Pedernales Falls State Park, located about an hour west of Austin, is a unique Texas park. The park has several hiking and biking trails that feature waterfalls, swimming areas, and scenic overlooks. It is best known for the impressive Pedernales Falls that flows over massive slabs of limestone. We spent hours exploring the limestone slabs and skipping rocks during our visit to Pedernales Falls State Park.
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How to Get to Pedernales Falls State Park
Pedernales Falls is located about 45 miles west of Austin. If you are visiting Pedernales Falls State Park as part of a longer trip from somewhere too far to drive, the closest airport is in Austin, Texas. You could also fly into San Antonio as it is only an extra 30 minutes than the drive from Austin. If you are traveling from most parts of Texas, you can drive to this state park. Here are driving distances and approximate driving times from some major Texas cities:
Austin: 45 miles; 1 hour
Dallas: 240 miles; 3 hours 45 minutes
Fort Worth: 230 miles; 3 hours 40 minutes
Houston: 200 miles; 3 hours 30 minutes
San Antonio: 80 miles; 1 hour 30 minutes
Where to Stay when Visiting Pedernales Falls State Park
Camping at Pedernales Falls State Park
Pedernales Falls offers RV, tent, and primitive camping inside the park. Campsites with electricity come with a picnic table, water hookups, 30-amp hookups, a lantern post, fire ring with grill, and restrooms nearby with showers. Another option is their primitive campsites which have no toilets and ground fires are prohibited. To access the primitive campsites, you must hike in a minimum of 2 miles. For camping fees and reservation information, see the park’s website.
Hoteling near Pedernales Falls State Park
If camping is not your thing, there are a couple nearby towns where you can lodge in a hotel or an Airbnb. Johnson City is the closest town, located 25 minutes west of the park. The Best Western Johnson City Inn is a good option. The next nearest town is Dripping Springs, located 30 minutes southeast of the park, where you can stay at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites or the Sleep Inn & Suites.
If you do choose to stay outside the park, you will need to pay an entrance fee or purchase a Texas State Parks Pass. The park regularly reaches capacity on weekends or holidays, so I would advise arriving to the park early if you are staying outside the park.
When to Visit Pedernales Falls State Park
Pedernales Falls State Park is a great park that can be visited any time of the year. Because of its swimming, tubing, canoeing, and kayaking in Pedernales River, summer is a very popular time to visit. However, Texas has sweltering temperatures in the summer that are consistently over 100 degrees (F). The park is less crowded in the winter, spring, and fall months, and the weather is much more bearable. Texas usually has very mild winters. Therefore, unless you are planning to visit Pedernales Falls State Park for water activities, I advise going in the non-summer months. For our trip, we camped inside the park the week before Christmas.
Always check the weather before venturing out onto Pedernales Falls. This area is known to have flash floods.
DAY 1
We arrived and checked into our campsite around 2:00 pm. After a couple hours of setting up camp and resting, we headed to the epic Pedernales Falls. We walked 0.25-miles to the Pedernales Falls Overlook. From here we turned left on the trail that took us to the upper part of the limestone slabs. Here we spent at least an hour and a half exploring the area and admiring the beautiful Pedernales River and carved-out limestone. We headed back to camp to prepare dinner and spent the rest of the evening at our campsite.
Note – There is no swimming allowed in the Pedernales Falls area. The park has designated specific swimming areas in the river, so make sure to check the park map for these locations.
DAY 2
After breakfast, we went back to Pedernales Falls, but this time we turned right after getting to the Pedernales Falls Overlook. We continued to explore the limestone slabs and found small caves and water holes. I also attempted to cross the river via a wooden log, and luckily, I made it!
After Pedernales Falls, we hiked the 0.5-mile Twin Falls Nature Trail. This trail is a loop that takes you to an overlook where you can see the falls below you. The trail is closed below the overlook.
After lunch, we walked to the river and climbed on fallen rocks in the river for a while. We also spent a long time skipping rocks in the river to see whose rock could go the furthest.
After dinner, we drove into Johnson City, about 25 minutes away, to see the Christmas Lights Spectacular. It lived up to its name. The more than 1.3 million twinkle lights illuminate the town and is a must-see if you visit during the holidays.
DAY 3
After eating breakfast at the campsite, we walked (and biked) down to Trammell’s Crossing, which is a shallow part of the river where you can cross if you choose to hike the trails on the other side of the river. We stopped at the river and let the kids splash their feet in the water. Beware, the hike to Trammell’s Crossing is all downhill, which means it is a climb to come back up. After our trek back to the campsite, we packed up and drove home. What a fun weekend camping at Pedernales Falls State Park!
Other Nearby Activities:
Johnson City and the Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch
Dripping Springs and Hamilton Pool
Jacob’s Well and Blue Hole in Wimberley, Texas
