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.

Colorado Bend State Park Campground

What a beautiful park! It’s not for the faint of heart due to the steep ascents &amp; 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.

Luscious landscape, great trails

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.

Lovely park

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. :^)

A little out of the way, but glorious views

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

Falls and Caves!

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. 

Tallest waterfall in Texas 

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.

Wow!

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.

A bend in paradise

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!

Fun Times at CBSP

**Surprisingly lush and watery! We enjoyed the hiking, swimming, and especially the caves.**

**Yay: camp right next to the water! Or you can hike a few miles into the backcountry.**

**Nay: make sure you have reservations.**

**Surprise: lovely drive. Would like to go back for more caving and with my kayak. Great stargazing.**

Colorado Bend State Park 

The campsites were great with lots of shade and proximity to water &amp; trails! Several of my friends were first time campers and they had a great time. Also very family friendly because there is privacy since the spaces are spread well!

camping with friends in Colorado Bend

Love going to this place, camping, the hiking is good, lots of boulders and rocks, the river to get in, and a beautiful waterfall. 

Nice place to hike and get in the water

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.

Country living

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.

CBSP is a great park with a lot to offer, but there are few amenities

Colorado Bend State Park is a wonderful place to explore, relax, and be amazed! We picked a spot to camp that was just far enough from the road that we felt like we had the whole park to ourselves. We hiked during the day along the many trails, theres a beautiful waterfall in one part of the park that you have to see. Would definitely stay again!

A great place for anyone to explore!

The area is pretty quiet and has a river to fish and kayak. Hiking trails lead to some really pretty water falls that not many people know exist. You will need to bring most supplies with you as options are limited at the park.

Nice sites

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.

Colorado Bend State Park November 2018

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.

A potentially lovely place with campsites all packed around one field

Cave exploring. Nothing else needs to be said. So much fun. Over came fear of daddy long legs, and little creepy crawlers. 

No showers here, so be prepared. Awesome hiking trails. 

Water activities were awesome due to the summer heat. 

First 20 minutes at this park we had deer walking through our camp site.

Love this place. 

One of my top camping spots I have been to

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. 

Serene and rugged

River, lake, waterfalls, caves, canyons....what?! best burgers ever— right outside the park at the General store. 

Are we in Texas anymore?

I came here on a recommendation based in two fellow campers I met from the Austin area while camping near Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Unfortunately, the day I arrived for my one night reservation it had rained all day and I arrived a little bit late. But I got my tent set up just in time and was hoping for the next day to be relatively rain free. Unfortunately, when I woke up the next morning I noted it was to rain in a few hours so I broke camp and unfortunately did not hike to the waterfall.

Now, for the review of the actual campsite...

I arrived after hours and was able to just drive in and go straight to my reserved site, #46. Somehow, I had managed to get the only site without a pavilion over the picnic table in the row of campsites, but that wasn't the end of the world. The sites are large enough and I was able to get set up and cooking shortly after arrival. The trash dumpster was right across from my site but far enough away that it didn't present any smell issues. The restrooms however were less than desirable; the men's was always locked which meant everyone was using the women's side and it looked like it was in sore need of being emptied out.

Cell service was non-existent for Verizon at the site, however the free state park wifi worked in my campsite likely from the nearby park headquarters. Wish I had more time to explore the park and the campsite, as I feel.my time was cut super short. Sometimes that's just how it goes though! 

It's a Campsite

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.

Great Park

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. 

River Camping

Miles and Miles of trails with some scenic spots. Numerous primitive camping spots along the river. We saw lots of animals at night! Cold dip in Spicewood Springs topped off the trip.

Many Trails & Primitive Sites

Lots of high reviews for this park.  I thought the hiking was okay.  The campground layout for the RV area is not nicely laid out in my opinion.  See my pics.  The group and many tent areas are exceptional.  The bathrooms are okay.   Volunteer friendliness is much better than the staff for my experience here. 