State: Texas
Address 1: Box 118
City: Bend
Zip: 76824
Phone: 325-628-3240
Open all Year: Yes
Number of Sites: 40
Camp URL: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/colorado_bend/
Full Hook: Yes
About: The park currently offers the outdoor enthusiast access to primitive camping, hiking, fishing, which at certain times is terrific, swimming, mountain biking, birding, and nature watching, and guided tours. The park has 15.8 miles of hiking trails and 14 miles of mountain bike trails. When Lake Buchanan is near normal levels, the river is navigable from the park’s boat ramp all the way to the lake, approximately 10 miles. This is a trip on slow moving water through the beautiful canyon lands of the Colorado.
Tours: There is a guided tour to Gorman Falls on Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. The tour lasts about two hours and includes a 1 ½ mile round trip hike. Reservations are not taken for this tour. Gorman Falls is also accessible without a guided tour. There are two trails for day use hiking (3 miles and 5 miles round trip). The park also offers guided walking wild cave tours and self guided crawling cave explorations. Due to various hazards in the caves such as low oxygen levels and poisonous gases and the fact that the caves are a non-renewable natural resource, ALL CAVES in the park are closed except through tour or special permit. Reservations are highly recommended for the cave tours due to the limited number of people which can be taken on any given tour. Contact the park (325/628-3240) to make reservations and check questionable weather conditions. Substantial footwear is recommended for all tours.
The main camping area offers drive-up sites (with picnic tables, fire rings with cooking grills, a lantern post, potable water in the area); riverbank tent sites (with picnic tables, fire rings with cooking grills, a lantern post, and potable water in the area); composting toilets, a fish-cleaning table, and a boat ramp. (It is 9 miles to Lake Buchanan.)
There are also 2 back pack areas where you must carry everything you need and pack out absolutely everything you don’t use. (Bring containerized fuel to cook; nearest gas station is 35 miles away.) The River Back Pack Area is about 1 mile from a compost toilet and 1.3 miles from a water faucet. The Windmill Back Pack Area is about 6 miles from a compost toilet and water faucet. Ground fires are also prohibited everywhere in the park except in designated fire rings in the main camping area.
There are also two group areas: The developed Live Oak Group Area where you can drive to the site with picnic tables, a lantern holder, a large fire ring, water in area, and a compost toilet in area; the premium, developed River Group Area where you can drive within 75 yards of the site with picnic tables, a lantern holder, a large fire ring, water 1/4 mile, and composting toilet 1/4 mile.
