If you live in Austin or are visiting, why not take a little side camping trip to McKinney Falls. There's camping, water, and hiking trails. We missed out on the trail we planned on due to some December flooding, but the water spilling over the rocks was picturesque. It felt good to sleep under the stars, and combined with time spent in Austin it made for a wonderful vacation.
Very young crowd of campers, small camp sites, but if you are wanting to stay in the water all weekend it is a great swim hole
If you're not able to drive far, McKinney Falls is a nice quiet getaway. It's a typical state park where you're pretty close to your neighbor, but there are a few good spots that give you space. The Airport is nearby so you'l get some of the air traffic noise, but other than that it's a nice quiet break away from Austin.
We spent a couple of nights at this park. We loved the water falls and the sites are far apart with trees and shrubs surrounding them.
McKinney state falls is an amazing state park right next to Austin. There are two awesome water falls that are excellent places to stop and cool off in the summer. The restrooms and showers near the campgrounds are the cleaniest I have ever been to hands down. We are here about once a month, and love it every time.
Book weekends early! They fill up quick. Campsites are large and shady—love to relax in a hammock there!
It is clean and quiet for the most part the trails are overly used and feels more like a park playground than a state park.
McKinney Falls State Park is located a short distance about 10 miles or 15 minutes from the city center of Austin, Texas.
For this reason, the park receives quite a bit of people traffic during weekdays and especially on the weekends. If you are just visiting for the day, it is easy to gain access. However, if you are planning to camp overnight, it is wise to book at least a month or two in advance. Your reservation holds a campsite for you, but does not guarantee a specific location. When you arrive you can request or you will be assigned a specific campsite.
All of the campsites are very similar and contain the same basic amenities like water, electricity, picnic table, fire ring and a pad site to place your tent. There are typically restrooms with toilets and sinks spread throughout the park. Bring comfortable walking shoes because the campsites are a bit of a walk to get to the falls/swimming holes. You may also drive.
The main attraction of the park are the hiking/biking trails and the two water falls/swimming holes. There is an upper falls with a dramatic overhang which is perfect for cliff jumping or just chilling underneath. Depending on the supply of water, swimming may or may not be allowed due to the bacteria count. Check in advance or ask at the information desk before entering the park if you are planning to swim.
If the swimming holes are not open, there are a number of nice hiking/biking trails to explore within the park.
The only downside to this park is that it does get a fairly large number of visitors throughout the year. Luckily the majority of the people are friendly and just there to have a fun chill time. And based on the flow of water, the swimming hole may or may not be open. So call and book in advance.
This was a fun campsite that isn’t too far outside the city and too far in the bush. The McKinney falls it self was some of the best water I’ve ever swam in temperature wise, it was perfect. The campsites are kinda close to other ones but not close they can hear your conversations. They do allow open fires and have great trails to walk around but nothing is too rough. Pretty laid back park.
Ended up spending the night here after a late flight back to Austin during our roadtrip. Site was nice, clean and quiet. Clean restrooms.
There's an extinct volcano nearby called Pilot Knob. That accounts for the flat rock near the main falls. They are working on restoring the visitor center from after the floods. Bluebonnets are amazing here in Spring. Please be careful swimming. If you can't swim, please refrain or wear a life jacket. There have been several drownings here. The ruins of the homestead are definitely worth checking out if the creek is passable.
McKinney Falls is the perfect getaway into nature right outside Austin. There are plenty of campsites that are a good distance from the water with everthing you'd expect. Some are pretty crampt so I would make sure to plan ahead and choose which site you want. The water is beautiful and the surrounding area is awesome. Definitely can be a lot of people though on the weekends and on good weather days.
Camp Review:
I have visited McKinny Falls State Park a few times and have always enjoyed my trips there. The camp sites all have water, fire rings, tables, tent pads, and aren't too close to each other. The bathrooms are all within a short walk of the campsites. Not all of them have showers.
There are several hiking trails you can take where you can check out the wonderful nature.
If you would like to swim, you can do so at the Upper Falls or the Lower falls. Both have a place to swim and a place to jump off rocks. The intensity of the waterfalls is dependent on the current at the time.
There are also day use areas for people to use that have a table and bbq pit. There are some near the Lower Falls that are close to a playground and some near the Upper Falls along the river.
McKinny Falls also has a bouldering area where people can test their skills. One of the few parks I know of that have that available.
Gear Review:
As a Ranger on The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time and on this camping trip, I took two pieces of new gear from CRKT.
Firstly, the PAZODA™ 2 (https://www.crkt.com/pazoda-2.html). For a $20 knife, it was smaller than I had first expected, but with the quality of it, I am no longer surprised. It is a straight blade with a Thumb Jimping on it, which helps to cut. I used it for opening oranges or cutting veggies for dinner. When I was not using it, it fit very well onto my belt and I often forgot it was there.
It is solidly made, light, sharp, and has space to engrave on it, which makes it a perfect knife for a special occasion.
Secondly, I bought the WOODS CHOGAN™ T-HAWK (https://www.crkt.com/shop/outdoor-knives/woods-chogan-t-hawk.html) as well as the sheath for it (https://www.crkt.com/shop/accessories/chogan-woods-t-hawk-leather-sheath.html).
There were different styles of T-Hawks I could get, but I chose the Chogan because it had a hammer on the other side. I often go camping in places with hard ground, and this helped hammer in the stakes of my tent and shelter greatly.
The axe side also worked rather well. Out of the box, it was rather sharp already. I had no trouble getting a strong bite on my wood. During the weekend of me using it, I saw no wear and tear on the axe head despite me chopping through a cord of wood.
The website says it makes a good thrower, but I did not attempt that.
The sheath worked well for it with no issues at all. It is designed so I can hammer with the sheath on as well, which is handy.
You can also buy replacement handles (https://www.crkt.com/woods-t-hawk-replacement-tennessee-hickory-wood-handle.html) online.
This is another of the parks in Austin that our clubs uses for trail. Since it is a TWPC park, we have to observe the park rules about alcohol and public consumption. Otherwise the level of trails range from paved to where the Alien Predators have travelled.
The swimming and biking was absolutely gorgeous. Great time and really friendly staff. We didn't have a reservation and still got a spot pretty last minute
This lovely State Park is close enough to Austin to make it a day trip, but also great for that weekend city escape. The falls are the main attraction (and really memorable for swimming) but there are some fairly short and easy trails to enjoy too. We just swam, picnicked, and enjoyed the visitor center all weekend. Unfortunately the campground isn’t along the water at all. Highly recommended for all ages!
Falls are amazing and you can swim right under them. Campground is pretty standard for a state park, nothing too memorable but no complaints. Quiet when we were there in July. The rest of the park is nice, lots of trails and nature to enjoy. Looking forward to going back.
Overall, I was underwhelmed by the park, but since it's only a short ride from downtown Austin, this is a perfect spot to go chill or hike around for a few hours. Most of the trails we were on ran beside the river, in one form or another. Everything was mostly well maintained, sans a few areas. There quite a few people out when we went, as well as a few dogs in the park and in the water. So, if you're looking for peace and quite, this probably isn't the park for you.
I have camped at McKinny Falls a number of times. With it's proximity to Austin you would think you could feel the city down your neck, but aside from a glow at night, you feel that you are a world away.
Both the Upper and Lower Falls are great to look at and swim in. Just be careful of the current.
There are a few hiking trails. One of them goes around most of the park and is paved. One is on the other side of the river and is more traditional loop.
Along the river, they have lots of spots for day use. Neat the Lower Falls is a place to go bouldering, which you don't find in most State Parks.
The camp ground is well maintained with each site having it's own fire ring, water spigot, and are all within walking distance to the bathrooms.
McKinney Falls is great because it is in such close striking distance from Austin. It's not a spectacularly huge park, but the falls are definitely worth the visit. Especially on a hot summer's day! There are plenty of awesome shade trees to hang out under and catch a nap too.
Easy walk from campsites to Falls. Across the falls are some great hike and bike trails. Get to the park early, as it gets crowded quickly.
