Wonderful place to go hiking & trail running. The hills are pretty intense, but they’re beautiful! The lake is also very picturesque. There is a swimming area, & there are picnic tables & nice-sized camp sites.
The campground is “what you see is what you get,” & there’s not very much to see. If you do your research you know to be prepared though, so it shouldn’t be an issue! It is primitive camping, so bring out everything you would need. Guadalupe is such a beautiful National Park & worth visiting so that you can hike the peak (fun fact: it’s higher than El Capitan in Yosemite)! It’s the tallest point in Texas. The trail is not all that strenuous but it does take up a good deal of time (about 6 hours) so you have to make sure you’ve got enough daylight.
We camped in one of the cabins for the first night because there was no availability for the campground sites. It was entirely worth the money! The back bunk beds were super cozy & we enjoyed a bed after being in a tent for the precious week. The campground site the next night was wonderful as far as campgrounds go. The ground was level & covered with fine gravel. The sites are not very big & you’re right up next to other campers; but it’s all you need when you spend the majority of the day out in Zion & just come back to eat dinner & sleep. The electricity was nice to have for charging laptops to import/edit photos of the day’s adventures. The showers were a real treat because they were included with the campground. The bathrooms were in the same room as the showers & there were only two rooms, so if two people were showering, you’d be out of luck for using the restroom anytime soon. Other than that, everything was a such a positive experience. There was free coffee in the main building & also a little shop for anything you may have forgotten—the nearest store is about 20 minutes away. All in all, this place is amazing & I would highly recommend.
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—& it’s close enough to Austin to have some fun & a good meal in the city. The waterfall is lovely & we spent a long time exploring & 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.
Reserve your site early!!! We camped over spring break in March 2018 & reserved our nights in October 2017. The primitive site itself is nothing all that special, but it’s everything you need. Despite the heavy traffic the Grand Canyon sees, the campsites are not crammed together. They are spacious & well-kept. There are lots of big rocks embedded in the ground, so be mindful when you set up your tent—particularly if it’s a big tent—so that you can sleep well. The bathrooms at the campground are nice & clean & the showers are worth the quarters if you’re camping multiple nights. I heard footsteps one morning & looked out to see elk outside our tent! They roam the campground pretty consistently so you can hope to see some during your visit.
Our primitive campground was at the furthest end of the road & we felt pretty secluded & comfortable. The campsite was situated on a bit of a cliff, which made for a beautiful experience as well as for bouldering opportunities for the more adventurous of the group. There were plenty of trees for hammocks & a good fire pit as well. Surprisingly also for mid-summer, there were no mosquitos at all, so that was a major plus! I would definitely come back here again & have already recommended it to many friends.
Our primitive campsite was a dream! It had a covered picnic table which actually was much appreciated in the Texas heat & in the spontaneous Texas thunderstorms. There were no trees at our site, so we hung hammocks from the posts of the pavilion. The ground was a little uneven, but the tent was still stable. Watch out though; that red Palo Duro dirt will get on everything! The park itself is amazingggg. We drove ten hours just to come for two days & it was 100% worth it. Going in July though meant that the weather was insanely hot. When the storm hit, we were grateful for the lower temperature! The Lighthouse trail was long & so so hot, but getting to see the rock formations was incredible. This place compares to any national park!
Our campground had trails right nearby which was convenient & fun. It was relatively flat which made the tent easy to set up, & it also had sufficient trees for hammocks. The picnic table was a little rickety but nothing I wouldn’t expect for an outdoor wooden table. The bathrooms were nice & clean! The park offers some pretty fun trails, but a lot of them were closed because of storm damage when we camped. There is a convenient place to launch kayaks & canoes just outside of the park which a nice ranger informed us about. All in all it was a great experience!
We camped in loop C 66 & it was a perfect little spot at the end of the road. It was close to the bathrooms which were nice & clean! It was hard to find places to hang hammocks, but the tent location was perfectly flat & smooth. The park itself was a gem. Seven Hollows trail was beautiful, but the Cedar Falls trail was breathtaking. The waterfall at the end & the pool into which it drops is an incredible sight & also very refreshing after a long hike. That’s a hike you don’t want to miss! The Cedar Creek trail was also worth visiting. 10/10 would recommend Petit Jean State Park!
It’s a bit of a lengthy walk to get back to the campsite from the trailhead, but it’s absolutely worth it. The campground is flat & has enough room for a couple tents. There are also good trees for hanging hammocks & clotheslines. There are two fire pits so you can have your pick depending on where you set up camp. The trail itself is amazing! It is pretty strenuous & has uneven ground in some areas, but it’s nothing that a moderately experienced hiker can’t handle. Every step of the trail is worth the destination because the waterfall is glorious & so is the cave which houses the spring. This is easily one of my favorite places I’ve ever camped!