At Pedernales Falls State Park, you can camp, hike, mountain bike, picnic, geocache, bird watch and ride horses. On the river, you can swim, wade, tube or fish. Look for local wildlife and plants at the bird blind and butterfly garden. Pedernales Falls State Park is located at 2585 Park Road 6026, in Johnson City, Texas. For more information, click here.

Pedernales Falls State Park has arguably some of the most beautiful and unique scenery in the Texas Hill Country. While the river itself is reason enough to visit the park, scenic trails wind through forests, atop ridges, and along the riverside. Walk the sandy shores of the Pedernales River and climb on the river’s rock formations. You can cross its waterfalls (water levels permitting), and delve into the nooks and crannies formed by the boulders in the riverbeds and along the shoreline. The scenery at the state park is beautiful, and with several miles of trails visitors have countless ways to explore the terrain.

Pedernales Falls State Park is beautiful to visit throughout the year, both for day trips and overnight camping excursions. With a range of trail distances and varying degrees of difficulty, visitors can easily make a day trip to the park or set up camp for a weekend, exploring multiple trails that crisscross the land. The scenery is wild and unusual, with rock formations and waterfalls that are unique to this section of river.

If you’re up for a long hike, the Juniper Ridge Trail (just less than nine miles) is a challenging but beautiful way to explore the terrain. Otherwise, you can choose a shorter trail, or even an equestrian trail, which happens to be the park’s longest at just more than 11 miles. One thing is mandatory for everyone, though, and that’s a short trek to the park’s namesake waterfall. It’s an easy walk down to the sandy beaches and a rocky riverbed lined with white cliffs. For stunning sunset views, hike one of the park’s overlook trails, which give expansive views of the curvature of the Pedernales River and wild displays of color.

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