Flowing over and around huge slabs of limestone, the Pedernales River can be turbulent. But most often it is tranquil, and a great place to relax and recharge. We are just 30 miles west of Austin. Come over for an afternoon swim or hike, or load up your gear for an overnight adventure. The river awaits!

Choose a site with water and electricity or hike to a primitive site. Bring your group to the Youth Group Camp or Equestrian Group Camp.

Pedernales Falls State Park Campground

Make sure to visit this place a day or two after a good rain so that the falls are really in action. It will always be beautiful, but it’s even prettier with more water. Pedernales Falls is the perfect respite from the Texas heat—&amp; it’s close enough to Austin to have some fun &amp; a good meal in the city. 
The waterfall is lovely &amp; we spent a long time exploring &amp; wading around. There are also trails in the park though that are worth hiking. In short, the park offers a good deal of opportunity for adventure. 

A Hidden Texas Gem

I stayed at the Pedernales Falls SP campground en route to Big Bend.  It was late July and the park was full.  Severe thunderstorms blew through during the night and I was worried that the falls would be flooded.  I was pleasantly surprised, the water drained quickly and the falls were accessible in the morning.

A little crowded

I Love this park. Several miles of hiking trails. The Pedernales river flows for miles through the park, so you can go swimming with others or find your own spot.
 Primitive sites consist of a two mile hike-in. They are far away from regular campsites, making you feel like you have the park to yourself.

Great park for hiking and swimming

Pedernales Falls is my favorite state park to visit in my area. It has fishing and swimming spots, and of course camping grounds. Sometimes I just sit down to marvel at natures beauty.

Pedernales Falls

Large sites, friendly wildlife and gorgeous views makes this a favorite! 
All sites have parking for cars and or campers, water, electricity, picnic table with lantern hook, and fire pit / grill. The lots have plenty of room for a tent and it would be easy to hit the site max of 8 ppl with a camper and tent. Some lots were easily 3/4 of an acre!
Trails were beautiful and well maintained. The falls are always spectacular. They had ice and firewood for sale at the park manager site so it was close to where you were staying. (In July at least.) Restrooms were clean and modern. 
Have to mention that with all the landmarks, wineries, distilleries, antique shops, etc. it would be easy to spend a whole week here... And then Austin is 30 minutes away!

Everything is bigger in Texas

These campground are spacious and cheap enough you can book a few for even more space from your neighbor. Swimming opportunities, although during the summer months it can get warm. In the evening wild pigs (which are not scared of you!!) come around the sites, so leash your dogs!

Great campgrounds, watch out for the pigs!

Pay to enter and for camping sites. You can backpack in to some of the primitive sites or stay in the HUGE camping spots. The sites are mostly private and have tent areas as well as pads for campers. You could fit a group of people all one one site with room to spare! Well kept. Bring your hiking boots and swimming suit.

Bring your water shoes 

Pedernales Falls is a beautiful place to go visit.  The main falls are great to play around and check out.

There are also a few secret falls that the Rangers will tell you about if you ask nicely.

The hiking trails are marked and maintained well.

Campsites are nice and have fire rings and water.

Beautiful Falls

My wife and I made the trip out to Pedernales and was pleasantly surprised. Directions were easy to follow, hiking was nice, and river was an awesome place to hang out during the day. 

Nice Park

I am very impressed with the primitive camping area at Pedernales State Park. The hike in is about 2 miles. There are two streams that you cross while hiking there. The primitive area has so many sites to choose from. There are sites that overlook the bluff and is great to lay out at night to stargaze. There is a trail in the primitive area that you hike down to get to the Pedernales River. 

Primitive Camping

We took our newly formed Venture Crew here for their first camp out. The sites were well maintained as were the restrooms. The beach was a long hike for the little ones, but still a wonderful view.  We will return many times. 

Love it even in the height of summer

Came here for the day to hike and check out the campsites. Hiking to the falls was fun and there is also a good loop trail that's supposed to be awesome. Didn't get a chance to do that one because it would've taken to long. Will be back though to camp and hike.

Day Trip

Lots of hiking trails here. Good swimming. The falls are pretty. You can walk upriver from the falls, bouldering for quite a long way. Classic hill country terrain. Primitive camping along the wolf trail, with a bigger car camping area near the swimming spot.

Love the river

Let me start by saying avoid July if possible and don't sleep with food in your tent. This was one of our first Texas camping excursions and it could have gone much better. Also we camped in the back country.

Pros: The falls are beautiful, lots of trees to help provide shade, and typical nice state park trails for the area. A beautiful small river near the back country camping. Short hike to primitive camping.

Cons: July is hot. The trails to the back country camping are just service roads, a big disappointment. No fires, but this should be expected.

Beautiful River and Falls

Pedernales was the first park I stayed at, I wanted to try something new, spent $100 on things I knew I need. The day i get to the park the whole drive to it was beautiful and scenic, I check in and head down wolf moutain trail to primitive area. This trail is not for beginner's, I highly recommend bringing lots of water and any water purifiers, you pass along 3 creeks to you get to the camp site. On map it says 2 miles, I took a GPS the fourth time I went camping down the trail and it says it is 3.4 miles. Upon arriving to the sites there was a creek next to the camp area to get more water, all the space was clear and clean, that night I witnessed the milky way for the first time and was in awe. I could see over 800 stars. From there in out, I've been camping every day I get a chance, I've been to pedernales 6 times already and brought over 3 friends so far. The rest of the park is amazing from the falls to the twin falls. I highly recommend this park, if your going primitive bring plenty of water and water purifiers. I've had no troubles with this park what's so ever. I am grateful to this park for my new lifestyle.

Primitive camping was amazing.

Nice hike in camping, only 1 other couple there at the same time as me so we had a lot of uninterrupted hiking!

Very good place to camp.

This park is a popular weekend destination for people living in Austin and San Antonio for day use and overnight camping - so it gets busy. During the week the park has much more availability for camping. There are a limited number of reservable developed and primitive campsites. Try to make a reservation as early as possible if you plan to visit on a weekend. The developed campsites have water and electricity with restrooms nearby. The sites have varying coverage of trees and shade. The primitive campsites are located down a trail and are basically a cleared patch of land surrounded by trees. All of the campsites are within walking distance to the Pedernales River. However, the actual Pedernales Falls is about 2.5 miles away from the developed campground. I typically drive to see the falls. The falls is not what one might think of as a traditional waterfall. It is more like a river that has carved out a pathway through limestone rock. While this might not sound all that interesting, it is quite dramatic to actually walk along the riverbed and explore the falls up close. During the dry season or when there limited rain, it is possible to walk along the riverbed and explore the falls and all of its intricacies. During the rainy season or when there is heavy rain, the falls turns into a turbulent raging river and access is restricted. There are a few established hiking trails that wind through the trees and over the hills. There are some hidden water holes that are swimmable for the more adventurous. Be aware of snakes in the spring and summer.

Pedernales Falls State Park

We kicked our summer off with this campground a few years ago. The grounds are abundant with wildlife, and shade was not easy to come by. Fortunately, the river offers an excellent source for cooling off. While I frequently grade an area based on the trails, I realize that this state park offers a unique geological feature. This is an excellent place to camp during the summer if you prefer water activities that can be offered by the river. The campgrounds are modern, with nearby facilities, fire pits, tables, and easy to access trails. Given the dry environment, the area is subject to burn bans. Dog friendly and has a Jr. Ranger program available for kids.

Sunny and hot

Camping is great. primitive sites are a few miles hike in. very doable. beware of cayotes and curious deer.

A must see

The camp ground is wonderful. Very spread out and wooded for privacy between the campsites. Hook ups for both water and electricity, if needed. Extremely dog friendly!  Has a good little spot with a picnic table for eating at camp. Also has a built in grill over the fire for cooking. 
The trails are the must for going to the park! Great hike down to the Pedernales Falls and cool little caves to explore. On the other end of the park, there are longer trails (roughly 4 Miles) with scenic overlooks of the Pedernales River. 
State Park is about 25 mins away from Johnson City (closest city) if any groceries are needed. 

Good camping and awesome hiking trails!

This park is such a hidden gem! The grounds are naturally beautiful, and there is a river just a few minute walk from your site. My dog was SO excited about this (and so was I) she did some zoomies for at least 5 minutes haha. The stars are INCREDIBLE here.. seriously if you enjoy star gazing THEN COME HERE!!

Great park if you have dogs that love to swim!

This State Park offers everything from fishing, swimming, camping, hiking, bird watching, horseback riding, photography, and everything in between. There are a multitude of campsites and RV spots in the campground, a large group site, day use area, swimming area, etc. There are miles of hiking trails and scenic overlooks. The Pedernales River is perfect for swimming and fishing. The falls are a beautiful place for pictures and fishing. I had a great stay here. The rangers are helpful and the entire park was very clean.

Beautiful, clean and well built

Beautiful landscape including the namesake Falls as well as some long, challenging hikes with creek crossings and steeper ascents for the seasoned hiker. Great for dogs and groups of friends to explore together. Recommend bringing snacks and water when doing the longer trails.

DIverse trails to accommodate anyone 

Brought the 5th wheel down in July. Front desk was very friendly. Most sites were closed due to either construction of table pavilions or bathroom renovations. The new bathroom was not open yet so there was a small line for the shower but only on our last night in thr old bathrooms. The new bathroom looked like it will be nice whenever it opens. Bathrooms had no AC but were clean. There is NO cell service throughout the camping area. Lots of deer, armadillos, and foxes. Depending on the site, the picnic tables and fire rings are quite a ways back from the parking spot, which would be nice if you are planning to tent camp. Trails are well kept, but it’s at least a quarter mile hike anytime you want to get in the water.

RV Summer Trip

We placed four tents on our one site and still had room for chairs to seat the three adults and 6 kids. We were able to park two cars at the site with no problem. This is the largest campsite I’ve ever used and I will definitely go again. It had a picnic table, fire ring, and was easily 20x30 yards. We did see some baby javalina in the evening and there were some critters roaming the site at night, but nothing really dangerous. The river is not close to the campground and we had to drive, park, and then hike down into the canyon to swim, but it was beautiful! Plenty of shady spots on the campsite and at the river kept us cool in the Texas heat.

Large shady sites with plenty of room!

This is a great campground with many miles of hiking trails for all levels, picnic areas, the beautiful pedernales river to tube or swim in, and lots of cozy sites with fire pits! You owe it to yourself to come camp here!

Great campground with lots of hiking and a good swimming river.

Beautiful place to camp if you can get a campsite!

The falls are great!

Great state park to visit in the summer and go to swimming holes. Plenty of trails to hike with some wildlife

Great weekend trip

Roughly 2.5 mile (easy) walk in, plenty of open space. Don’t settle for the first site you see, they seem to get better (and closer to restroom) the farther you go into the campsites. 

We spent a weekend here, we stayed at the camper sight.  The trails here are awesome, the staff is friendly and the sights are out of this world.  The falls are beautiful and you can walk right up to them.  There’s more trails than you can shake a stick at! We will be going back for sure, perhaps to a primitive sight next time.

The hill country at its best!

There are RV pads and sites or campers can choose to hike in to a primitive camping location. The hike into Wolf Mountain Trail for camping is about 2 miles with a couple creek crossings. This is a very popular area of the park, lots of people bring their dogs and a vaulted toilet is located close by. Absolutely beautiful place to explore and hike.

Beautiful State Park

This is a park that we have been to multiple times.  It is beautiful.  The RV sites are Water and Electric only.   There are primitive sites as well as water only for tent camping. The sites are large and there is wildlife everywhere.  In my pictures you will see we had a deer walk right into our site several times.  There are tons of trails and geocaches around the park.  Make sure you hike down to the falls and wander up and down the river.  There are tons of small alcoves that are private and make for beautiful pictures. 

Hiking and Geocaching galore

Family loved playing in the river and hiking. Great place for families with small children. Park staff was amazingly helpful. 

Great for a day trip 

This is not one of our favorites but we like to hike and the views are great.  They have some drive thru campsites for anyone that’s new to backing an RV.  There is not much shade and they have some repair areas.  The swimming area is good for small children but not really that big.  It’s far from Johnson City or Austin so it’s best to take supplies with you.

Good hiking. 

We went camping over memorial weekend at Pedernales Falls. We did the primitive camping. This was some of the best TEXAS camping we've done. We found a really nice spot that was on the cliffside and had an incredible view of the hill country. It was isolated enough from other campsites. We saw deer in the morning in the grassy area next to our tent. We also found a path down to the river that was close by.

Cliffside Camping

This park is hands down my most favorite. Living only 15 minutes away from the park makes getting their super easy. The river that runs through this park is remarkably clear. During the summer time it is a popular spot to cool off. In the fall though it is nice and quiet with warm water. The early mornings are the best! 

Where my heart finds peace 

We highly recommend this state park! With many hiking trails, views and options for camping , you won’t be disappointed. We stayed in the RV area and made friends with armadillos, dung beetles, a fox, deer and a raccoon! Easily accessed the swimming portion of the river and relaxed all weekend. A quick drive to the falls trail head led to so much to explore! Staff was courteous and informative and we will be back! Currently they’re booked for the next three months so act fast!



Wildlife galore 

This state park might have got its name from the waterfalls, but it has A LOT of hiking trails as well. It has trails for all levels, but most of them are somewhat long (depending on your definition of a long hike).

We like the park because of the mix of both water and trails. It really gives you a way to connect with nature and escape the city. There is even a trail that requires you to cross the river to walk the whole thing. It's called the Trammel Trail Crossing. But its a long one, so be ready for some walking.

Park is well kept. Bathrooms didn't always have handsoap, so make you bring something if you can. And maybe a few bugs in the corners of the restrooms and showers, but you are camping so bugs naturally come with the territory.

All in all, we love this park.

Great hiking in the Texas Hill Country

Tent camped 14JUL20, 1 night. 

First, it was 108 the day I camped, in a tent, with no AC! (I did have a fan though.)

I 👏🏽 love 👏🏽 this 👏🏽 park👏🏽!! Hiked about 12 miles of trails and every one had a payoff.  I could have spent a week hiking that park if I had time. 

The sites are HUGE and have cool features like retaining walls.  Not a lot of trees though but I barely noticed until I remembered I suffer from cedar fever, (went to school at UT.) Thought I had the COVID as I left until I remembered I camped under a cedar tree, haha. 

BE WARNED, there is zero cell coverage once you get into the park.  Might not be an issue for some but I had to drive up to the ranger station a couple times to let my wife know i was okay. 

The water was low when I was there but it was clear and cool and absolutely beautiful.  

This park exemplifies the Texas Hill Country!

I’ll be back soon. 

Great hikes, NO cell reception!

No wonder this place is sometimes difficult to reserve a site, we got lucky enough to get a site for four days, Minus a rain day, three days of activities were not enough, plenty of trails, exploring the falls, sitting on the rocks with our ￼feet in the river, riding our bikes I little bit everywhere, will need to go back again to do the things we were not able to do. Decent privacy on the sites, the tables are in the back of the site to accommodate also the tent campers.￼ also not too far from one of the highest-rated barbecue joints in Texas, salt Lick BBQ

Oh ya, great place .

Stayed overnight here on a trek back to AZ. Dealt with fire ants at the campsite in spite of it being a paved pull through. But, no fear...I always carry Savin dust for just that reason.

The falls were not within walking distance of the campground so, I had to drive to another area, park and then hike a trail to the falls.

I was there in late November and I had the entire place to myself. No one was at the falls and I was able to take my time walking around, taking photos and enjoying the magnificent rush of water. While the falls were not roaring at their max, I could easily invision the danger in which signage has warned could be present.

Nice campground with lots of trails!

Got in late and had to leave early, so I didn't get to explore the park much, but the campground was great. Well maintained sites, with decent distance from the neighbors and your own pavilion on each site. Really close to nature, with coyotes howling not 100 yards from out site at one point.

Lovely, well amenitized park

This park, for many people in the hill country of Texas, is the quintessential park to visit. Within an hour’s drive of Austin, it offers a quick escape for a day visit and is also one of the more popular parks for overnight camping. Under Covid-19 conditions entrance permits were given out for a specific time, but with the park’s popularity, the procedure might stay in place after the worst of the pandemic has passed. We lucked out by getting a site due to a cancellation on both Friday and Saturday nights, which meant we had to move sites, but didn't have to book 5 months in advance!

The campground has well-spaced and wooded sites with water and electricity. Each campsite has its own little section of the forest, and makes you feel like you’re one of just a few people in an otherwise full campground. The bathrooms are also very clean, the showers are excellent with good water pressure and plenty of hot water. Note: check out the newer building if you want to see the camping bathroom Taj Mahal -- let's just say it's Texas sized!

The weather in January can be all over the map.  We were in shorts the first two days, then it snowed more than the area had seen in 20 years on our final day.  Come prepared for anything!

Lots of hikes begin right from the camping loop, but it’s a short drive over to the scenic falls which give the park its name as well as other. Less a waterfall and more a series of cascades tumbling over the limestone bedrock of the Pedernales River, the falls area could take a whole day to explore. Walking, crawling, hiking over the myriad of rocks shaped by the river one can escape into their own area and world for a moment or afternoon of poolside reflection. Just know that there are going to be other folks wandering about.   Tip!  The parking lot is very full at the trailhead to the falls...ride your bike from the campground to avoid the bottleneck at the end of the road.  You'll be greeted by armadillos and many birds along the way.

With dozens of other trails, it doesn’t take long to leave the busy sections of the park behind and find your own space out in the forest. We were here for 3 days and didn’t even come close to getting out on all of them. 

Nearby Johnson City has a medium sized grocery store as well as gas and other necessities. If you’re going that way, spend the afternoon at the Lyndon B. Johnson State Historic Park, which is a cool tribute to the settlers of the Texas Hill Country and our nation’s 36th President.

Geological Surprise in the Heart of the Hill Country

Pedernales Falls is a great camping experience for all. The sites have been updated a few years ago. The sites are reasonably large with covered table areas. The falls area requires a drive, but with ample parking.  The hike to the falls area is reasonable. Ther is no swimming or entering the water allowed, due to the dangers of potentially high water or flash floods. There is a swimming area in the river, but requires driving to the location (in the park). There are also a couple of bird blinds that provide for great views and photography. Hot and humid in the late spring through summer. 

Great State Park

I camped at Pedernales Falls back in November of 2020. The river was running low, but it was still a great visit. However, I camped again this year in June and the water was running at 70% above normal. It was great for viewing the river, swimming and taking photos. Again, the rangers and staff were great and the campsite that I had this trip (09) was very nice. Weather was hot during the day (90's) and in the evening in the 70's-80's. There were a few armadillos wandering down and deer as well. Be sure to visit the bird blinds as there are always a variety of birds to view and photograph.

My Second Time At Pedernales Falls & The Best Yet!!

For us, August is the hottest, and least desirable month to go camping, and at Pedernales State Park it is their wettest month of the year: Hot and rainy, so why go camping? Because we’re Covid-bored, and our 10th Wedding Anniversary is in August, and we’re still amped about the purchase of our new converted cargo trailer which was recently finally completely built out for us. On our maiden voyage it was literally just a shell we threw a mattress in, and we still had a great time! We also had our new Electric Bikes on board this time, and we were excited about trying them out on the hilly terrain.
 
Our GPS chose a really dangerous road for trailers to go down to get to the main park entrance. Don’t take Yeager road. Any other option will work.  We had to exit the truck and walk into the HQ building to check in, which we didn’t like just due to delta variant issues. We had Spot 9, which had nice tree coverage, space, and privacy for us. Lots 7, 8, 9, and 11 looked nice also, but pay attention to which site you pick, because some had no shade, or much of a view at all.
 
It wasn’t difficult backing in, but our trailer is only 12 ft. It seemed kind of tight to me for longer trailers, but they were making it look rather easy. They did have to park their trucks sideways at the entrance of their site to prevent the tail of their trucks from sticking out into the street.
 
Day 1 was the hot, sweaty set-up we figured it would be, though we really caught a break the whole time we were there, as temps in Texas can hit the high 90s, or 100s this time of year, and we had some overcast days and temps that didn’t get higher than 91. Our initial campsite set-up was followed up by a fun ride on our e-bikes, and then a night of sleeplessness with thunder and lightening throughout the night as the backdrop to Anniversary sex, and keeping ourselves occupied with offline ipad apps and articles we had previously downloaded.
 
Oddly, there was no rain all night, but it started up heavily the morning of day 2. By the time we exited the trailer close to noon, the fabric atop our trusty pop-up canopy was bulging excessively in one corner. When we tried to resolve this, the whole thing bent and collapsed. We had to junk it. It had been very good to us, and was the last relic of our tent-camping years. That thing knew more about me than my kids.
 
I was raising my eyebrows, and silently laughing when Erika told me she could hang this huge brown tarp we had brought through the trees so we could use it for our campsite canopy. It just didn’t seem feasible looking at it. Girl Scout proved me wrong. She threw a ball of string over the tall branches, worked at a knot on the string going through the tarp, and before I knew it we were hoisting up a giant tarp that kept us dry, and shaded for the rest of the trip.
 
The rain that day kept us in the trailer for a while, where Erika kept me entertained by showing me how to play Rummy. This turned out to be a really fun diversion for us the whole trip when we retreated to the trailer during the hottest hours of each day, or just before going to sleep for the night. Erika almost always beat me, but I didn’t mind, as she played topless as we took turns nipping on the Jim Beam bottle. Erika made some great-tasting thick-layered sandwiches for lunch each day, which we usually ate in the trailer.
 
Day 3 we decided to try out some of the park trails on our E-bikes. We tried both the Warfle, and Trammel Crossing trails, and although Erika fared better than I on them, we both agreed it wasn’t the type of riding we like, and wasn’t too good for the bikes. On any regular bike you have to muscle your way up the inclines; not so on an e-bike, and I couldn’t get use to this. If you try to naturally peddle your way up an incline on an e-bike, it will give out on you. You have to use the electric pedal assist, and it works beautifully.
 
Erika understood this and was maneuvering quite effortlessly up and down the gravelly, rocky inclines. My previous experience was on a mountain bike, so it took me a bit to adjust to how to take advantage of the E-bikes best attribute – It’s electric stupid; work smarter, not harder, and use the bike’s pedal assist feature. Neither of us liked the brake wear and tear needed to go down these particular trails.
 
We drove around later to scope out other possible trails we could try, and almost got our truck stuck in the wet clay surrounding the equestrian trails. 4 Wheel Drive got us out of that, although if anyone saw us there, it probably looked like we were doing donuts for fun. We did determine the trail to Pedernales Falls overlook would be easy enough on our bikes.
 
That night was what camping was all about to us. It started off at sunset where I’m guessing it was Saharan dust high up in the sky that was causing the whole sky, and our campsite to glow a gorgeous violet pinkish haze I’d never seen before. We fired up the pit and grilled sausage, corn on the cob, chicken breasts, potatoes, jalapeno poppers, and something new Erika wanted to try on the grill – carrots.
 
We put 4 whole carrots on the grill over direct-heat, turning them every few minutes for 10 minutes to get grill marks on them. Then Erika buttered tin foil with garlic herb butter, and wrapped the carrots in it, and put them off to the side over indirect heat for about 45 minutes, and everything came up roses. It was a King’s gluttonous dinner. The carrots had the consistency of a lush sweet potato.
 
We were blessed with a clear night sky that night, and could see all of the stars through the clearing at the top of the trees that surrounded us, including meteors throughout the night falling from the Perseids meteor shower. We got a lot of wishes in as we hung out and drunk beer by our campfire listening to Van Morrison all night.
 
That night was the first time we had a really good night’s sleep in our trailer. We found a way to minimize the humidity inside by purchasing a small humidifier, cracking the windows slightly, and pointing a fan up towards the ac unit vents that was helping distribute the outside and inside air a little better throughout trailer. We woke up and had a slow and easy Day 4, as we were a little hung over from the day before. We drove into Johnson City about 20 miles away and picked up a few supplies.
 
On our last day, we rode our E-bikes a long way out on the paved roads of the park, riding from our campsite to view the Swimming Area of the park, and then headed all the way to the trail that leads to the Pedernales Falls overlook spot. The bikes rode effortlessly up and down the hilly roads, and the trail to the overlook was easy as well, and what a view when you get there! We then rode back to the campsite, cooled down, napped, and grilled skirt steak that night for dinner to close out our trip.
 
The Park was very pretty. Lots of wildlife abounds. We had deer, squirrels, and foxes in and around our site. The park hosts were very nice. They managed the fire and ice supplies from their parked trailers a short ride from the campsites. The bathrooms were nice. I’ve been in cleaner, but I’ve seen a lot worse. There was a private shower/bathroom, in addition to Men and Womens bathrooms. There were a lot of families, kids, and dogs around, but they didn’t bother us. We had enough space and privacy. The park seemed like a nice place for kids, as they were riding bikes, and running, and biking up and down the streets at night, and clearly enjoying the swimming and inter-tubing in the river.
 

Braving August - 10th Anniversary Camping Trip

Another Texas State park that shines! Sites are big and even though pretty close to the other sites still feels very secluded! Picnic table with shelter and Fire Pit with grilling included.  Restroom and Showers close enough to every campsite! Firewood and Ice sold on site just pay attention to hours of operation! 
The trails were well marked and great sites! River was a great way to relax after decent hiking!
Lots of wildlife, Deer, birds and Hogs!!

Hill Country Haven

It was a beautiful day. Got there a little late right around 3pm. Didn't know what really to expect since it was our first time there (My husband and myself) . He chose the camp site ahead of time online. They only had primitive camping available. Primitive entails a minimum 2 mile walk over 3 creeks (luckily dry this time of year) and no running water. You literally have to plan accordingly and don't over pack. Proper shoes are a must. We learned the hard way that over doing it is over packing . When we finally got to a good camp site sun was quickly fading and we pitched a tent and a hammock in the dark with little light seeing as you cannot have a fire in this camp. Woke up with several spider guys all in the tent and on top between the screen and tent topper. Next time I will use more hammocks and one less tent if I'm primitive camping. Overall it was a good lesson in camping and will be back again. 

PERDANALES FALLS 

As the title suggests, this is a pretty decent little primitive camping site. The camping area is along the top of cliffs, affording a nice view. The sites are decently spread out. The sites seem like they are used on a fairly regular basis, which makes sense as this is outside of Austin. I am hoping that the primitive camping is still open, as it was a little while ago that I camped, but I decided to go ahead with the review and share the pictures. Overall it is recommended, although there are better primitive camping experiences especially if you are willing to drive a few hours, such as lost Maples. Another good thing is that you can go check out the falls which is kind of the thing that most people do you come to this park. Enjoy!￼

Decent primitive camp area 

It’s good and hidden but well worth it! The swimming it awesome! Bring goggles and water shoes! Water snakes a plenty! There’s cool natural rock slides. We will definitely be back! 

Best Austin swimming! 

Large, spaced out sites with nicely covered picnic tables, lantern hook, and fire pit. It was nice to not easily see your neighbor. This park has it all with very many miles of trails for good hiking, rugged mountain biking, and has the beautiful falls to explore. You can even swim in parts of the river. This place is a gem and is not very far away from Austin! Two downsides: no cell service in the campground and only one dump station for quite a few RVs. 

Great sites and so much hiking!

I gave this park a 5 because I loved the park and campground.  Lots of trails and very large beautiful peaceful sites with their own pergola, picnic table, and campfire ring.  The only negative there, was trying to level.  They have several level sites, we just didnt happen to have one.   

Great campground, but we struggled to level

As typical for Texas State Parks, this is well maintained, scenic with good trails. River can be dangerous during rainy season with flash floods but otherwise beautiful views and some great swimming. RV as well as primitive sites.

Great Texas State Campground

Pedernales is a classic Texas state park with a lot to offer and a short distance from Austin. It is often fully booked and your best chance to book a spot is far in advance or create a notification through the Texas State Parks site if a spot opens up. In the warm weather there's lots of swimming to be had, not in the falls themselves which are prone to flash flooding, but in another part of the park. Occasionally the water is home to poisonous algae which makes the water neither kid or dog friendly. Many of the sites have small shelters over their picnic tables.

Quick getaway if you can book.

This park has fantastic hikes, new clean restrooms with showers, and great spacious campsites. 

Only con (if you consider it a con) is that with ATT, there is no service at the campsites. 

Great getaway

The campsites were decent size and well-spaced with buffers in between. Many of them have small pavilions over the picnic tables. All sites in electric area also have a fire pit, water and 20/30 amp electric. 

Bathrooms were small but decent and well-maintained. 

Note that cell service was quite weak to nonexistent (Verizon and T-Mobile) unless you were out hiking and reached a high spot. 

Beautiful area to explore and the nice trails made for plenty to do. The river is super low right now (April 2022) so no water fall, but walking around on the rock formations made for a unique experience. 

Also a good campground for some dark skies at night. 

Good campsites, nice trails

One of my favorites you can do a lot of different activities from horse back riding swimming hiking biking. The facilities are well maintained and the sightseeing is wonderful.

This site has no shade at all but is close to one of the trails to swim


Great flexible park

I went for an early morning hike in full swing Texas summer heat. I decided to do the Falls hike following the water and Hackenburg loop. Ended up doing around 3 miles right before 10:30 (started at 9). From there the sun started to beat down and enjoy some time in the water but heads up as of today the water was pretty low. So many wildlife saw some deer, birds (singing the whole time I was there) and some cool lizards! 

Great Hill Country Find

My boyfriend and I came here for a weekend backpacking trip and had a great time! We hiked 2 miles down wolf mountain loop then about a quarter mile on the camping trail to the primitive sites on Saturday. We arrived at the campsites around 5pm and there were so many people camping it kinda looked like a shanty town (but in a cool way!) Even though there were lots of spots filled we managed to find a decent spot fairly quickly that was somewhat secluded. The next morning we hiked to Jones Spring and also checked out the remnants of the Trammels house. When we came back to out site just about all the other campers had already packed out and we had the whole camping trail pretty much to ourselves Sunday. We packed out Monday morning and before leaving the park checked out the bird blind, (which didn’t require a hike), then drove north to the falls. The falls had a short but somewhat taxing hike, since coming out was steep uphill, but it was a beautiful sight! After that I walked down to the swimming area, which was absolutely gorgeous, but the water was very cold of course in November so I just waded around a bit. The hike back from the swimming area was short but very strenuous! Very steep uphill! Overall it was a fantastic experience!

Great place to camp and hike! 

This was a halfway stop between Tennessee and Big Bend . Large campground with nice facilities and trails . Unfortunately it rained the nights we passed through . Nice place in the off season . I bets it’s packed in the summer 