Enchanted Rock

With a relative dearth of public land in Texas, one becomes familiar with the parks within a couple hours of home.  One of my favorites is Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.

Enchanted Rock is located between Llano and Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country, about 90 minutes from Austin and San Antonio.  Unlike most of Texas, which lies on sedimentary rock, Enchanted Rock is on the Llano Uplift, a large area of granite.  If you have ever seen the pink granite of the Texas State Capitol, that is what the Llano Uplift looks like.  Enchanted Rock is part of a giant piece of granite that encompasses over 60 square miles.  It makes a fantastic area to explore.

Unfortunately, the awesomeness of Enchanted Rock is not a secret and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has, out of necessity, adopted a quota system to ensure the park is not overrun.  Below are some thoughts on how to have a fun day or days at the park.

It can be Hot.

If you are reading this, I assume that you understand that Texas can be hot in the summer, and also in the spring and fall.  You will be climbing up and down a big rock with limited shade.  Proceed with common sense.

Day Trips

You did get reservations, right?  To get your day pass, you must first reserve one online through the TPWD website.  If you drive out there without a reservation, you are probably going to be turned away.

Route? From Austin its about the same distance to drive through Fredericksburg or Llano.  Ask, “after the hike would I rather have German beer or Coopers barbecue?”, and plan accordingly. If you are coming from San Antonio, prosit!

Where to hike?

Obviously, you must hike to the top.  Spend some time taking in the view and looking at the micro-habitats in the depressions and vernal pools. 

If you like caves, or have kids who like to climb, there is a fun area of caves under boulders just to the northwest of the highest point of the rock.  The climb through boulders is pretty safe, but it does get pitch black so bring a headlamp.  Not recommended for big boys or those afraid of small spaces. 

From the top you can descend off trail to the northeast and then meet the Turkey Pass trail and go around the rock.  You can also descend south and meet the Echo Canyon trail, which is a mini-oasis between Enchanted Rock and Little Rock.  There are caves suitable for kids among the boulders on the way to Echo Canyon. Be careful on the west side of Enchanted Rock, it drops off quick.  But if you have brought ropes, that is your spot.

One of great things about Enchanted Rock is that the terrain is open for off-trail travel.  There is much open rock.  Go explore Little Rock, or anywhere you want.  Just watch out for cactus.  There are also lots of Geocaches, which are fun to hunt especially if you have kids.

The park website includes an interactive trails map as well as a downloadable KMZ file of the trails.  If you use a mapping app, like Gia GPS, the KMZ file is great.

Car Camping

All the front country sites are walk in tent campsites. If you roll in a Class A towing an F-150 with a golf cart in the bed, this is not the park for you.  For tent campers, there are 35 walk-in sites.  I have spent quite a few nights here over the years and found the sites to be fine and the bathrooms well maintained.  Water is available.  Two nights is a good length of stay.  Sites are reservable six-months in advance and for high demand times (weekends Oct-April), the sites are booked many months in advance. 

Backcountry

Enchanted Rock is an ideal location for a first backpacking trip.  The primitive sites have pit toilets available and are a little over a mile from the parking lot.  If you need to bail, you can.  Watching the sunset reflect off the rock is a great way to end the day.  Moss lake is close to the backcountry sites, but there are no other water sources so you should pack in water.  Like the front country sites, the backcountry sites fill up early.

Rating

Enchanted Rock is a 5-star state park. It is one of the best in Texas and holds its own with great state parks in other states. Go have fun.