Austin: Family Campgrounds?

[Abel]

Anyone know of any good/safe family oriented camp grounds near the austin area. Looking for a place thats good for kiddos under 10yrs?

Looking to bring our own tents and such....

[studiocygnet]

The closest in town are:
McKinney Falls State Park
Emma Long City Park

A little further out (45 minutes) are:
Pedernales Falls State Park
Pacebend
Muleshoe Bend

[joedanger11]

I personally think Pedernales Falls State Park is awesome!

Bastrop State Park is just outside of Austin, also.

[kenmyers70]

Sounds like a TPF Camping get together!
When are you going so we can make reservations?

[av1]

I second McKinney Falls. They have bicycle lanes on the roads and a bunch of paved trails for riding bikes with the kids. That is, if you ride bikes... And they haves some cool waterfalls ;-)

[chano]

McKinney Falls State Park - Nice and Quiet
Emma Long City Park - OK but gets pretty crowded sometimes.
A little further out (45 minutes) are:
Pedernales Falls State Park - Nice!
Pacebend - Nice - lots of swimming areas and cliff diving(if thats ur thing)
Muleshoe Bend - good spot.

there is also Krause Springs - my bro has 3 kids under 10..and they go there every summer.

[Abel]

Thanks guys..

I also hear enchanted rock is nice too... any thoughts?

[studiocygnet]

Re: Enchanted Rock. Great views and kids love the climb up the big rock. However, overnight camping is a primitive campground that you hike a couple miles to get to. There is no camping near your vehicle. And this park can get really crowded on weekends, so much so that they close it down and you can't get in until other folks leave. So depends on the weekend. In the spring when the wildflowers are out is when it's most crowded.

[merock]

All above mentioned places are awesome. Unfortunately, we haven't had any rain recently, so there's no water falls at McKinney Falls, and no cliff diving at Pace bend that's safe. There is still swimming at Pace Bend though. Enchanted Rock is a really wonderful place. Lots of hiking and rock scrambling to do. The hike up to the top of the dome is pretty easy and really scenic. It can get crowded on the weekends with the Boy Scouts, so make sure you call in advanced to reserve a camping spot if you go that route. The camping spots are pretty cush too. Personally I would camp at either Enchanted Rock, Pace Bend or Pedernales Falls, just depends on what kind of activities you are looking for. The advantage to stay at McKinney Falls is, if you want to come into town for Tex-Mex etc. it's only a 10 min drive. Enchanted Rock is about 20-25 min to Fredricksberg, which has a really good brewery/ restaurant, nothing really worth driving to around Perdenales Falls..... Hope this helps!

E-Rock


McKinney Falls





McKinny Day use area and one of the trails.


No Pedernales pics.... sorry.....

[Atfulldraw]

I'll add Enchanted Rock to the list -- your kids could easily summit the big rock in thirty minutes.

Also Inks Lake State Park in Burnett.

[sparkyjr]

Emma Long is excellent!

[merock]

Originally Posted by studiocygnet

There is no camping near your vehicle. And this park can get really crowded on weekends, so much so that they close it down and you can't get in until other folks leave. So depends on the weekend. In the spring when the wildflowers are out is when it's most crowded.

There is camping near your vehicles and right by the bathrooms, with running water near the camps, but those spots fill up pretty quickly. The primitive camping does not have water so you have to hike your own in and it's a few miles from the parking lot. Agreed that it does get crowded, but you can also easily find your own space. My favorite camping spots are 20 and 21. Soft grass to sleep on, and you can get away from the peoples, and you won't be sandwiched between other campers, backs right up to the trees. Also alot of shade over there....

[Imagebuffet]

My group stayed at Krause Springs last September. Several other groups were there, too, including a Boy Scout troop. That's about a 45 minute drive from Austin, I think.

[Abel]

thanks a ton for the info guys... this is VERY useful!

[merock]

So where'd you go, what'd you do????