This past weekend was amazing! I went camping at Pedernales Falls State Park and hiked a few trails. This by far has been the most challenging hikes I have done, yet it was so worth it. Pedernales Falls is beautiful and has a lot of wildlife to see.
The Pedernales River was absolutely beautiful, and the water was very refreshing after a long day's hike. I was expecting the water to be freezing from what I was told by other visitors, however it was a great temperature and clear. Getting to the river from the campsite was a bit of a challenge. You basically climbed down a cliff and wedged yourself in between rocks to get down. While I was visiting the river, I made dinner, the "Willis camping dinner". Way back when I would go backpacking with my family, we always had pita bread and canned chicken. This may not sound all to good or filling, however it is the best and easy to carry for backpacking. I did spice things up and cook mini sweet peppers and tomatoes alongside the pitta bread and chicken. Primitive campsites do not allow camp fires, so I improvised with my Coleman Portable Butane Stove.
Food I packed:
Pocket Pita Bread (Resealable bag)
Swanson Canned Chicken
Mini Sweet Peppers
Grape Tomatoes
Montreal Seasoning
Trail Mix
Blueberry Granola Bars (Gluten Free)
Gogo Squeez Applesauce (Gluten and Nut Free)
Bananas
I stayed at the Primitive Campsites, which was a two-mile hike on Wolf Mountain Trail from my car. A two-mile hike normally does not sound intimidating, but let me tell you I was worn out. Wolf Mountain Trail is the most challenging trail in the Park. The trail is through the hill country, so you went from up hill to down hill in minutes with a rocky terrain. Most of the campsites were flat and cleared, so sleeping on rocks was not a problem, and there are plenty of trees to hang your food and backpack. Through the night, there were a few visitors. A very persistent raccoon wanted the food bag, so for about an hour I had to scare him off, and then he finally gave up to let me sleep. There was a very friendly armadillo that came right up to the tent, digging all around for food, and a few deer that passed through.
Camping at Pedernales Falls State Park
Primitive Campsites (Hike-in) - $10 Nightly
People per Site: 4
Two-mile minimum hike to this area.
Ground fires prohibited
Chemical toilets
No pets
Campsites with Electricity - $20 Nightly
Number of Sites: 69
People per Site: 8
Picnic table
Water hookup
30 amp hookup
Lantern post
Shower
Fire ring with grill
Restrooms with showers nearby
The next morning, I was up by 6:30am to start packing up my site and hike back to the car. I am very glad I did this early in the morning. The sun was just starting to rise, so the hike back was nice and cool, unlike the day before. After arriving back to the car, I went to Pedernales Falls Overlook. This trail was 1.8 miles and very easy to walk. It leads to the beautiful falls that flow over and around huge slabs of limestone. It is definitely a great place to have lunch and site see, however swimming is not permitted here.
Park Hours and passes
Open Daily from 8am til 10pm
Daily Pass $6
Texas State Parks Pass $70 Yearly
My Camping Gear
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