Tired of Crowds at Texas State Parks? Try an LCRA Park.

Fresh off a ninety-minute hike that led me down a rocky hillside, past the crumbling remains of an old stone chimney, and onto a sandy beach along Lake Travis, just east of Marble Falls, I ease myself into a steamy outdoor tub and tip back my head. Dang, I think. Parks have gotten fancy.

Texans often visit parks to do typical outdoorsy stuff: hike, jump in a river, pitch a tent, and maybe grill up a few burgers. But those seeking more unexpected adventures should consider the string of Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) parks, including Shaffer Bend Recreation Area, just more than an hour northwest of Austin, where I stayed in that luxury tent. The LCRA—a public utility created in 1934—not only produces and delivers electric power and manages about six hundred miles of the Colorado River, but it operates 42 public parks from the Hill Country to the Texas Gulf Coast, roughly following the Colorado’s trajectory. That’s almost 11,000 acres of parkland to enjoy.

While some of these parks lack the marquee attractions that Instagram-minded travelers may expect when they head to Enchanted Rock or Pedernales Falls, that’s all the better when it means you’re rewarded with fabulous amenities. At various LCRA parks, visitors can zoom over a wide valley on a zip line, play miniature golf, or take an archery class. You can still hike, swim, camp, or grill in LCRA’s parks, but you also can book a night in a fully furnished tent or a shiny Airstream trailer.

Crucially, LCRA parks are much lesser known and less visited than Texas’s beloved but overburdened state parks. Annual visitation for LCRA’s facilities was about 1.5 million visitors in 2023, versus TPWD’s more than 9.2 million. Also worth noting: unlike at Parks and Wildlife sites, all LCRA parks and their assorted accommodations are pet friendly.

LCRA has worked to to develop each park as its own distinctive destination, says Margo Richards, the group’s vice president of community resources. “Some have glamping, some have primitive camping, some have RV spots,” Richards says. “Each park has its own personality, and all of our parks are located on a body of water—the Colorado River or a tributary or a lake.” What could be better during our brutally hot summers? Here are five of our favorites.

Lake Bastrop North Shore Park

Bastrop

If your idea of camping involves air-conditioning, put this 182-acre, pine-studded property, about 37 miles southeast of Austin, on your list. In 2018, LCRA wheeled in five Airstream trailers, gave them all Texas-inspired names, such as Blue Lacy (our official state dog breed), and set up firepits and seating areas around each. A few years later it installed upscale cabins and a cluster of safari-style tents. These accommodations have AC; the Airstreams and cabins feature private bathrooms. Each cabin also includes an outdoor grill and a bubbling hot tub. Glampers can even arrange to inflate a portable screen and watch a movie outdoors.

Lakeside trails beckon, too, including the short and snappy Buzzard Point loop, adjacent to the campground, and the longer path that leads to another LCRA property, Lake Bastrop South Shore Park. Or rent a kayak, paddleboard, or small fishing craft. Just remember that Lake Bastrop is used to cool hot water emerging from nearby power plants and can reach temperatures in the nineties by July.

Matagorda Bay Nature Park

Matagorda

Located right where the Colorado River flows into the Gulf of Mexico, this destination, about one hundred miles below Galveston, is the southernmost in LCRA’s lineup. Visitors can park their RV or camper, stay a night in a sleek Airstream, or book one of ten new upscale beach bungalows on stilts, each with a kitchen and a large deck. The RV area isn’t exactly scenic—think two paved loops with a few palm trees scattered here and there—but the bathrooms gleam.

You can fish from two lighted piers, stroll along a sandy beach, or play a round of mini golf. Most folks see only the developed part of the 1,334-acre park, but you can rent a kayak from headquarters and paddle across the Colorado River to one of the best shelling beaches in the state. Or head across the highway to explore the watery kayak trails that slice through marshlands. The nature center offers organized activities, such as archery, for a small fee.

McKinney Roughs Nature Park

Cedar Creek

Two thousand years ago, prehistoric hunter-gatherers camped in this area east of Austin, at the convergence of four ecosystems—blackland prairie, East Texas Piney Woods, post oak savanna, and a riparian zone. Today visitors come to McKinney Roughs to bike, hike, or horseback ride on trails that meander through forests of loblolly pine and oak. Some also visit for the chance to swoop over valleys on the park’s side-by-side zip lines.

Stop by the visitors center to check out exhibits that include an aquarium stocked with native species of fish or to borrow birding binoculars, a magnifying glass for looking at plants, or a bug jar for collecting insects. The trails are beginner friendly for cyclists—mostly dirt, without much of that sharp limestone common in Central Texas. You can rent an electric mountain bike to explore on your own or book a guided tour on a utility terrain vehicle. There’s no camping, but you can book a bunkhouse that sleeps ten or dormitories for larger groups. 

Muleshoe Bend Recreation Area

Spicewood

The sea of bluebonnets at Muleshoe Bend Recreation Area attracts flower peepers in March and April, but if you’re into mountain biking, put this spot on your list for any time of year. The Austin Ridge Riders cycling club built the park’s network of nearly ten miles of biking paths, including the 6.5-mile Great Escape Trail, which serves up tight turns, ledgy drops, and fast, zoom-y stretches. Then you can wade into Lake Travis to cool off. The camping’s good, with sites nicely spaced along the lakefront. Activities include periodic guided night hikes where participants armed with black lights search for scorpions and spiders that fluoresce after dark.

Shaffer Bend Recreation Area

Marble Falls

Think of Shaffer Bend as a two-layer cake. From the top, you get sweeping views of the surrounding Hill Country. Take the main park road or the steep and rocky Dagger Trail down to the lower layer, which hugs the upper reaches of Lake Travis, and you’ll find sandy pocket beaches and thickets of trees. Five miles of paths cut through this 508-acre expanse, serving up mostly beginner terrain for mountain biking, hiking, or running. Horseback riding is allowed on several trails here. Look hard and you’ll find the crumbling remains of an old chimney and well just off the Homestead Trail. 

The park, which has 22 primitive campsites, recently put in the luxurious safari-style tent with a king-size bed, a bathroom, a microwave, a sink, and dishware. You can arrange to have a chef cook a meal on-site or order a grill-it-yourself kit. In addition to the cowboy pool and firepit, the rental includes the use of a pair of electric mountain bikes and kayaks.

Choose your Hill Country Adventure

Six other LCRA parks to know.

For Fun and Games

Black Rock Park, Buchanan Dam

Rent a cabin or Airstream at this park on Lake Buchanan, where you can swim in a shallow cove, play sand volleyball, or toss horseshoes.

For Campsites With a View

Camp Creek Park, Marble Falls

Sleep right by the upper reaches of Lake Travis in your own tent, or rent one of six from this forty-acre property (available from October through Memorial Day).

For True Trailblazers

Grelle Recreation Area, Spicewood

This 276-acre hideaway hugs an isolated cove on the south shore of Lake Travis. Seven miles of multiuse trails wind through leafy oak motts, drawing cyclists, equestrians, and mountain
bikers.

For a Refreshing Dip

Jessica Hollis Park, Austin

The bracing water flowing out of Lake Travis and into Lake Austin draws serious swimmers and folks looking to cool off.

For Going With the Flow

Pedernales River Nature Park, Johnson City

Fish, paddle, or swim in a dammed-up section of the Pedernales.

For Sleeping Under the Trees

Turkey Bend Recreation Area, Marble Falls

You’ll find shady hollows perfect for pitching a tent at this 1,146-acre park. Bonus: new trails are coming soon.

This article appeared in the August 2024 issue of Texas Monthly with the headline “Literally the Coolest Public Parks in Texas.” It originally published online on March 12, 2024, and has since been updated. Subscribe today.