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South Llano River State Park

Type: Trail

Length: 4.00 Miles

Elevation Gain: N/A

Cost: $2.00

Rating:

(3.10)8

Difficulty: 2point5stars

(2.50)

Solitude:

(3.88)

ADA Accessible: N/A

Bikes Allowed: Yes

Dogs Allowed: N/A

Interpretive Guide: N/A

City: Junction

County: Kimble

More Information: More Info

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Map

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Photos

Colorful Leaves Enhanced the beauty of the Park.

It has been more than a couple of years since I hiked these trails and I immediately noticed the improvements the park personnel have made to them. (Photo by MikeHikes)

We didn't see any Turkey's this year but we saw their tracks. We also saw deer. (Photo by Eveline)

My kids didn't appreciate the great outdoors as much as I do. As long as they had something to eat and drink, however, they were fine. :) (Photo by Blaze)

Took my kids hiking. Can't you just see the excitement on their faces? ;-P (Photo by Blaze)

(Photo by Eveline)

Log Entries

Great Hike Along Beautiful Foilage
By MikeHikes on 12/11/2020
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Distance: 7.30 Miles Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes

Out - Walk-in Camping Parking Area > connector trail > Overlook Trail (up and back)> Fawn Trail > East Ridge Trail > Buck's Shortcut >> Mid-Canyon Trail 4.8 miles

Return - Mid-Canyon Trail > Access Trail > paved park service road > connector trail > Walk-in Camping Parking Area 2.5 miles

Temps started at 60, ended at 72. Damp and cloudy changing to dry and partly cloudy.

Very pleasant hike along damp, then dry, wide and well maintained trails. For the most part, the trails were dirt with notably exceptions where some hilly sections had a lot of rock. All the trails were clearly marked at the junction of two or more trails. The trail map the park provides, is colorful and accurate. Lots of desiduous trees were visible and the changing colors of the leaves was very nice to see.

Animals spotted were numerous Scrub Jays, some smaller birds, Armadillos and notably seven feral hogs. The hogs were spotted in three separate areas of the Mid-Canyon Trail on our return leg - the hogs were not monstrously large and they avoided us.

All in all, a very nice hike!

NOTES

Water, info kiosks and toilets are located in the campground by the trailhead.

There is a vault toilet symbol shown on the Mid-Canyon Trail. We saw the sign for it on the trail but did not see the toilet.

We did the Fawn Loop and the Buck Lake Trail
By Eveline on 9/2/2014
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Distance: 6.20 Miles Duration: N/A

We did the Buck Lake Trail first and had shade. We then did the Fawn Loop and didn't. We should have reversed our plans and hiked Fawn Loop first.... no shade on it.

Scenic Overlook - Not Too Scenic...
By Blaze on 8/9/2008
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Distance: 1.20 Miles Duration: 45 minutes

The Scenic Overlook trail starts at the Camping Area Parking Lot near the Fawn Trail. It's basically a short uphill hike to an overlook area that allows you to peer over the valley below. I wasn't impressed much by the view, but it was a good morning workout.

Fawn Trail
By Blaze on 1/20/2008
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Distance: 3.20 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes

On my way back from Sonora Caverns, I decided on a whim to pull into South Llano River State Park to get a little exercise in.

I took my kids with me on the Fawn Trail. It was fairly late in the afternoon so we did not have time to take a longer hike. I'm not sure my kids wanted to take a longer hike anyways. :-)

Although I have informally hiked trails and parks for years, this was my first logged hike and I found the trails not marked as well as I would have liked. I had to refer to the trail map several times to ensure I wasn't off course.

There were some rolling hills along the route, but nothing difficult. I did not see any wildlife and the scenery wasn't all that impressive either, although it was nice walking out in nature.

I did not see anyone else on the trail, although there were a number of people at the campsite.

By Eveline on 11/13/2004
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Distance: 6.00 Miles Duration: N/A
Misting rain the whole walk. Had light hail a couple times. Saw a flock of wild turkeys.

Nice wildlife hike. Little shade available.
By belizeman01 on 9/5/2004
Rating: N/A Difficulty:

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Distance: 4.00 Miles Duration: N/A
Bring plenty of water and sun screen. Many places to stop and observe the wildlife. Seems to have been an old ranch, windmill makes a nice backdrop for photos! Many blinds dot the park allowing you to stay hidden and escape the brutal sun, just check for critters first!

Best Trail For Wildlife Observation
By Grahambo on 3/15/2004
Rating: N/A Difficulty:

Solitude:

Distance: 7.20 Miles Duration: N/A
This state park on the southwestern edge of the Hill Country has over 16 miles of hiking trails, virtually all of which were former ranch roads. Evidence of the old ranch can be seen throughout the park, especially the old windmill which still draws water and the adjacent abandoned water trough. I hiked a total of 7.2 miles by essentially walking up a 500-foot hill and along the western edge of the park, then to the windmill and finally back via the middle trails which loosely follow the South Llano River. During most of the year this branch of the river is actually dry, so that the trail crosses back and forth several times through the rocky riverbed. This park is particularly oriented towards wildlife observation, with a good number of ground blinds and 10-foot tower stands available for viewing all sorts of critters. I hiked during mid-day so didn't actually see any wildlife but I saw plenty of tracks of raccoons, huge deer, and turkey. The least welcome feature of this park is the electric fence which follows along just two or three feet from the side of much of the trail. The electric fence stands between the trails and some of the most interesting geography such as the high vertical cliffs near the middle portion of the trail. For the most part, the trail is in the full sun, although there is a fair amount of shade around. All in all a great combination of hiking and (if you time it right) wildlife observation. At the entrance to the park itself is a little swimming hole and also a long water-filled portion of the river, which might be great for wading in after a long hike.

Animal country!
By theflea on 8/17/2003
Rating: N/A Difficulty:

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Distance: 3.00 Miles Duration: N/A
This is a great park. When I arrived I saw tons of deer just walking in the middle of the road. I stayed at the walk-in campsite. When I got to my campsite there were a lot of animals. I saw tons of rabbits hoping around and three road runners. Later in the night I saw a lot of animals. When I had a campfire going a racoon came very close. The racoon stayed at this spot for a while, it looked like it was eating. Then, the next day, I went to the trail; the overlook trail. Well actually, the entire trail is an overlook, but there is a site designated as the overlook. Most of the trail is uphill, and that made me tired. On the way up I noticed a lot of little rabbits hopping around. Then I saw a huge rabbit along with two little rabbits, then a road runner. When you get to the overlook you can see forever. The hills are beautiful and the sunset was spectacular. On the way down it got very dark. I spotted two little black things. I figured out they were skunks. I tried to take a picture of them but it was too dark. The next morning when I got my tube to go down the river I saw a bunch of turkeys walking in the road. Then when I was coming back, there were deer and turkeys eating grass and still in the middle of the road. I thought to myself now this is animal country.