How to Find the Best Swimming Holes in Austin

Austinites love the outdoors, but sometimes jogging around Lake Lady Bird or picnicking on the grass is just not enough. Sometimes nothing scratches an outdoorsman's itch like a night or two spent under the stars.

Instructions

1. Located eighteen miles north of Fredericksburg, the 1643.5-acre Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is a camper's delight. Dominated by the 425-foot granite batholith called Enchanted Rock, this park offers picnic tables, cook-out grills, restrooms with showers and composting toilets. Come out here to hike, backpack, camp, climb rocks or just revel in nature. Make sure, though, to call ahead because there is a strict limit to the number of cars allowed in the parking lot and if the lot is full the park is closed until late afternoon.

2. Pedernales Falls State Park, a 5211.7-acre park near Johnson City is bisected by the Pedernales River. It's a great place for picnics, hiking, mountain biking, tubing, bird watching, backpacking, swimming and fishing. If you're a camper you'll find a range of facilities, from more civilized accommodations with electricity and showers to primitive, bare-bones campsites. There's even a camping area reserved for youth groups.

3. The 1016.7-acre Buescher State Park out in Smithville offers lots of neat spots for fishing and nature study, but it is particularly well-suited for camping. You can find campsites with just the basics to cabins, showers, screened shelters and even a large recreation hall with a full kitchen.

4. The 1938.7-acre Guadalupe River State Park is between Boerne and New Braunfels. You can fish, swim, hike, picnic, canoe or go horseback-riding, tubing or mountain biking here and there are separate areas for RV/trailer campers and those who prefer to camp out in tents.

5. The 517.2-acre Kerrville-Schreiner Park is located on the Guadalupe River and offers boating, fishing, swimming, picnicking, cycling and all the other usual park attractions. You can find a whole range of camping amenities, including RV hook-ups, a screened dining hall, amphitheater, playgrounds, cabins, a laundromat and miles of trails.