After Blanco State Park, we arrived in the parking lot for the falls trailhead at Pedernales Falls State Park. We had a tailgate lunch, filled up the camelbacks and headed out for the much anticipated falls.

While there is a less than half mile route to the falls, there is also a 1.5 mile loop that drops down along the river below before arriving at the falls. I pretty much proposed the long way as the only option haha. The Hackenburg Loop was definitely the path less travelled and we enjoyed the quiet river and landscape.

When the trail opened up at the base of the falls, I was blown away by the enormity of it! The first we noticed was the debris line on the beach from the July flooding in the Hill Country. Absolutely astonishing to think about that area raging with floodwaters.

But, on this day, we were able to walk, climb and crawl all over the unique rock structure. We spent an hour exploring every pool, crevice and boulder we could.

We didn’t have enough time and the pictures don’t do it justice. We were on a schedule making sure we got to our bat viewing at Old Tunnel State Park that evening on time. I want to go back so bad and soon. As extraordinary as the falls are, this park has so much more. The trails system is massive and dynamic. While swimming isn’t permitted at the falls or the section of river we hiked near, there is picturesque swimming hole downstream that I would love to check out. We haven’t even fully explored this park and it’s a top 5 favorite.

-Lindsay