the office. You can also fish here without a license
This is my favorite Texas State park so far, and I want to make a return visit and stay a week or more.

Lost Maples State Natural Area has some beautiful hiking trails and backpacking areas. If you need basic supplies you may find some at the general store in the small town nearby the park named Vanderpool. 

Perhaps the best time of the year to visit is in November when the weather is cool and the fall foliage take place. However, the park is very busy in November, so make a reservation six months in advance. If no campsites are available you may visit for the day and find a private campground nearby to camp.

There are basically two loops- an East Trail and a West Trail and each covers about 4-5 miles. It is completely possible to hike all the trails(about 12 miles) in a single day, but I prefer to hike and appreciate the natural features that can be found throughout the park.

This review is for the Primitive Area H on the West Trail.  The campsite is a primitive or dispersed site so there are no amenities. There is no water, no electricity, no restrooms, just natural space. Leave No Trace and Pack In Pack Out principles should be practiced. The camping area is adjacent to the West Trail and close to the West Loop Trail. There is a open field in one area and a tree covered space in another area. So there are options for both tent and hammock backpackers. 

This park has a number of peaks, creeks and ponds to view. In Texas State Parks fishing is allowed and no fishing license is required. Whether you're visiting to relax, fish or hike this park is enjoyable for all ages.

Beautiful park on the south llano river in Junction! Nice paved roads and great access to birding trials and river!

Rent a tube at the headquarters and float the river. Get out and hike back to the start. Never gets old on a hot day to sit in the spring fed waters. You can kayak to town. Coordinate your own shuttle. Lots of backcountry hiking. Not the most exciting terrain, but it gets the heart going to do the hills. Bring plenty of water with you back there.

Camp Site Review:

The camp sites at South Llano River State Park are pretty good. Each has a cover over the picnic table and the cover has shelves! There is also water and power at each camp site. The driveways are long and able to fit a large car/truck/van and a trailer. The campsites range from grassy to rocky.

The bathrooms are kept clean and have showers and hand soap.

For things to do, there are a bunch of hiking trails you can do, which range from fairly easy to moderate. There is a small lake to fish in, a river to fish or float in, blinds to watch birds, and it is in a prime spot for butterfly migration.

At the Park HQ, you are able to rent tubes to float the river, buy souvenirs, and learn about birding in the area. There is also a small grave yard from settlers near by. The Rangers also put on activities like showing skulls and animal skins, nature walks, and bird talks.

Over all, it is a nice place to spend the weekend.

Gear Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I sometimes get items to review. For this review, I received the MH10 headlamp from Ledlenser.

When I got it out of the box, my initial thoughts were that it looked pretty cool. I also loved that it was rechargeable via USB. It also came with a travel pouch, a red lens, a green lens, and an adapter to put the lenses on. A downside I found was that I wasn't really able to fit the headlamp, lenses, and adapter into the travel case. I also didn't like that there wasn't a spot to store the lenses when not in use. I feel they could get lost easily.

When dark came to South Llano River, I turned on the MH10 and wow was it bright! It lit up the who camp and when I pointed it into the sky, it was just missing a bat and I could have been in Gotham.

The MH10 has three levels of brightness and I typically used it on the lowest setting when around other people. When by myself, I had it on the highest setting so I could see more clearly.

You can also twist the lens of the MH10 to focus the light more. It gets a little hot when you leave it on for awhile, but there is a warning label and hasn't gotten hot enough to really hurt.

The coloured lenses worked well enough on the MH10, but I found it difficult to get them on without feeling like I was going to break them. It could be my inexperience with them though.

I was unable to get any clear photos of the MH10 working in the dark.

All in all, I enjoyed the MH10 headlamp from Ledlenser and I think it is a great headlamp for going camping.

Several options on campsites here. Sites with water and electricity, walk in sites and primitive hike in sites.

Even though we were tent camping we grabbed a site with water and electricity. All sites that we saw had covered areas that had picnic tables. Level site to set up our tent. A bit rocky but nothing horrible.

The options for hiking were pretty nice and wildlife was heard and see all over during our night stay. Everything from armadillos to wild hogs that we heard off in the distance. Hares and tons of different birds to check out. They even offer bird blind areas for the enthusiastic birdwatchers.

A few trails were closed off during our visit for the wild turkeys.

Folks in the park office were extremely knowledgeable and eager to offer suggestions and ideas as we were road tripping through TX.

So the campsites are are pretty cool, the bathrooms are good and the river is fun to float! But the Park Rangers there are grumpy and not friendly at all! Even the ladies at the check in are grumpy and very rude. When a group of friends and I went there for the weekend over the summer last year, the Rangers were driving around at 10pm telling people to go to sleep. No one was making loud noises just sitting around the lantern talking. Even our neighbors were talking quietly and he told them it was past "curfew" (10:05pm) and time for bed. He then came over to our campsite to force us to hit the hay as well. Joy Kill!!!

Now that was one Ranger, IDK what the other Rangers there are like, but that rube experience was enough to make none of us want to go back. I have never been told there is a curfew for bed time at a park!? I do understand there is a quite time, and we were biding by it (only one lantern that we had turned down and quietly talking as to not disturb any of our neighbors)

That was the one bad experience we had there. Every thing else was nice and fine. The water was refreshing and the hiking trails were well maintained. I hope no one else has a run in with that Ranger and will have an enjoyable time there.

South Llano is a little out of the way for most but well worth the trip. It hosts birding, turkey habitats and an abundance of deer- and that’s just the tip of the iceberg in regards to wildlife. It has extensive hiking trails and lots of ranger led programs. It’s located on the South Llano so swimming is a must and a joy. Hiiiiighly recommend!

Nice campgrounds didn’t to much

We camped here in October. It was during turkey roosting time so parts of the park were off limits at certain hours. It was easy to plan around that and have a great time. I would say this park is a hidden gem. shhhhhh!!! The river is fantastic and my son had a great time fly fishing. The lake was great for fishIng too. We rode the bike trails. Great trails for all levels of riders. Deer visited during the early and late hours and a cool stick bug liked our tent. We saw a few turkeys too. Great place!

The camp ground was very clean! There’s plenty of wildlife (wake up with deer near your tent or find the turkeys roosting or even a roadrunner running past) this park has some great bike trails or hiking trails for plenty of great trails and amazing views I can’t wait to go back! There’s even some water you can find to swim in!

Nice little park. Had a site right on the river that has areas for fishing and a swimming hole that doubles as a drop in area for kayaks or tubes. The half of the park away from the river has cable tv hook ups. Every site had E/W/S service. The clubhouse is air conditioned and very clean. All the employees were friendly and helpful. Someone would come by every night to pick up trash. Dog friendly. All breeds.