LBJ Ranch & Historical Center

LBJ Ranch & Historical Center

Johnson City, TX
June 2009

The LBJ Historical Center is located in Johnson City. The LBJ
ranch is located just outside out town on the way to Kerrville in Stonewall.

We did a quick tour of both places and would recommend the stop.

There isn't any camping, but both spots have picnic areas and gift

shops.

Garner State Park

Garner State Park
Concan, TX

June 2009

The King of the Texas State Park system. Garner SP is the

largest and busiest state park. My wife used to spend her
summers here and she has lot's of fond memories.

We haven't actually camped at the park. Instead we stay at a private RV park down river. However, it's a short drive and with our park pass we come in for the day.

We really enjoyed watching the cliff / tree divers and the rope swing. Several in our group (including my wife) worked up the courage to jump off of one of the trees. Her bravery got the kids motivated to do the rope swing. Even my five year old was doing the rope swing.

The Frio was awesome, clean, clear and very refreshing on a hot day. The park was very busy, but everyone was well behaved.

We did some exploring up river around the dance hall. I was able to check out some of the College World Series baseball at the snack bar.

The park has a good sized general store, a snack bar and a gift shop. There is also a dance hall / patio where all the kids come up
to two step every Saturday night. My wife's first dance was on
this patio. People bring up chairs hours in advance to save a spot.

The park also has some really nice sized cabins for rent.

PROS

- On the Frio River
- Lots of water on this section of the Frio
- General Store, Snack Bar and Gift Shop
- Rope Swing and Tree Diving
- Great people watching

CONS

- Very busy / popular

- I' ve heard it can be kind of crazy on the weekends (loud music)

Seven Bluffs RV Park

Severn Bluffs RV Park
Concan TX
June 2009


This is a beautful private park located right on the Frio river.
Reservations are required and they are booked well in advance. My wife's family has been coming to this park for years and they hold their annual family reunion here.

The RV spots are limited, small and expensive compared to State parks. Very few of the spots are level, so be sure to bring some boards. The park is very shady with lots of huge pecan and sycamore trees.

The Frio river is about 30 yards from the RV spots and a very easy walk. There is a low water crossing and parking on the other side so lots of people enter the river to float at this location. It's great people watching. The last couple of years we've been disappointed because the water is so low it makes it really tough to float. When the water is up, there is a very nice 1.5 hour float that we take as a big group. Lots of fun!

PROS
- Beautiful park on the Frio river
- Great people watching
- Park store that carries essentials
- Garner SP and Bat Cave are close by attractions

CONS
- small, unlevel spots (some that are very difficult to get into)
- watch out for tree overhanging the dump area (roof killer)
- expensive and hard to get a reservation

Lost Maples State Park

Lost Maples State Park
Vanderpool, TX

June 2008

We were a little disappointed with this park. This park is
very popular and we've heard excellent things about it.
Unfortunately, out timing was off. The park IS excellent
for Fall or Spring camping.....just not for Summer.

The park is known for it's hiking trails and the changing of the
leaves during Fall months. In fact, it is often completely booked
Sept - November and there is a line of cars a mile long waiting to
get in for day use.

Our problem with the campsite was lack of shade. The campsite

isn't very big, maybe 30 sites with very few trees. Each campsite
does have a covered picnic table so that help alot.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but we did not do the hike. It was just

way too hot and my kids couldn't make it. We did manage to hike
down from the campsite to a beautiful stream that was part of the Sabinal River and spent the afternoon laying in the water. The river was cyrstal clear. It wasn't very deep and you could see the bottom. It was very refreshing and as far as water quality, it was better then the Guadalupe, Pedernales, or Frio.

The park is about an hour outside of Kerrville and about 40

minutes north of Garner State Park.

Beware, there wasn't any cell phone service in the area. The

park office did have a pay phone.

PROS

- Great Fall camping and hiking
- Beautiful Sabinal River

CONS

- No Shade

- Camping area small

- Beware of fall traffic

- No Cell Phone Service

Ingram Dam

Ingram Lake / Dam
Ingram, TX
June 2009

This fun attraction is located just outside of Kerrville Texas.
We parked across the street in shopping center for $2 and rented
mats from the convenience store in the center for $3. I do recommend the mats. We came prepared in old swim suits under cut off jean shorts. The dam will still wear out your jean shorts. The mats allow you to slide down faster.


The dam is wide enough for chairs and you can stretch out and
catch some rays. We went during the middle of the week around
lunch time and there were several people having a picnic on the
dam. It can get crowded. There are several "go fast" spots on
the dam that have a more slippery surface. There can be a short
line queued up to take advantage of the fast lane. The decline is
about 30 yards and at a steep ~ 130 degree angle. The water on
the down side isn't too deep. I hit bottom several times. The ride
down is exhilarating. The walk become a workout after several
rides.

The lake side is beautiful. You can rent canoes and sailboats and
we saw several powerboats pulling skiers down the river / lake.

One word of caution - please be careful. The dam can be slippery.
Please watch your step.

Pros
- Inexpensive and unique fun
- Beautiful Lake
- Canoe, paddle boat and sail boat rentals
- Great place for a picnic
- Close parking

Cons
- Dam can be slippery - easy to take a fall
- Shallow on the downside

Fun Rating:

9.5 out of 10

Kerrville - Schreiner Park

Kerrville - Schreiner Park

Kerrville, TX
June 2009

This park used to be part of the Texas State Park program, but recently was sold to the City of Kerrville. It's located just outside
of Kerrville along Highway 173. It was a little odd. There are two sections to this park with the highway cutting the park in half.

One section is on the water "River View" and the other section
is across the highway. We were not able to check other the side it
had a gate and it wouldn't take our access code.

The park map is a little misleading because none of the campsites
are on the water. There are eight cabins that sit up on a bluff
that over looks the water. Behind the cabins is a RV site Sycamore Circle that didn't have any shade at all. You still couldn't see the water so we went for the Pecan Loop that was behind the Sycamore circle. It was perfect, well almost perfect. If it wasn't for the highway that was 100 yards away, it would of been perfect.

The loop was heavily shaded with these gigantic pecan trees.

The entire loop was under this canopy. The sites were good sized

pull through pads with sewer connections. We had a concrete

picnic table and a fire ring. We also had the entire loop to
ourselves. It was almost perfect.

The Guadalupe river was a decent hike from our campsite. There is parking down by the river so you can take your car. The water front part of the park was very pretty and very popular. Most of the picnic tables were taken and every was having a good time. The river was enjoyable. The water was refreshing and not too fast, not too deep and fairly clear. We did notice a ski boat and some people
sking down river from the park so I guess the river does get deeper downstream.

PROS
- Close to town - easy to get supplies
- Pecan Loop had lots and lots of shade
- Guadalupe River was refeshing and enjoyable
- Pull Thru sites
- Large sites
- Sewer hookups

- Not very busy - had loop to ourselves

- Lots of other stuff to do (James Avery Factory, Ingram Dam sliding)

CONS
- Close to town / highway - could hear trucks
- no river view sites
- park split in half by highway (wasn't able to check out other side)

Blanco State Park

Blanco State Park
Blanco, TX
June 2009

This state park was an easy one hour drive from our home. The park is located just off 281 and is right on the outskirts of this small town.

The Blanco River cuts the park in half. One side is day use and was very busy. The other side is where the campsites are located
and you cross a low water bridge to get over there.

The campsites sit up on the bluff and doesn't over look the river.

It's a very easy walk to the river and there isn't any parking so you have to walk.

The water was very green and not as refreshing as we're used to.
Not hot or even warm, just not refreshing. We still had a good time and did lots of floating in the intertubes we brought. The kids
had some snorkel gear but the visability wasn't very good.

We had a huge campsite with a very long and level pad.
We did have to ask some people to move their car because we

couldn't back in. I don't think the park rangers enforce all

the regular park rules. We saw several instances were rules were

being ignored (parking, pets, glass, etc.) The site had shade as well
as a covered picnic table and a fire ring.

It was also very bizzare the way we had people walking through
our campsite. The site next to us had a family reunion meeting
and at least sixty people showed up with chairs and most of them

parked illegally and walked right through our campsite (not ten

feet away from us).

PROS

- Close to Austin about an hour drive

- Huge campsites

- Covered picnic tables

- Easy short walk to the Blanco River

CONS

- Blanco River seemed stagnant (warm, green, no current)

- Park Rangers were pretty relaxed with park rules.