How to Find the Top Camping Spots in Austin

Tired of crowded swimming pools with the squalling kids and idiots doing cannonballs? Want to get in touch with your inner Huck Finn? Then maybe you're ready to take a trip to an old-time swimming hole. In Austin there are plenty to choose from.

Instructions

1. The 71-acre Mansfield Dam Park is located, obviously, right next to Mansfield Dam on Lake Travis.You can picnic here, sunbathe or windsurf. There a playground, a climbing wall and a boat ramp as well. You can swim in a special cove off the park or go into the underwater diving park and go through the buoyancy course or explore the underwater platforms or sunken plane or boats.

2. The Hamilton Pool Nature Preserve, 30 miles southwest of town, has a true swimming hole, formed in a basin under a 50-foot waterfall. Be warned, though, the swimming hole can be dangerous. Not only is there no lifeguard, but the water tends to develop bacteria from the droppings of the birds that nest nearby. Be careful on the quarter-mile trail from the parking lot down to the pool as it can be treacherous.

3. If a bathing suit is to your mind just too much clothing to wear swimming, then Hippie Hollow Park (aka MacGregor County Park) is the place for you. It's the only nude beach in Texas. There are gay and straight sections to the beach and, unfortunately, a few people who drop by just to ogle. The "beach" is pretty rocky, so you would do well to at least keep your feet covered on the walk from the parking lot to the water's edge. Make sure and bring plenty of sunscreen.

4. Thirty-four miles west of town out in Spicewood you'll find Krause Springs, a private park owned by the Krause family. The property is dotted with natural springs. You can swim in a more formal, man-made pool up near the Krause house or take the rope swing out to the swimming hole down at the creek. the park's open for swimming in the summer and tent and RV camping year-round.

5. The 104.6-acre Blanco State Park, located next to the Blanco River, offers camping, picnicking, hiking and fishing. Enjoy such aquatic recreations as boating, tubing, kayaking and canoeing or take a dip around the dammed-up part of the river.