ABOUT THE PARK

I enjoyed hiking this park more than any other park in Texas... that was until a park ranger later told me, "we have every kind of poisonous snake in Texas in this park." I'm really glad I didn't know that until after the hike because this park has some of the most incredible hiking in all of the Hill Country. The main trail follows along a stream, and it is very rugged and undeveloped. There is a little climbing involved and you'll definitely need good hiking shoes for this one. There are a number of crystal clear, aquamarine colored ponds with waterfalls, and beautiful greenery all around. I really felt like I was hiking through the rain forest! I love this state park, but I prefer to visits it during the cooler months since the snake problem is less of an issue then.

In addition to hiking, there are also tours of Gorman Falls - a huge waterfall which is really breathtaking! And for the really adventurous folks, there are also cave tours through undeveloped caves. There is a walking cave tour which is pretty easy, and then there is the crawling cave tour which is not recommened for the claustrophobic, but if you can handle tight spaces it's awesome! I had a blast on the crawling cave and I highly recommend it if you think you can handle it! I've done a lot of caving in the Hill Country, and even though these caves were not the longest or the most scenic, they were some of the most fun. Lost of variety of stuff to climb on, slide down, and squeeze thru down there!

This park has something for everyone, really. The 6 mile dirt road to get into the park gives you a good idea what to expect when you get in there. It's natural, undeveloped, and unspoiled. I'd visit there more often if it wasn't such a long drive. I recommend checking out the TPWD's web page for Colorado Bend State Park since they have tour schedules and other updated info.