Everyone needs to recharge their batteries, and getting back to nature in a Hill Country state park is one of the best ways I can think of to do just that. One of my favorites is located in LBJ country in Blanco County, at Pedernales Falls State Park.

Located just nine miles east of Johnson City, Pedernales Falls is 5211 acres of cedar-and-oak-dotted hills that lead down to the Pedernales River, which forms the northern border of the park and then winds back inward to cut through the middle of it. The most obvious and biggest attraction at the park is the Falls, which drop about 50 feet in half a mile, cascading down a limestone incline. These river limestones belong to the 300-million-year-old Marble Falls formation and are part of the southwestern flank of the Llano uplift. These layers of limestone were tilted by the uplift, then eroded long before early Cretaceous seas of the 100-to-120 million years ago covered this part of Texas and deposited sands, gravels, younger limestones, and marine fossils.

Pedernales Falls State Park boasts almost 20 miles of trails that will take an adventurous hiker or biker for a trek over rugged terrain or a nice meander along the riverbank, however, the river is definitely the centerpiece of the park. The very large majority of the park’s visitors will be found wading, tubing, swimming, fishing, or lounging along its banks, which run the gamut from sandy to rocky beach to plain old dirt shoreline, depending on where you are. Even so, there are plenty of places where someone who so desires can find their own private area and keep to themselves.

While I haven’t hiked every trail in the park, I do feel that I know Pedernales Falls well. I have waded in the river and gotten off the beaten path now and again, always in search of that wonderful combination of light and composition that makes a great photograph. As such, I do have my favorite spots in the park. Perhaps my favorite spot in any Texas State Park is located right here ...

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