Palmetto State Park 8.25 out of 10

Palmetto State Park
Ottine, Texas

April 2009

This is a really unique State Park located about 1.5 hours from Round Rock. it is just outside of Luling and about 20 minutes from Lockhart State Park. We were pleasantly surprised.

The layout of the park is a little strange.

It is very similar to Mother Neff State Park, where headquarters is a short drive up the road from the park. There are also several homes and an old abandoned Polio hospital next to the park (you can imagine the campfire spooky stories we got from that place). The San Marcos river runs through

the camp and there is a low water foot path crossing that connects the RV section to the tent camping section. The river was pretty big with lots of tree branches and stumps....not really ideal for tubing.

However, the park has a small lake that is right next to the river. Paddle boats, motorized fishing boats and canoes are available for rent. During the summer the lake is also popular for swimming.

The heart of the park is the lake and surrounding playground, Artisan well and pond. All around this area is 21 tent campsites. The campsites are really large.

They have lots of shade, picnic table and fire rings. Several of the sites overlook the river from a bluff.

A short hike across the river is the RV section consisting of 17 RV

sites and a bath house. The sites sit on a circle and have tons of shade.

Most of the sites had a decent size pad. There were a couple of pads that were a little small (perfect for a pop-up). The pads are paved and very level. For the first time in five years, I didn't have to make any leveling adjustments. The picnic table sits on a concrete slab with a BBQ pit and a fire ring. Some spots had really nice smoker/BBQ pits.

The fire rings also had a flip over grill. The sites are good size. However, we had some neighbors behind us that pitched a tent not six feet away from our fire ring. Go figure?

The hikes are easy and I would recommend the Palmetto nature loop. We found the interpretive trail with the water tower very interesting.

Pros
- Close to Austin - about a 75 minute drive
- Lush Tropical Environment
- Small Lake & River

- Paddle boats, Fishing boats and canoe rentals

- big camping sites with lots of shade
- good easy hiking trails

- Park Store with some supplies (popcycles)

Cons
- Weird layout

Rating

8.25 0ut of 10