pedernales falls state park

Located between Dripping Springs and Johnson City, Pedernales Falls is a great place for the outdoor enthusiast and family camper. From south Austin area, it took us about 35 mins to get to the campground. The Campground is clean, most sites have plenty of tress and shade and there are plenty of hiking trails for all levels. The campground has primitive sites as well as developed sites with Electricity and Water hook ups. The are single car wide but most are deep enough for an RV or Travel Trailer. Some sites are more wide open with sparse tree coverage while others are more secluded with lots of trees. There are about 70 sites total for the campground but it can fill up quickly so reserving in advance is a good idea. There is wood and ice available for purchase if needed but no local store for grocery items if you forgot anything. The restrooms are cleaned daily and have shower stalls. They are within walking distance for most sites but they do have a few parking spaces by each bathroom in case you don't want to walk to them. The park has a number of nature activities for the outdoor enthusiast. There are plenty of hiking trails for all age ranges. Some trails may be physically demanding while others are easy. The walk to the falls is fairly easy with stone steps down to the river front. Though the steps can be a bit steep for the less mobile but no more challenging that your typical stairway in a residential home. However, there are no handrails on those steps. The falls are one of the highlight features of the park and are quite beautiful but this is obviously subject to drought conditions.There are equestrian trails for those that have horses. There is also a bird blind for those that enjoy bird watching. We saw a number of cardinals and several other species though we are far from experts on the subject. There is a swimming area but we did not make it down there to check it out. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on your perspective but expect to unplug during your visit there as cell reception was challenging at best in the campsite. We did manage to get 1 bar if we stood in the street in front of our campsite and could get emails/texts as well as make calls but surfing the web is not really an option. So it can be good in that it forces you to enjoy the park more and your electronics less but if you need good connectivity for some reason, you will be challenged to get anything at this park. Overall, this was a very nice park and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a great place to camp and enjoy nature.

Pedernales is a beautiful park, it is far enough from congested cities giving it a great night sky. The park is big, requires a lot of walking which shouldn't be a problem for those who love to experience the outdoors one on one. During Spring Break, the nights get cold and the water is also very cold so consider taking a summer trip if planning to get in the river and truly enjoy. I went this Spring Break and experienced the chilliness.I would go back, I would also call to see how busy they are & reserve a campsite in advance if they are busy!

We have a state park pass and this park had been on our list for awhile. Traveling with three boys, they loved it! We only went to the falls portion of the park, just a short walk down a path to get there. Beautiful views and you can easily walk around for hours exploring! Was a bit overcast when we went and in the 50's. Would love to go back and explore the rest of the park and swim. Bring water and good walking shoes.

Camp sites are great. Nicely shaded. Not a long walk to the restrooms, which were clean. The one we had in my opinion is the best! #13 Kind of private, so my 3 dogs didn't do too much yapping. It is right to the side of the trail head for the Twin Falls. Gosh, the Twin Falls were definitely created by God! Lots of people miss this. It is a must see! You can no longer go down to the falls, but they have built an overlook. Lots of Biking and hiking trails. Easy to hard. Cypress trees and a river running through that is gorgeous! I believe they also have horse trails. They also have a Birding area and a park host feeds the birds each morning. If you plan a trip to the Hill country, take one night at least to visit Pedernales. We stayed 5 days and still didn't see everything.

What a beautiful location in the Texas hill country. We will be back with a travel trailer to spend a few days here. A little bit of a hike but well worth it.

Bright and beautiful park,very busy with people wanting to explore! we liked the map, but because they were so busy the ranger wasn't too friendly like other state parks I've been too

A beautiful place that is also fun for the whole family! You can enjoy the beauty of the falls and water pools (even on a very cloudy day as it happened to us) or you can go exploring the park and its rock formations. We just visited the park in February, which precluded any water related fun, but tubing and swimming is available in the summer - so make plans to visit then.Highly recommend this place for anyone in living/traveling in Austin area.

On a recent trip to Austin, decided to revisit the Park for a day of hiking with our son. The Falls were breathtaking, as always, but we decided to take the Wolf Mountain hike, too (mile loop trail inaccessible due to high water). Oh my! Although overcast and cool, due to recent rains we crossed three different creeks which were all flowing. By far the one which took our breath away was Bee Creek. We took a few 'side' trails off the main roadway, and were treated to views of some of the most gorgeous water I have seen. Aquamarine in color and crystal clear, we marveled at our luck in having a peek at such natural beauty. Well worth the short drive outside of Austin, Pedernales Falls State Park is soooooooo worth a visit!

Pedernales Falls is a wonderful place.There wasn't much water that day, but the nature is so interesting and beautiful.We had a great day.

We spent the day wandering around the trails, sitting on the rocks by the water and taking in the beauty of Texas Hill Country. This park is huge and there are many options of what to do, where to go and what to look at.

I brought my kids out to Pedernales Falls for a recent holiday, we wanted to take advantage of the nice weather and have an active day outside. I have been to Pedernales Falls several times in the past, but this was the first time I got to experience the park with my kids.Pedernales Falls is easy to get to, it's about an hour (traffic permitting) outside Austin and more or less right off 290 which is a fairly major road. Admission is very reasonable, and children under 12 are free. There are a number of camp sites around the park that seem to be well laid out, they aren't right on top of each other and they have plenty of room (for RVs or tents) and also seem to have quite a bit of privacy from each other. Pets are permitted for the day (not for overnight), and must be on leash.The views are great, about as good as you can get in the Texas Hill Country. Nothing that compares to the Alps or the Rockies or the Andes, but impressive and beautiful nonetheless. There are hiking trails scattered throughout the park, of varying levels of difficulty. On this recent trip we hiked to Pedernales Falls, which is really a short, easy walk on a well-groomed gravel path. There are steps going right down the Falls, but it's still a pretty easy hike. There wasn't much flow when we were there, so you could walk all around and explore the river equivalent of tide pools and limestone croppings.We also hiked to Twin Falls, which offers some elevation changes and some looser footings. There is a main trail which is not too strenuous, and various cut-throughs on that trail for the more intrepid hiker.There is also a big spot for swimming, it was in the 70s on the day we visited but in January I still wasn't ready to hop in the water. As the Central Texas drought continues, the water wasn't real deep and certainly wasn't moving swiftly, but there were a few brave souls splashing around and having fun.I definitely recommend Pedernales Falls for an outdoor excursion. It's great because it's close to Austin, and because you can spend 30 minutes or all day in the park and keep yourself entertained and amused the entire time.

God bless Texas, and all her beauty! Awsome place to visit, very clean, lets keep it that way!Be ready for a good uphill walk, on your return.

This park is beautiful, but I got pulled over on my way in because the speed limit drops to a crawl. I hiked down to the falls in flip flops and wouldn't recommend it if you wanted to do a lot of exploring up or down stream. The scenery is great and these would make for perfect swimming holes on a warm day if it were permitted.Up stream there is a neat hole in the rock were some kids were swimming and cliff jumping.Just below the stairs down to the falls was a massive spring that emerges from the ground.Plan to spend a couple of hours, bring a water bottle and I wish I would have done the hike to twin falls.

We went here for a day of hiking with children, and we really enjoyed it. The namesake falls is fun because you can walk out on to the rocks and it is very pretty. We also hiked along the river quite a while. Gorgeous!

While traveling to the Hill Country in Texas, I ventured out to this state park for a bird watching trip. I was very pleased as I encountered four birds which I had not seen before. They maintain two very nice blinds and if you are still and quiet for 10 minutes or so you will see many species of birds. The rest of the park was also very nice. Definitely worth the trip!