TX - Guadalupe River State Park Review

[Java Jack]

Overall, great campground in central Texas between Austin and San Antonio. About 1.5 hour drive from Austin and 1 hour from San Antonio. 2 main camping areas, Cedar Sage and Turkey Sink along with walk in camp sites for tent campers that is close to the river front.Cedar Sage is primarily for tent camping and small trailers (teardrop and tent trailer size). Turkey Sink has larger spots for bigger RVs and travel trailers. Turkey sink also has lots of trees and good shade coverage but not quite as much as Cedar Sage as they need to allow room for larger vehicles.

Sites
Sites are clean and have lots of shade.
Both Cedar Sage and Turkey Sink have water and electricity hook ups.
Sites also have fire rings (which can be used when there is no burn ban) as well a tables. They also provide a pole for hanging lanterns by the table.
Sites also have large pad area for tents. Even the RV spots had tent pad spots.
As of Feb. 2015, cost was $20 per night. There is also a $7 per person entry fee (waived if you have the state park pass and are all in one car).

Bathrooms
Bathrooms are clean and well lit and also have shower stalls available. Though, bathrooms were somewhat sparse.
There is also a dump station for RVs that want to empty tanks before leaving the park.

Things to do
There are some nice walking/hiking trails that are also open to mountain bikes. There is also a horse trail for the equestrian campers. Most trails lead down to river front.

There is also a discovery center and amphitheater. I think the staff has various educational events going on most of the time. The park ranger gave us a list of activities when we checked in.

Lot's of people go tubing on the river during the summer. From pics I have seen, it can get quite crowded.

Fishing for those that have the patients...which is clearly not me.

Note: Alcohol not permitted.




Cedar Sage Camp Site[/img]


We were in spot 28 in the Cedar Sage area. This is primarily tent and small trailer camping only. The parking spaces are double wide but shallow. As you all know, one of the great things about a Teardrop is the ability to get into the smaller, tent only type sites.


The main RV/Trailer parking is in the Turkey Sink area. Here they have single wide but deep spots for large trailers and RVs. This pic is from the TWPD website.

[Txbum]

Java Jack, thanks for posting your review. I will definitely go there early summer. Nice teardrop you have. Have you been thru Giddings Texas by chance ? I saw a rig very similar to yours. Txbum

[Java Jack]

Thanks. We really love the trailer.

It's definitely a really nice camp ground. I would imagine reservations are necessary well in advance as the weather warms up. I have heard the place is really tough to get into during the peak camping seasons without reservations.

Been through Giddings, but not with the trailer yet. Wife and I are planning a trip to Sam Houston National Forrest to go riding dirt bikes but not sure when I will get that scheduled. We have only had the trailer since Oct. and just purchased the State Park Pass so now we really want to get out and see all the great camping around us. We live in Austin and always looking for new places to camp and people to meet.

Are there good campgrounds around Giddings?

[John W]

I live in San Antonio and have been going to Guadalupe State Park for the better part of 20 years. I have never camped there, but have spent a lot of time kayaking, fly fishing, and teaching my now grown daughter the same things. A great place to go. If you like to kayak, you can catch a shuttle at the campground at Bergheim about 6 miles from GSP. You can either put in at the campground or at a drop off on Edge Falls Road. From the campground, it's about a 6 mile float, from Edge Falls, about 4 miles. Unfortunately we have been in an exceptional drought for a number of years, and the river is not flowing very fast. The upside to the slow river, you can put in at the SP and paddle upstream. There is some really beautiful scenery and the river is not crowded. On holiday weekends, the SP is packed. During the week is definitely the time to go.

[39Ratrod]

So if you don't have a pass, it would be $48 for a family of 4 per night? That sounds kinda high to me.

Looking back at the post, if that includes the hookups, and showers, etc. then I guess that isn't so bad.

[lrrowe]

Java, I like your posting a review of a campground you visited. Others may have done it plenty of times here, but I guess I just inadvertently passed right on by them.
If others appreciate an insight to what a certain campground looks like, this may not be a bad thing for me to do in the future as I visit them.
Thanks again,

(oh, even if the sites others visit and are not in my immediate area, when the sites are great,it is something to drool over)