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Pedernales Falls State Park
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
10 reviews for Pedernales Falls State Park
10 reviews in English
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Review from Derek J.
Austin, TX
7/20/2009
I sort of like to divide this park up by seasons.
Spring/Fall: During the spring and fall when the sun isnt blazing hot and singeing everything in its path, wandering around the puddles of the actual falls is quite lovely. There are areas to toss rocks into ponds, do a little mini-rock climbing, and in general just puttering around the interesting pools and crevices that the water has created for our viewing pleasure. I wouldnt really call this a "hike" but its nice to stumble about on the rocks - having walked pretty far to the head of the falls, there is plenty of room to explore and get away. Its pretty pet friendly for those with large dogs. The beach/sand area is pretty nice. they do suggest that you not swim in this section of the park as well as being watchful of flooding.
Summertime: I like to go to the little swimming hole off to the right as you are coming into the park. Walking down the wooden "bridges" and across the sand, one can come to a pretty fast moving stream. The water is as cool as, say, the guadalupe... I usually just hang out here in the water. Given the area here, peoplea re pretty close together, but its nice to see kids and adults alike having fun playing in the water. For those with kids, I would probably opt for bringing a tube or the like to float on the water or otherwise give some floatation cause the water is pretty strong in parts.
Overall, a damn fine park with plenty of places to get some R&R close to the city. Its far enough away to feel "away" but close enough where it isnt a project to get out there. -
Review from Arnel B.
Austin, TX
3/12/2011 1 Check-in Here
came here today for the first time to check it out and take pictures and do some hiking and climbing. The place is great!
We spent all of our time by the Perdernales Falls and the beach, but I will definitely be back to explore the rest of the park and check out the other hiking trails...esp the 4 miler across the river...
might even do some primitive camping next time... -
Review from Jai J.
5/19/2008 2 photos
Pedernales Falls is the perfect place to get away from all the stresses of everyday life and just be at peace. The family & I love visiting here in order to practice the 3 R's: retreat, relax, and revitalize. We get to hike, climb huge rocks and enjoy all aspects of nature itself.
Our trips to the falls have mainly been day trippers (I'm not a big camping fan) although this place is making me re-think that. The pictures I included of the falls is an area where you can not swim, wade or tube in (although there are other designated areas within the park in order to do so). There are also areas to fish & picnic in and if you own your own horse, you can bring it here to do some riding.
The bathrooms are clean, you can bring your pets (leashes on, people!), and there are a lot of clear walking paths. Fees are 5 bucks a day but if you're staying overnight it's 3 bucks a day (children 13 and under free on both cases). Call them up or check out their website for additional fee information. -
Review from Justine H.
Sacramento, CA
1/4/2008
Wonderfully easy to access and and far enough "away" for a real outdoorsy experience. We backpacked up to the primitive sites and hiked around the park, filtered water from the Pedernales River, and froze our butts off at night. It was awesome.
The park offers both the more rustic experience described above as well as day use and car camping. A section of the river is open to swimming and tubing, while the area around the falls is closed to water play for safety reasons. There is a bird blind and several picnic areas, and dogs, horses, and mountain bikers are welcome.
Even if you're not a hiker/camper type, the park is worth visiting just to see the strange, broad rock formations that create the falls. You can probably even get to the viewpoint in your high heels. -
Review from Candace S.
Alexandria, VA
11/9/2009 4 photos
I came here for the first time last weekend to take pictures and do some hiking and climbing. The place is great! I spent all of my time by the Perdernales Falls, but I will definitely be back to explore the rest of the park and check out the other hiking trails.
There are tons of places to climb up and down rocks to check out the falls. The water level was on the low side even after a rain storm so you could get close to the flow. After about 2 hours, I had drank all of my water and decided to call it a day especially since it was approaching dusk and I didnt bring a flashlight. Next time, I will get here early and be better prepared since I would have loved to stay longer!
This is definitely not a stroller friendly place (I saw one lady attempting a stroller--luckily she only stayed around the lookout point). -
Review from Adam R.
Austin, TX
1/23/2011
Terrific camping spot! Plenty of nearby hiking adventures and exploring the falls area was fun.
The electric/water campsite:
-Love the adjustable height grills
-I would have preferred it if the campsites had a little more privacy from the road. People staying across from you and driving along the road can see everything going on.. In between campsites there was plenty of shrubbery and privacy.
-Close enough to bathrooms
-Hide your drinks from the Ranger
-Nearby hiking/walking to the 'river' area
Overall, love the spot over the other Austin area camp sites I have visited. My only beef is the privacy from the road. Will visit again. -
Review from James T.
7/27/2010
Wonderful state park near Austin. I camped, swam and hiked around this park for a weekend with some friends, and will definitely return. The first thing we noticed about our campsite was the seclusion. We asked for a site where my rowdy friends and I would not bother anyone, and they gave us a winner. Good old site 39. However, after walking around and seeing some of the other sites, many of the tent sites are completely open and viewable from the road. I don't know about you, but I don't go camping to be seen and heard, nor to people watch. Check out the campsite on the map before taking one.
The falls aren't exactly what I pictured when I heard "Pedernales Falls", but they are beautiful. I recommend going down, walking around and climbing on the rocks, there are many rapids that you cannot see from above. The hiking trails are nice, especially the "Interpretive trail" and the associated Scenic Overlook. The water is clean and great solace from a day of hiking in the Texas heat. Overall, wonderful experience. -
Review from Dave S.
Austin, TX
6/8/2011 3 photos
Pedernales Falls SP is a short 30 minutes or so west of Austin, and makes for a good day trip (take CR 101, Fitzhugh Rd, for the "less traveled" route). Haven't camped there (yet), but spent many an hour on the riverbed at the Cypress Pool area. It's a pity they don't allow swimming at that location, because it's an amazing place. Once you take the steps down from the scenic overlook platform, getting getting back up at any other location (upstream) can be a chore, due to the steep rock banks (it can be done if you know where to look). Summer can roast you if you're not accustomed to the Texas heat, so take water. And Johnson City is only like ten minutes west of the park on RR 2766. Like most state parks, Pedernales Falls has restrooms and showers, and campsites with water & electricity (primitive sites are also available for the hard-core campers). Oh, and stay on the park side...the opposite bank is posted "Private Property".
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Review from david g.
Austin, TX
6/2/2009
I will make this review brief because I think we all know what to expect from a state park so i will omit descriptions of the park itself from my review. This review is to reflect the staff they have at the park.
I have a small group of friends and we go on a camping trip every month to a new park. We load ourselves up like pack mules and "rough" it in the primitive areas and generally have a great time, but not at pedernales falls!
From the moment we got there the rangers at the HQ were very rude, unfriendly, and uninviting. We paid for our site and got out of that office dismissing it and looking forward to the weekend of camping and hiking
It wasn't till we started setting up camp till we met one ranger specifically, we will call him " Ranger Rick". He walked right into our camp and right up to my tent and started looking through my area, with the pretense of "hey you guys know you can't have fires out here?" I answered him promptly and even showed him my hiking stove. He hung around for another minute and continued down the trail. Ranger Rick was to become our 5th uninvited camp member for the remainder of the evening. Wtih the burn ban in effect and the amount of mesquites attracted by flashlights we generally spend out evenings sitting in the dark around our campsite. On 3 different occasions through the night we caught "ranger Rick" sneaking into our campsite with no warning, flashlight or even approching us. He would just slowly creep up, stand about 15 feet from us, and generally behind a few bushes to "hide" behind, and just watch us for 10-15 minutes.(the last occasion being around MIDNIGHT). I assume he was waiting for us to bust out some beer or light a joint or something so he could come over and flex his "authority", but seriously? we never confronted him because we thought it was too strange, so he was never aware that we saw him. It made us all feel very uncomfortable and unwanted. It didn't help either that he kept driving his big f250 truck around all night. Just what you want to hear when you are in the woods, a big diesel engine roaring down the trail.
Of all the parks I've been to in Texas this was the worst, you can literally see what the park has to offer in just a couple hours. Drive another 30min to any other state park, it will totally be worth it. -
Review from T L.
Los Angeles, CA
5/9/2010
Gorgeous. Wildflowers everywhere. The river has tons of trees with private pockets for picnics and it is teeming with long-snouted polka-dot fish basking in the sun. $5 per person, which is a bit high, but worth it in the Texas heat. The falls are not the spectacular Yosemite kind - more flat and sweeping. Riverfront also has rocky and sandy areas for lounging and delightful rocks to swim to. Lot's of clean pee rooms. Good times in beautiful hill country!
