lil'mo

anyone know of a good place to go tent camping near Austin that allows groundfires and pets?

Mean Machine

We've enjoyed these a lot in the past year:
Inks Lake SP
Buescher SP
Palmetto SP
The burn ban is lifted so no problem with that and pets on leash are welcomed. All are within 90 minutes of town.
enjoy the journey,

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Gary
Round Rock, TX

Turn Key

Welcome aboard! Hope you find the help you need.

How about McKinney Falls SP? Right in your backyard. Nice park.

Happy Camping!

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4everfrio

There are lots of places to go. McKinney Falls is very close. It's a nice place to go if your just starting out.
There are also corp lakes that have good camping spots. Georgetown and Granger are just north of Austin. Nothing fancy, just a good place to get away for the weekend and wet a hook.

lil'mo

Inks Lake is only 90 minutes from town?? That's where I originally wanted to go after passing by it heading west on 29 a couple of weeks ago. But looking on the map it seemed too far for a one night trip.
The view of the park from the highway is awe-inspiring, i can only imagine what it's like whe you are inside!
I also tried Palmetto SP a couple of months ago and was pleased, but not blown away.
I'll look up Buescher SP and see what's going on over there, thanks for the advice!

lil'mo

McKinney Falls was defintely my second option after Inks, i just wasnt sure what the rules were regarding pets, campfires, and wood gathering. Also, are the rivers there easily accesible for wading/swimming/playing fetch with dog??

thanks for the input guys!

happybooker1

If you checkout tpwd.com they have links to every park. If you follow the links you will find info from each park on aminities, pets allowed, campfires, etc. All in one handy place!!

Turn Key

Inks Lake really is outstanding with some great camping. I would say that it's probably a bit far for a one night trip. We go there for 7-8 days at a stretch and that's not long enough . Great, great park.

Have not camped at McKinney Falls but did drive through a few years ago. Camping facilities looked very nice. Pets are allowed on leash and you must clean up after them. Unless there is a "burn ban" (not at this time, as far as I know), campfires are allowed. Suggest you bring your own wood as anything sold at the park will be a bit pricey. Wood gathering of any sort is strictly taboo ! Didn't check out the river but I understand that swimming is allowed unless the flow rate drops too low. It will sometimes in the later part of summer. That slow/non-moving water is not real safe to swim in.

Hope this helps and you enjoy your trip. When you have a bit more time, make sure you get to all the parks in the Hill Country. They are all pretty great. Here's a site to give you a bit more info on those parks. Site will give you more info on the park system as well. I have written some reviews on a number of those parks. Let me know if your interested and I post the site references.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/f.../hill_country/

Good luck and happy camping!

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BigBendHiker

McKinney Falls State Park is a great place for camping. Highly recommend it.

BBH

CyberCelt

Check the LCRA parks system on Lake Travis, Krause Springs in Spicewood, Blanco State Park, and Lockhart State Park.

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CyberCelt

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