Justin and I have camped there -- you can read about our
overnight camping trip there in summertime. Hill Country SNA is one of my favorite parks because it's rugged, less visited/trampled, has lots of trails (for a Texas state park) and is extremely quiet at night (unlike some of the parks located near major interstates or cities).
Most of the trails in the park are multi-use, accessible to hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians. There are no 4x4 driving trails in the park, and in this instance I'm very glad for that. If you're into 4x4 driving, it's actually fairly difficult/impossible to find any Texas State Parks that permit mechanized offroad driving. Your best bet is getting in touch with a good
4x4/offroad club who either owns land or befriends private landowners, or head down to
Padre Island National Seashore where you've got 55+ miles of natural barrier island to drive on -- just stay off the dunes, as it is a protected National Park and the dunes are what keep the beach there to begin with!
Back to Hill Country SNA for a moment -- as a State Natural Area, it's one of the lesser developed public lands and that's great if you're like us and prefer natural surroundings to a park swimming pool, convnenience store, putt-putt range, etc. (not knocking those things, but to each his/her own.) Hill Country SNA actually has no potable water and no restrooms, just composting toilets, so if you've got companions who are a little wet behind the ears when it comes to camping just be sure to ease them in gently with a car camping trip somewhere a little more developed beforehand (
Guadalupe River SNA, for example).
In terms of wildlife, Hill Country's got it all.
White-tailed deer,
raccoon, lizards, various hawks and songbirds depending on the time of year, awesome cactus and great views of the surrounding undeveloped lands. And did I mention the natural quiet?
