Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Xanne
Hello again everyone!
I was also considering going on my backpacking campout at Guadalupe River State Park. Does anyone know much about the primitive campsites there?
Thanks,
Michael
|
The "primitive" campsites aren't really primitive, at least not in the same sense as the primitive-classified ones at Pedernales. There's a gravel parking lot and then you walk on a flat dirt path for less than 1/4 mile (or a few hundred yards, depending on which site you choose) and that's it. Picnic tables, tent pads, and water spigots available. No power. Composting toilet(s) at the parking area and a children's playground equipment area in a small wooded median in the parking area. Last time I drove through the area (back in April of this year) they were doing a lot of construction -- upgrading to either a non-composting toilet or perhaps creating additional ones, it seemed. Couldn't tell for certain if the campground was open or not -- it wasn't blocked, but there was no one there and there were a lot of contractors/construction vehicles that needed access to the same roadway I took to check out the area. You wouldn't really be "hiking" to your campsite, and the only hiking trail directly accessible from these sites is the river frontage trail, not the longer multi-use trail which permits some sense of backpacking (I last hiked it in April, though only about 4.2 miles of it -- en totale it's about 6 miles, despite what the park map says.)
I love that park, but I don't know that I'd classify the sites as primitive compared to say Pedernales' hike-in sites, or even Hill Country State Natural Area (another park in gravel lot and 'walk-in' camping experience, though there are true backpack-in sites that require 2-4+ mile hikes to access the sites. That'll be my first place to go backpacking, just because it's relatively 'close' to me and I'm very familiar with the park from many dayhikes and camping trips in the less-primitive, walk-in sites.
Hope this helps.