Pedernales Falls State Park near Johnson City, TX, might by my favorite state park I’ve visited in Texas. It’s in the Hill Country which I love, with the Pedernales Falls and a creek for swimming running through the park. There are miles of hiking trails, and the campground has sites that are fairly private and shaded. Our campground had an open grass area where we set up xpens for the dogs, as well as a covered picnic table area. Bonus, the campground has the nicest bathrooms and showers I’ve seen in a Texas state park to date. Two of their bathrooms are large individual rooms with locking doors. These are great if you prefer more privacy, if you are a parent trying to manage showers with the kids, or if you’re a single woman traveling alone.
Our first visit to Pedernales was in March. The weather was cool, and the park was pretty empty because of limited spots due to COVID. We hiked the Wolf Mountain Trail with the dogs, which was basically a wide dirt track that was mostly open but did have some trees and scrub, but not enough shade for a summer hike. We also visited the swimming area, where we saw literally no one.
Our second visit was in June, and it’s hard to recommend visiting in summertime in Texas. It’s so brutally hot that doing any kind of hiking is problematic, and staying cool in a metal box can be tough. We did a short hike early in the morning, the Hackenburg Loop. This had a decent amount of shade and went down near the river. There was also a trail from the camping area that went down to the river where we sat for awhile. It was a decent distance from our campervan, and quite a bit of elevation change, so not easy to just run back for a drink or whatnot. Still, it was cool in the river and nice to just sit and relax. I think if your camping goal was to sit in or by the river all day, then Pedernales in the summer would work out for you. We just like to do more then just that when we’re there for several days.
One thing we found to do nearby was visit Real Ale Brewing in Blanco, which is about 30 minutes away from the park. They have great beers and now seltzers that they brew on site, as well as a large outdoor area to sit and relax. There was plenty of shade and tables. Their indoor taproom is currently closed due to COVID, but even on a very hot day it was comfortable enough to sit outside in the shade with a cold beer.
One of the interesting things about Pedernales Falls State Park is (as of posting), the park is closed to day use on Mondays and Tuesdays. What that means is that the only people using the park will be people who are in campsites — there are no outside people coming in to hike or swim. This makes all of the swimming spots and hiking trails pretty empty, which is a nice reprieve in summer in Texas, when every campground seems to be busting at the seams. This does make it extremely appealing when I want to hike with dogs. I’m looking forward to going back when it’s not 90+ degrees.
sounds like a great fall destination with dogs.