Has anyone stayed at Hill Country State Natural Area? - Wild Texas Forums: Parks, Travel & Recreation

02-12-2003, 06:21 PM

I've been wanting to stay there for several years, but haven't yet.

I've also never heard of anyone that I know staying there. Whats it like, and are there 4x4 and equestrian trails?

Chris
Austin,TX

Shannon · 02-12-2003, 09:18 PM

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?

Shannon · 09-01-2003, 12:15 PM

UPDATE: I did a solo camping trip out there a couple months ago. You can read my three day trip report and view photos from the trip (including aerial photographs of the park, taken in August 2003).

kai · 09-22-2003, 08:27 AM

Shannon- I saw your trip report, and i think we'll head out there this fall sometime. We had actually gone out there last winter, right after we moved, but the entrance was covered in water, and we weren't willing to drive the car thru that. Now we have this truck that we don't have an emotional attachment to, so its time to try again...

I have to admit I was jealous of your solo camping trip out there. It sounded so peaceful. I have to admit, I'd be hesitant to hike or camp by myself, not because of what I might run into out there, but because of WHO I might run into. Did you have any concerns of meeting up with someone who may have bad intentions? I haven't done any research, and I have no idea what kind of crime statistics the state parks and natural areas keep, but I would worry about running into the wrong person. Maybe violent crime isn't a problem in Texas parks- I've never seen the parks too busy, so maybe there is nothing to attract "predators"(for lack of a better term) to them- the chances of finding a "victim" might be too small, and thus not worth the effort.

Back up in NE, this was defiantely something you think about. all the time. the population per square mile is a lot higher though... so i guess the chances are higher. But either last year or the year before a woman was murdered while hiking a trail i had hiked in the white mountains- she was hiking alone. and last summer while I was in Mt. Rainier NP in washington, a woman- a park volunteer- was attacked (by the same assailant for the 2nd time)- we actually had to get out of the way of the emergency personel, and didn't find out what had happened until we got home that night to watch the news. in both cases, being in the immediate vicinity around the same time was a bit chilling, and made me think twice about whether i will ever head out into the 'woods' or 'mountains' alone. which is too bad. I wish I didn't need to worry. I realize these are 2 cases out of many, many instances of women hiking and camping alone. and I'm wondering if I was going to give hiking and camping alone, should I try it while i'm in Texas? maybe its the safest spot to start something like this, to gain confidence. i'd like to head out alone- it seems to be the most natural thing for me to do. but theres this voice in the back of my head, warning me...

Shannon · 09-22-2003, 10:36 AM

I heard about both of those incidents when they were in the headlines. Someone was murdered and then dumped in Big Bend National Park not long ago, and in an unrelated incident someone from San Antonio chose to go there to commit suicide.
Anywhere there are people, they bring evil as well as good.

As I've told my husband, who was initially a little concerned with my solo camping idea for personal safety issues, I tend to feel SAFER in Texas State Parks than I would going somewhere that's "civilized". For one thing, parks tend to have fewer people than any event or gathering that occurs in the city -- indeed, fewer than even a supercenter store on any given Friday, Saturday or Sunday in a city!

When a park is crowded, such as during Spring Break or a holiday weekend, I avoid it, less out of a personal safety concern and more because I'm turned off by the theme park atmosphere and lack of natural quiet. This is true whether I'm with someone else, like my husband, or not.

It's natural to set certain "limits" for ourselves in terms of what is safe and what is not -- certainly, women learn to do it very early in life. My primary criterion is that if I go solo, the location not be too crowded -OR- if it is, that there's a reasonable assumption everyone there has similar reasons for that -- to enjoy the park's beauty, to relax, to hike/camp/fish/etc.

I was originally going to do my solo camping trip at Guadalupe River State Park near where I live, but the park was already booked. Had I camped there, I would have had to deal with a fairly large crowd, especially on Saturday when the park's population swells for family picnics and river swimming. When my husband and I have camped there on summer weekends, we usually just enjoy our campsite and immediate vicinity during peak visitation and save the trails and river for the early in the morning, before the park's open for day use visitors. Better photos, more wildlife, less noise, etc. I considered it fortuitous, actually, that Guadalupe was booked when I wanted to camp solo. I'd chosen it out of practicality -- "well, it's the closest State Park, so I'll go there." That, and I'm quite familiar with the park.

Hill Country SNA has always been one of my favorite State Parks and one reason is because it's primitive -- no drinking water, no restrooms except for a chemical toilet in each camping area, no concessions, etc. With my "easy choice" for the solo camping trip, Guadalupe River SP, removed from the picture, that freed me to go where I really wanted to anyway -- Hill Country SNA.

Hill Country SNA when I camped solo was actually quite active, compared to other summers I've visited it. However, virtually everyone there was on horseback, with their own horses -- serious riders, out for a pleasant weekend of riding with their friends and families. I couldn't have felt safer than when the group of 15+ riders came down the trail towards me... teenagers all the way up to folks in their 50s or early 60s. I did wonder to myself if I'd have reacted similarly, had the group been 15 hikers or 15 mountain bikers. 15 riders with thick Texas drawls and big grinning smiles under their cowboy and baseball hats are a little hard to compare to any other bunch of folks, y'know?

Anyway, the entire time I camped, no one else even showed up to claim the other two campsites near mine -- I don't blame them, it was one HOT and HUMID weekend.

I don't think I was taking a risk being the lone solo camper out there that weekend, and certainly the only lone female. Others might feel differently, but it was WELL within my personal safety margins.

I don't take needless risks. For example, I've lived in San Antonio nearly all my life but I avoid going to downtown San Antonio at night alone. I also avoid washing my car at the car wash near my house after dark, even though the odds are decidedly in my favor nothing would ever happen. I consider most of San Antonio pretty safe, statistically, but like your fears in the more populated NE parks, I have a healthy fear about the more populated areas of "civilization" when I'm alone. There is a crime potential everywhere, however, and that's what is important to remember.

kai · 09-22-2003, 05:45 PM

well, thank you for sharing your thoughts on that with me, i appreciate your prespective. there are definately limits you have to set. i used to work in the field alone a lot at my old job, and i was the only female in a 6 person company. there were certain sites that we had where it was against the 'health and safety plan' for me to go to alone... other than those, however, i was on my own. i was much happier in the middle of the woods than in the middle of the city.

i did go skiing once on my own... and had an accident, and had to go to the hospital, so in general, i tend not to participate in outdoor activities alone if i can help it.

however, since my husband is military, i'm sure at some point i'll be on my own for months on end, in which case i'll end up camping alone. i hope that after i get over the initial qualms about personal safety, i find it more relaxing to be on my on...

i dont know if your a big reader, but there is a series of books about a woman in the adirondacks (where i did some field studies in college) who after a divorce built her own log cabin and became completely self sufficient... its an interesting quick read... the series starts with "woodswoman I" (and goes up thru 4 that i've heard of)- by Ann Labastille... she touches on the personal safety issue a little bit, which is why i thought of it.

ploddinTod · 09-26-2003, 04:15 PM

When you mention crowds, you are playing a percentage game as to how many in that crowd will potentially do one harm. Remove yourself from the crowd and your chances of being harmed drop way off. That's why I have taken up backpacking. After walking down the trail a mile or two, one leaves the crowd behind. You also have improved opportunities for wildlife encounters. And the peace and quiet that Shannon mentioned. Some parks have primitive camp areas suitable for backpackers. So that could be an option.
Of course, I'm fortunate to have days off during the week when the chances of seeing anyone are even more remote. You don't have to limit yourself to parks. Our national forests have campgrounds and hiking trails also. See you on the trail. ploddinTod