Rustic, rural and beautiful are three adjectives that describe Colorado Bend State Park. Located near Bend, Texas (population 1,678), the closest towns of any size and substance are San Saba (22 miles northwest) and Lampasas (27 miles to the east). Our family spent the weekend there recently and had such a good time that we’re already planning a trip back in the spring to hike more of the trails – and likely repeat a few also.
OVERVIEW
Colorado Bend doesn’t have some of the amenities many other state parks have. The only paved road in the park runs from the entrance to the ranger station / park store, and you will have very limited, if any, cell reception. So, if you need to communicate with others, it will require a GPS device like the Garmin inReach Mini that we bring in case of an emergency when we don’t have cell reception. There are no flush toilets (all of them are raised, composting toilets) or indoor showers (they have an outdoor shower near the ranger station / park store), and there is no water or electricity at any of the campsites. There are several potable water spigots, and the camp store sells bottled waters and sports drinks (among other items). However, you’ll need to have cash to purchase most of the items in the store. You can pay with a credit card for t-shirts, hats and other items like that, but all the food and drinks, along with firewood and ice, require you to pay with cash or check.
Other amenities include a boat ramp for launching on the Colorado River to paddle and/or fish, and the ranger station rents both single and tandem kayaks (current rates are $10 per hour and $15 per hour, respectively). Paddling up-river to Gorman Falls and back is a roughly nine-mile round trip, while paddling down river and back to Spicewood Springs is a 1.5 mile round trip. Also, you’ll want to keep in mind that, due to the wind direction, it is often more difficult paddling down-river (into the wind) rather than paddling up-river. Finally, there are caves in the area – paid tours have been offered in the past, but these are not currently being offered.
CAMPING
There are several types of campsites at the park. The two backpack camping areas require that you hike in (0.6 for the Backcountry River Area (sites no. 1 and 3 seemed like the best of the eight options) and 1 mile for the Backcountry Windmill Area), providing no amenities and allowing no campfires. The other 47 campsites are all off the main road on either side of the ranger station / camp store, all of which have easy access to the river and offer great stargazing at night. Fifteen sites are drive-up, where you set up your tent near the parking spot for your vehicle. These are roughly 75 yards from the river, and they all have a fire ring and a covered picnic table. We stayed at one of these sites (seen above on the left), as it was the only one available when we booked our site. The rest of the sites are walk-in, requiring a short walk down a slight hill to your site from the parking area (seen above on the right). They have a pole for hanging food, a fire ring and an uncovered picnic table. There are also three group sites of differing sizes that can be reserved: Grey Fox and Canyon can hold up to 16 people each, while River Area can accommodate up to 48. If you prefer more amenities, then there are two private campgrounds (Barefoot Camp and Sulphur Springs) that provide RV hookups located a short distance from the park – the main challenge with this approach is that you’ll need to make sure to obtain both a reservation at the private campground and a day pass for each day you want to enter Colorado Bend State Park.
TRAILS
There are 35 miles of trails, according to the park website, ranging from wide and flat sections to rocky and narrow ones. While the Gorman Falls Trail receives the most attention and traffic, we found the two others trails that we hiked to be far more enjoyable and scenic. Overall, we only hiked roughly six miles of trails, so there is a great deal more to explore on our next trip. A park map is available here, a trail map is available here, and the map below has been marked to note the trails we hiked.
The Gorman Falls Trail is a roughly three-mile out-and-back trail. We decided to hike this trail before setting up camp, since the parking area for the trailhead is just past the entrance gate and because it is a nearly six-mile drive down to the camping area with a speed limit of 20 miles per hour. It has limited shade, so bring plenty of water, along with a hat and sunscreen. It’s a combination of dirt and rock, with some very rocky portions, but it has limited elevation changes until you approach the falls. At that point, there is a steep descent down rocks that have been worn smooth from all the foot traffic. So, you’ll want to use the wire railing on that section as it’s easy to slip – particularly if there is any moisture on the rocks.
The falls were pretty and worth the hike, but they were far more majestic in the photos that we saw online (see here, here and here) prior to our trip. While there is always water flowing, the amount of recent rain seems to determine whether the waterfall is closer what we saw or what is shown online in the links above. While you are near the falls, take one of the well-worn side paths near the deck area to view the Colorado River – and take note of the old car mostly buried under dirt near the water’s edge (see the left and middle images below). Keep in mind that this is an environmentally sensitive area, so be sure not to cross the cables put up to keep the area around the falls safe.
After leaving the falls, you’ll have to ascend the steepest part of the trail (seen above on the right) and then you can either retrace your route back to the parking area or take a connecting trail over to the Gorman Spring Trail. I would highly recommend the latter, as we enjoyed the Gorman Spring Trail far more than the Gorman Falls Trail. This is also an out-and-back trail, which offers a stroll alongside Gorman Creek. You’ll cross the creek a few times and end up at Gorman Spring, which is the turn-around point (see images below). After resting at the spring and collecting some water to filter later (since I left the water filter in the car by mistake), we headed back to the parking area and then drove down to our campsite to set up our tent for the evening.
On Sunday morning, we drove to the parking area near the boat ramp and hiked part of the Spicewood Springs Trail. This turned out to be our favorite of the three we hiked, with the Gorman Creek Trail being a close second. You cross the creek several times, the trail stays close to the water the entire way, and it feels like you are “chasing waterfalls,” as my wife put it, because there are so many on this hike (see images below).
According to the map, the Spicewood Springs Trails is 1.3 miles in length, and we hiked roughly 0.33 miles up the trail before turning around. Accounting for the just over half-mile connecting trail from the parking area, this out-and-back hike was almost two miles in length. There is a great deal of shade on the trail and the distance isn’t an issue, but it is a very rocky trail with a few short sections where the trail is near a drop off, so you’ll want to keep a hand on younger children during these portions. You can wade / swim in Spicewood Springs, as well as the river – though the Colorado tends to be muddy, so I’d recommend sticking with the spring for any swimming and just paddle the river.
On the way back to the car, I quickly hiked up to the scenic overlook near the beginning of the Spicewood Canyon Trail. The roughly quarter mile round-trip from the connecting trail is worth it, and I imagine the view will be even better in another week or two when the maple leaves change colors a bit more.
SUMMARY
Don’t let the lack of amenities keep you from visiting Colorado Bend State Park. Whether you drive out for the day or spend a night or two, you’ll have a great time disconnecting and spending time on the trails – particularly if you hike the Spicewood Springs and/or Gorman Spring trails. It is a beautiful part of the state that we look forward to visiting for years to come.
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