I’m on a mission to discover all the outdoor adventures tucked away in the 41 Central Texas State Parks; each one offering a unique view of this great state. In order to find the top hill country destinations, I have compiled a ranking of every Texas State Park within a 3-hour drive of Austin.
Texas Parks and Wildlife requires reservations for day and overnight use, so be sure to plan ahead.
Rating Central Texas State Parks
You’ll likely see the same few parks on every site when you google “best places to hike in Austin”. I’ve been to those – a lot, and I’m bored. I’ve set out to find the most beautiful and underrated state parks in central Texas and have not been disappointed. I started this project to discover lesser-known state parks to explore near me, so I haven’t been to all of these (yet), but places I had never heard of now sit at the top of my list for places to visit
To uncover what each park has to offer, I searched Google images, user-submitted Yelp images, the park websites, and various blogs then compiled the information into one location to make finding the best central states parks easy to research. I rated the parks based on how many attractions they have that interest me; here’s what I was looking for:
- Mountain/landscape views
- wildlife/birding
- Challenging Hikes
- Wildflowers
- Unique Attractions
The more the park has or the more unique, the higher the rating.
State Parks Near Austin
| State Park | Rating | Best For | Not Best For | Drive Time From Austin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McKinney Falls State Park | ***** | Birding, waterfall, camping, walking trails | Challenging hikes | .5 Hours |
| Bastrop State Park | * | Camping, fishing | Challenging hikes, views | 1 Hour |
| Buescher State Park | * | Lake, picnic, walking trails, views, fishing | Challenging hikes, wildlife, swimming | 1 Hour |
| Inks Lake State Park | **** | Birding, lake, swimming, camping, kayaking, swimming, scuba diving | History, unique attractions | 1 Hour |
| Lockhart State Park | * | Walking trails, picnics | Challenging hikes, views | 1 Hour |
| Longhorn Cavern State Park | ***** | Caverns, history, walking trails, experienced cavers, | Wildlife, challenging hikes, pets not allowed in caverns, camping | 1 Hour |
| Pedernales Falls State Park | **** | Waterfalls, swimming, birding | Long or challenging hikes | 1 Hour |
| Blanco State Park | *** | Swimming, tubing, fishing, camping, birding | Hiking, wildflowers, views | 1.25 Hours |
| Palmetto State Park | ***** | Lake, vegetation, walking trails, history, swimming, tubing | 1.25 Hours | |
| Colorado Bend State Park | ***** | Waterfalls, views | Shade, many parts of the trails are in an open field making summer hikes tough | 1.5 Hours |
| Lake Somerville State Park | **** | Birds, beach, wildflowers, challenging hikes | Views, fishing | 1.5 Hours |
| Lyndon B. Johnson State Park | ***** | History, wildlife, wildflowers, creeks, Christmas Decor | Camping | 1.5 Hours |
| Mother Neff State Park | ** | Walking trails, camping, watering hole, limestone wall | Views, challenging hikes | 1.5 Hours |
Weekend Camping Trips
| State Park | Rating | Best For | Not Best For | Drive Time From Austin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enchanted Rock State Natural Area | **** | Stars, views, picnics, camping | Birding | 1 Hr 45 Min |
| Old Tunnel State Park | ** | Views, Bats | Hiking, camping | 1 hr 45 min |
| Fort Parker State Park | ** | Lake, birding, fishing, walking trails | Challenging hikes, views, wildflowers | 2 hours |
| Government Canyon State Natural Area | ** | Hiking, dinosaur tracks, views, wildlife conservation | Dogs not allowed on most trails, fishing, boating | 2 Hours |
| Guadalupe River State Park | **** | Lake, river, views, swimming, birding, camping | Challenging Hikes | 2 Hours |
| Lake Whitney State Park | * | Lake, fishing, swimming, camping | Hiking, wildlife | 2 hours |
| Meridian State Park | **** | Wildflowers, camping, walking trails, birding (home to the endangered golden-cheeked warblers) | Challenging hikes | 2 hours |
| Stephen F. Austin State Park | ** | Birding, wildlife, walking trails, history | Challenging hikes, wildflowers, views | 2 hours |
| Honey Creek State Nautral Area | ***** | Creeks and streams, wildlife, wildflowers, educational guides | Hiking, camping, spontaneous trips (only available through reserved guided tours) | 2 Hours |
| Dinosaur Valley State Park | **** | Swimming, lake, dinosaur tracks, watering hole | Challenging hikes, views, birding, wildlife | 2.5 Hours |
| Goliad State Park and Historic Site | *** | Mission Rosario and Zaragoza Birthplace Historic Sites, weddings, fishing, kayaking, birding | Hiking, views, wildlife, wildflowers | 2.5 Hours |
| Hill Country State Natural Area | ***** | Horseback riding, hiking, wildlife, birding, stargazing | Swimming, fishing, boating, camping (very few campsites available) | 2.5 Hours |
| Lake Brownwood State Park | * | Camping, fishing, boating | Hiking | 2.5 Hours |
| Fort Boggy State Park | * | Lake, fishing, boating, water sports, camping, cabins | Hiking, wildlife, wildflowers | 2 hr 45 min |
| South Llano River State Park | ***** | Birding, wildlife, tubing, camping, stargazing, hiking | Wildflowers, history, education | 2 hour 45 min |
| Battleship TEXAS State Historic Site | **** | Battleship, history | Currently closed for an undetermined time frame for repairs, hiking, swimming, wildlife | 3 Hours |
| Brazos Bend State Park | ***** | Hiking, fishing, horseback riding, wildlife, birding | Stargazing | 3 hours |
| Cedar Hill State Park | *** | History, hiking, fishing | Views, camping (crowded sites) | 3 Hours |
| Choke Canyon State Park | ** | Calliham and South Shore Units, lake, birding | Hiking, views | 3 hours |
| Cleburne State Park | * | Waterfall, lake | Challenging hikes | 3 hours |
| Devil’s Sinkhole State Natural Area | ** | Bats, birding | Hiking, camping, views, lake | 3 hours |
| Garner State Park | ***** | Views, tubing, hiking, camping, lake | wildlife, wildflowers | 3 hours |
| Huntsville State Park | *** | Walking trails, lake, picnic, alligators, birding, hiking, weddings | Views, | 3 Hours |
| Lake Corpus Christi State Park | I | Birding, fishing, camping | Hiking, views | 3 hours |
| Lake Mineral Wells State Park and Trailway | ***** | Rock climbing, lake, views, hollow (similar to slot canyon), camping, hike, swim, fish, beginner and challenging hikes, birding | Wildlife | 3 Hours |
| Lost Maples State Natural Area | ***** | Fall foliage, moderately challenging hikes, views | camping (there are sites, but they are limited and book a year out), wildlife | 3 Hours |
| Palo Pinto Mountains State Park (currently under development) | **** | Views, fishing, hiking, camping stargazing. | Boating | 3 hours |
| Possum Kingdom State Park | *** | Fishing, camping | Wildlife, birding, hiking | 3 Hours |
| Sheldon Lake State Park | ** | Lake, walking trails, fishing, envrionmental education | Challenging hikes, camping, wildlife | 3 hours |
| San Angelo State Park | **** | Birding, wildlife (bison and longhorns), fishing, challenging hikes, horseback riding | Views | 3.5 hours |
Pin It For Later
