I stopped by South Llano State Park on a roadtrip I took last year. What drew me to this park was the promise of enjoying the clear water in the river. When I went, it was near the end of day, but the park rangers still admitted me in as the park's gate doesn't close until 10pm. There didn't seem to be many people that day, though I believe it was because I went in the middle of July in very warm temps. However, I was rewarded by the cold and refreshing South Llano River which I enjoyed mostly by myself. Standing in the river near the shore, small fish came up to my feet and ankles and started feeding off of my dead skin. It felt like I was getting a pedicure, except in a natural environment. There were a few places to access the river and plenty of parking around. I saw that they had several miles of trails to explore though I didn't get the chance to hike any of them. It is important to consider that the park is susceptible to flooding as its on low ground, so time your visit accordingly. Personally, I really enjoyed this park and I hope to be able to return during the cooler months to see stars in the dark sky! read more

See all

This is one of my top three favorite state parks because it was so quiet which allowed for full relaxation. The trails are well kept and I appreciated being able to do some birdwatching because they have designated areas for this. Additionally the river adds another perk to the park, you can go tubing, fishing, swim, etc. As far as the staff members, overall everybody was nice during check-in but on the night that there was a cold front and hail storm I was seeking help and no one was to be found. The hosts were off duty, the ranger we asked for help at the front that was sitting in his truck was dismissive, and the operator didn't answer. The good thing was that the park is about 15 minutes from the nearby town so I was able to get help there but in a case of emergency, I think somebody should be accessible. Overall, I really love the park. The sites good but beware of the cacti! Depending on which site you select, you may have more or less room for tents in the grassy area. I recommended the sites in the 40s for larger groups. Go to the observatory if you can, the hike is worth the beautiful view! Oh also there's plethora of animals! On this trip I saw deer, a roadrunner, a hog, armadillos, canaries, and hummingbirds. read more

See all

Very nice part. Extremely wooded. Also very quiet park. It's a dark skies area so the stars are phenomenal. Had the opportunity to go to several of the birdwatching sites and they are covered with different birds that I get to add to my life list this time. The bird blinds are awesome with water and food. There are birds in abundance for you to observe. It's also handicapped accessible as the blind has a ramp to easily get in and out and is very wide. I'm sure it meets ADA standards . Park staff was very friendly. The only drawback to me was the sites are a little bit narrow so you have to have good backing up skills to get your camper in lol. Also, if you have a very tall or very wide camper, you may or may not be able to open your slide or back in without having brush hit your roof. Ours is fairly small, but we still had to carefully place it so that our slide would open but then there was so much woods overhead we couldn't open our awning. We were in site number 19 . As I said it's wooded and the sites are very private. You have woods between you and the site next to you so I really liked that. There are numerous hiking trails throughout the park and down towards the river. We did not get in the river, but there were a lot of families tubing and floating in the river so that's another good reason to visit this part. All in all it was a nice park and I would definitely come here again. read more

See all

Our tax money has helped transform this park into a beauty!!! The visitor center, 4 gorgeous bird blinds and trail signage are beautiful! They even have EV charging stations now. The camping sites are pretty private with vegetation separating them. So much to explore here (including a small cemetery). Tubing the river is popular. Beautiful aromatic wildflowers throughout the park. This is truly an underrated park. read more

See all

I came here for a fun weekend kayaking and camping trip. This is a dark sky park, so the stars were nice to see. I booked the campsite three weeks in advance for the beginning of March, and I wasn't able to find the same campsite for both Friday and Saturday. I picked 007 in the electric area for the first night and 006 for the second night. It's a good idea to look at the campsite map when you book because 007 was in a lovely secluded area, while 006 was in the middle and wide open. The campsite sleeps up to eight people. There were clean bathrooms and showers, which felt like such a luxury after a day of paddling and swimming. We rented from South Llano River Kayaks and shuttled with them to paddle about 11 miles back to their shop. The river was beautiful with some fun, easy rapids and treacherous rope swings. On Sunday, we hiked the overlook trail and explored the turkey roost trails. The overlook trail provided a very sad, dead view. In the turkey roost area, we only saw two turkeys from afar. I would not come here expecting to see a wild turkey show. This is a river park though, and the paddling was great. read more

See all

Very nice park. The staff is very nice and helpful. But they need to spend more time with bathhouse cleanliness read more

See all

Nice Texas State Park. Been there many times. Clean restrooms, friendly staff. Lots of wildlife and birds to see.

You can get all the details about camping, picnicking, etc. on the TPWD website, so I won't address any of that. Instead, I'll focus on the trails! For starters, this state park has PERFECT trail signage - it's the FIRST state park I've found that I can honestly say this about. None of the trails are rough, treacherous, or rocky, but there are a couple of modest elevation gains on Golden Cheeked Warbler Trail and West Canyon Trail. The "Front Country" has plenty of shade, but the "Back Country" is mostly in the sun, so bring a hat and/or plenty of sunscreen. Overlook Trail is actually an old paved road, but it's very steep. So steep that they don't let bicycles on it. Great views of the park from the top of this trail, so take a few minutes to check this one out. Great views from GCW trail too. From OCT through MAR, the Front Country trail areas are only open from 10a to 3p so as not to disturb the wild turkeys when they roost. read more

See all

A slice of Paradise under the Texas skies. I only wished there place to place our kayaks without having to hike up and down dangerous trails to place them into the water. I have a bone disease, which makes me a little more cautious. I did notice they are working to improve the park. Hopefully they include a safer place for people enter and exit with their kayaks. read more

See all

Love it if you area birder fun river float great camp ground dark sky area so star gazing is great keep your eyes open for deer and turkeys

Visit this state park with my son's Troop, from Katy TX. It's a pretty nice 4-5 hour country drive. And about 5 miles from Junction TX. Headquarters, is where you check in. Very professional, and polite. They also offer very few selective souvenirs & essentials. You could get sun screen, and informative brochures, as well as $5 scout patch, $4 pins $5 staff markers (which I collect for my little trooper. Headquarters have $8 per floating tubes, available for rent, from open till 8pm. The office close at 4pm. However you must return the tubes and place them on the Porch. The host were friendly and polite, they were happy to assist. They allow me to locate my son's troop who we were joining, as well as point it out, as well as marked it on a map where they camp site was and were they trailer was park, while the troop visit the river. Which is Awesome. That lets me know this park is well patrolled. I wish the river had more accommodating signs such as depths of water. Their were areas were as the water were deep. And beware of river snakes . We spotted One taking a swim while we were tubing. Cool Crawfish is also found in the river. They have a full restroom in a common area. It offers two showers, and three toilets. Heads up, the afternoon can be a line for the showers. The water was still hot. Shower are nice. Fully indoors, have two seating area inside stall. One out of the water to place shower gear/bag with 4 hooks available. Other seat in front of shower head, for your comfort. Tip: if driving, when leaving the showers, and you want to visit the headquarters, it's ONE WAY only, you have to drive around to go back to it. No store is available at his state park, other than the gift shop station inside the welcome center/ Headquartered. The rest room at the camp site reminds me of Slum dog millionaire. It's literally an outhouse. A toilet that has no water, no flush. Just a designated compose located at the bottom where all human waste is later covered. Toilet paper is provided. No sink. No water. But theirs a sanitizer bottle to cleanse your hands. I need water and soap. Definitely a campsite that could use a bit reconstruction. Especially being a State park. You have to have a membership. Or pay daily access fees of $5 per person. And $5 per vehicle. read more

Tubin' and bikin'! This is a beautiful park out just west of San Antonio near Junction. This park is a pretty good sized one too. They have a bit of water access, where you can tube or swim, and a large 'Back Country' area where you can go hiking, biking or camping. Most of the park is crammed into the northern section of the park, all along the river, or right off of it. There's a tube, kayak, or canoe launch point at the bridge, and the takeout is about a mile downstream. Overall, the water was fairly slow moving, cool, and pretty green. I got bitten by a turtle! I didn't see too many people fishing in this river. The back country area is a vast, undeveloped area with paths that take you through canyons and up to the top of the hills that surround the park. There's no water out there, so bring your own. There is a spigot at the start of the Agarita Trail near park HQ. Beyond that, you're on your own. The paths are pretty well maintained. When I went, there were a lot of fallen trees that were blocking a lot of the paths. It looked like they'd had a pretty massive storm in recent history. The park is a IDA dark sky campsite, and they ask that you turn down your lights after sundown so you can see the stars better. There sure are a lot of them out here! read more

This is my favorite Texas State Park. I keep coming back. The trails are well maintained and have interesting variety. The back country trails are very distinct from the river trails. During spring and summer when the sun is out the river is a spectacular turquoise color reminiscent of the Caribbean Sea. This is one of the premiere birding destinations in Texas. Their bird blinds are phenomenal, particularly mid-May to late July. Painted and Indigo Buntings abound. I have also seen Blue Grosbeaks on the river trails. The armadillos are abundant! I have seen more here than anywhere else in Texas by far. The rangers are soooo nice! Not that they aren't nice in other Texas State Parks but the ones here seem extra warm and friendly! read more

See all

Gorgeous park and beautiful river. Birding all around. Maurice's in Junction has the best pork tacos ever!

This park is AMAZING! It's clear as day that safety & conservation is their top priority. read more

See all

Not really having fun but it ok I guess. The people are nice. The river was warm. I seen a snake in the water so I immediately got out of the river. Ohh and some of the water is super deep and I had fell out of my tube. that could've been bad. I can swim ‍ but I wasn't expecting that. I mean most parts were so shallow that I could feel my bottom side drag across the rocks. Honestly it probably is a pretty cool place. I'm giving it a one star because of the experience I'm having. With that being said, it's nothing against the park. I would come back and give it another go. Just so I could have a wonderful experience. Being outdoors and enjoying the greatness of nature should be fun and happy, just full of energy and enjoyment. I'm not having that feeling as of right now. My review may be a little bitter but hey the yelp experience is about telling how you feel? Take in the things that you do and share it. read more

This is a great park with some nice water features. It is very similar to most other state parks as far as features go, so I won't really expand on that. At the entrance of the park you pass over a bridge. The river goes under that bridge and it is a perfect spot where lots of people hang out. Make sure to bring an inner tube for the kids, as the water speeds up under the bridge and empties into a large pool. You can also go tubing on the river if you're willing to park halfway between the bridge and the takeout point closer to the campsites. It's not a thrill ride, but it's a nice relaxing float. There's also a pond you can go fishing at, but I've never caught anything there other than some tiny bluegill (which made my daughter happy). Lots of critters everywhere, especially at night. The only ding on SLRSP is its relative isolation from other places. That's not an issue for a lot of people, so if you're in that category then my review should be 5 stars for you. read more

See all

Relaxing and camping underneath the stars definitely recommend this campsite for those wanting real relaxing and tranquility. Facilities were clean and available. read more

Personally, my favorite state park in the Texas State Parks System. Dark skies, clear flowing river, 20+ miles of hike and bike trails, more wildlife than you could imagine, great campsites. Best kept secret in the Hill Country. read more

What used to be a working ranch is now a beautiful family friendly state park. Camping with water and electric sites for RVs and tents and also walk-in and primitive sites for tents only. Restoom facility have private showers with hot water and flushable toilets and cleaned everyday. The staff are great. Very knowledgeable and friendly. I noticed the State Police / Game Wardens patrol the park frequently which is a plus in my book. No Silly it's not like you're in a prison camp. It just keeps the Riff Raff out if you know what I mean? I go camping to enjoy the peace and quiet of the outdoors not to experience frat parties. Anyway I encountered a lot of Wildlife while on all the trails. From Whitetail and axis deer, squirrels, opossum, armadillos, Hogs, Roadrunners, Red tail lizards, rabbits and turkeys. Speaking of turkeys. It is home to one of the largest Roost areas in Texas to the Rio Grande turkey. They also have numerous bird blind sanctuaries placed throughout the park which are really cool. Seen some beautiful birds and rock squirrels. Oh my Heavens did I mention the Stars? South Llano River State Park is also a international dark sky Park. Which basically means the stars are amazing at night. If you like to hike, bike, tube or kayak they have it here at this park. I mountain biked over 20 miles of beautiful, steep, rugged, easy, scenic, hard, breathtaking trails they had to offer. The backcountry was the best. I was absolutely all alone. Not a soul in sight. Perfect so peaceful and quiet but know how to read a map mind you some phones or GPS do not work back there. The park headquarters do offer GPS devices and believe it or not people have been lost back there. FYI.. bring plenty of water, some snacks and sunscreen. I Hiked to the top of the highest point in the ranch to the amazing Scenic Overlook at sunset and kayaked 2 miles up the beautiful, spring-fed South Llano River. Most of the people preferred to tube down the river or play at the bridge area. The park do offer rentals for tubes and also there is a place that rents kayaks nearby. Also there is a Lowes grocery store in Junction which is about 4 miles from the park. So Once again if you like to getaway like myself and go camp, hike, bike, tube, kayak and enjoy the beauty of nature like myself. You must come visit South Llano River State Park. read more

See all

We camped for two nights with two dogs in mid-Sept (after Labor Day) and it was surprisingly very crowded. Really nice water/electric drive-in camp. I hear the primitive sites are 1.8 mile hike and no open pit fires allowed. Bathrooms and showers were clean and kept near our site. Mostly older folks when we went so the atmosphere was very chill and quite for sleeping--no loud parties. Lock up your food at night--the armadillos are not afraid of people. We kayaked the South Llano River both Sat and Sun with our dogs. Drop-in around noon at 377 bridge, upstream from the park (30°21'43.5"N 99°53'21.4"W). Plenty of parking and very easy unload gear. From there we paddled the trail back to the state park bridge. Our pace was casual so we finished in 6-7 hrs. We only passed one other fishing canoe but otherwise river was deserted--very tranquil water and peaceful scene. It was between 11-12 miles of paddling. In general though, this part of the trip was very slow moving and had a lot of large pools good for fishing. On day two, we again kayaked but this time dropped in at the state park bridge and continued paddling downstream on the trail to Flatrock Ln in Junction, TX. BTW, Flatrock Ln bridge is very, very nice place to play with your dog, have a picnic, or in our case, relax after a day of kayaking. This leg of the trip took ~4 hrs which included a 1 hour break for swimming along the way. In general, this stretch was shallower and consequently has faster moving water. Dogs liked it more because they could run along with us instead of swim. Just for your reference, before we left, I looked for "Llano Rv nr Junction, TX" on USGS website and their chart showed Discharge, CFM around 100. That being said, I probably wouldn't plan to kayak if the flow was much less. There were several places along the way where kayak touched bottom. read more

South Llano River State Park - Drive in camp site - Parks Near Me - Junction, Texas

Love! So peaceful! Can not wait to come back. We loved hiking, the store where you buy passes & the beautiful quiet scenery!

Ample parking and easy walking trail to the river. Farley wide, pretty clear, and gorgeous blue green color! This park wasn't as crowded as others. Much more rugged too with abundant cacti. Definitely worth a stop and a dip! read more

See all

We stayed here for a weekend during June 2 years ago during the endless summer o' rain. Our campsite was just a hundred yards or so from one of their two fancy-schmancy bird blinds. It is an actual room with a viewing window that looks out onto a fenced in water fountain area with bird feed and local bird-attracting plants. They had guides inside to help us identify what we saw. We also went on a 3 hour hike while we were there munching on Agarita berries that we picked along the way. ;) Beautiful views but quite hot in June and pretty much no shade along the trails. When the sun came out for a bit we headed down to the low bridge and repeatedly tubed under it (barely...the water was high!) into a pool of water that filtered into the river. Only one kid was pulled down river but my husband caught her just in the nick of time. Phew. Wildlife we saw (besides all the birds) included a rabbit that lived in the briar patch by the restrooms and some kind of ground squirrel that shared our campsite with us. The coolest thing by far that we saw were Dung Beetles! Who knew watching beetles roll some poop around would be so mesmerizing?!? read more

We camped in South Llano River State Park this weekend and it felt like we were in some version of outdoors jail. The rangers there seem to stop and question everyone. You feel like you're doing something wrong and unwelcome. 1. Driving in we were given a ticket. The speed drops from 40 to 30 to 15 quickly and there's a ranger waiting to give you a ticket if you don't decelerate quickly enough. Now we have to return to Junction, TX in person for the ticket in August?!? 2. The night we got in two rangers came to our campsite and gave us a talking to for drinking. They said if we want to drink it has to be in our tents!!!! That's right, no polite conceal your beer policy and no drinking on the river. 3. We spent a sober day on the river drinking our water and the ranger still yelled at us for having our very tame dog off her leash (on the water). 4. As we left we saw rangers questioning everyone in the parking lot to the river entrance to see who was drinking. If you don't want to spend vacation being harassed then stay away. Unfortunately it would be a great spot. The place is lovely and that is the only reason I gave it two stars: I saw so really neat wildlife and the water is very peaceful. read more

My family and I stayed here for a night. The camp grounds were very clean. The bathrooms were clean. The community was nice. The park hosts were nice and very attentive. Everyone was very friendly. The walk to the river was 15 to 20 minutes and most of it was shady. It kids friendly but very quiet. Plenty of wildlife to look at. Beautiful cardinals flying everywhere and lots of hummingbirds. My kids saw an armadillo and lots of deer very close to the camp site. At night plenty of lightning bugs to watch. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a peaceful camping experience. We had running water and electricity. Campers and RV'S are welcome. Don't forget to bring your tubes. read more

I honestly dont think it possible to put into words the experience of camping here. Its deep in the heart of Texas, with a heat that is just awsome, the birds chirping (And there are too many to mention them all) as well as the deer and turkeys. Did I mention turkeys? The swimming isnt the greatest but then we usually drive to Garner S.P. which is about 30 to 40 minutes away and that is a whole other review in itself. My family has camped here several years in a row now and we are headed back this June (2018) for a week that so far has been magical. BTW . . . Im from North East Texas and Ive never seen the stars at night like we see them here. Its truly worth a visit. read more

See all

Me and a group of friends just went there this past week and let's just say that everything was going great,the campsites were nice the wildlife was great the staff were nice to a certain extent but when it came to the parks and wildlife police/Ranger I believe that they definitely need to talk to someone about them. We were there for four days and three nights. The first day we got there was Thursday everything was fine the campsite was beautiful and we even indulged in a little swimming. The second day Friday everything is going great we went down the river floating came back had a little dinner and we started to drink. To my knowledge a lot of other Texas Parks don't allow glass bottles which is fine and some are even more lenient where they only want you to be drinking in your campsite, but here it seems like you can't be drinking at all because that night we were making a little bit too much noise, but due too Close campsites that wasn't hard to do. So around 10:30pm which we didn't know that quite time is 10 we were visited by the Ranger and it felt that he was already gonna give us a ticket no matter what. He came to our campsite wanting everyone's ID and he assumed that everything in a cooler was alcohol and everything everyone was drinking was alcohol and for that reason he was going to ticket everybody, but he didn't know is because he didn't ask or didn't listen to anybody, that one of those people doesn't drink alcohol due to medical reasons. And he still was gonna give that person the ticket just because everyone else had alcohol. So he gave everyone an option to either one person gets the ticket or everybody gets the ticket and what was very strange is that he was surprised that someone came up and said that they were going to take the ticket so everyone didn't have to get a ticket. So now that person who got a ticket has to deal with the ticket from Junction when they live in Austin. The other thing that kind a got under our skin was the fact that we had one campsite where you can have a max of eight people and if you go over that limit your charged an overflow fee which is fine I get that but what's weird or kind of upsetting is that the people at HQ get mad at you if you have extra people. Which makes no sense because if the people are paying overflow charges then you shouldn't be upset but they were. So overall this camp is very pretty you can see the stars at night, but if you want to go somewhere and have a good time with lots of people and just enjoy nature maybe have a few drinks or so this might not be the best camp for you unless you have an RV and family because it seems like that's the only demographic that they're going for. I definitely won't be coming back to this park just because I don't want to feel that I always have to watch over my back because some ranger wants to give a ticket out and make his quota. read more

Camped @ South Llano River State Park in a 29' Fifth Wheel RV 6/20/2017. Stayed for 2 nights. Gravel surface bike trails in good condition, well maintained. Park is clean and well maintained. Did not use public shower/restroom facilities. Hiking trails were very nice, mostly shaded. Swimming/river area looked inviting. Lots of kids having fun. Didn't swim in the river this trip but will try tubing the next time we visit. Camped @ site 57, worked well for us with our 13' high RV. Other sites possible "big rig" compatible, 55,53,52,45,46,42,40,39,13,39,38,34,27,23,22,13,9,5,4,2. The negatives: Main RV loop roadway has lots of low hanging tree branches. Tall RV's like mine will have to duck and dodge to prevent roof damage. Mentioned this to park staff and will see if they take action. With a little bit of trimming, this park would be a great destination for the higher end "big rigs". Also, all RV sites are 30 amp service. Overall, we had a great time and will probably return. read more

Our family had a wonderful camping vacation at this beautiful state park. Great shade trees throughout the park and at the campsites. The river was flowing just right for an easy and relaxing float. Plenty of wildlife to watch (turkeys, various types of deer, amardillos, possums, and birds). It is a very quiet park and the camp sites and restrooms are very well maintained and clean. The rangers and park hosts were very friendly. We are already planning our next trip back. read more

One of the best parks I've ever visited! Very well maintained and has great staff. The four bird blinds are perfect for photographing Painted Buntings, Black-throated Sparrows, Western Scrub Jays, Black-crested Titmice etc. and for people who like birds but aren't birders. read more