Before getting to South Llano SP I wasn't sure what to expect of this park near Junction, Tx. in the hill country. The Texas Parks and Wildlife site warned that a good portion of the park is closed from October1st-March 31st to protect the nesting areas of the wild Rio Grande turkey that roam the park. This didn't sound too promising. I wondered just how much area would be left for camping. Especially since the third CTPUCA campout was being held in mid March there. (See ) Fortunately, I discovered that man and fowl can successfully share a state park without getting under each other's skin. (Er...or feathers)

The park itself did not appear to be exceptionally large, although our space for venturing was rather limited. The South Llano River runs through the park and there is a small area for swimming and wading and about a mile for tubing and canoeing. The camping area was set up in a circular shape with one bathroom/bathhouse toward the middle of the campground. The sites were deep and pretty level with paved pads. All of the sites had a picnic table and some even had sheltered tables. Each site also had a fire ring. We were in site #30, but it appeared that the odd numbered sites (across the street) had a bit more area to them and were more shady.

We were surprised to find that this park was totally packed for the weekend we were there. Perhaps this had something to do with the fact that it was Spring Break, but for a Spring Break it proved to be a very quiet and friendly bunch. There were several hiking trails, although (again due to those dratted turkeys) several were closed until after March. The trail that we hiked on was the 2.8 mile Fawn Trail. This trail proved to be pretty steep, but well marked. From what we heard from other hikers coming from the opposite direction, we just happened to pick the steepest and most arduous way (figures!), and it was a lot less difficult coming from the direction that began near the park headquarters.

There were also several bird watching shelters along the way and (toward the park headquarters) platforms with educational information about various plants and trees on the trail. It was nice at the end of the long hike to have an excuse to slow down to read about how one plant was used to make a tea that was used to help treat both arthritis and syphillis. (Try to figure out THAT connection.)

As mentioned before, there were plenty of wild turkey around the park. We also saw deer, possums and even spied a beaver crossing the bridge over the river when we came back from town one night. We also saw some antelope in an enclosed area near the entrance to the park. The park itself is very quiet, neat and clean. The sites are spaced fairly far apart although there's not much privacy between sites. I loved the park headquarters which was an old house with a front porch that extended across the length of it with a swing. (A personal favorite of mine...old houses with front porches.)

We had supper one night in Junction at a restaurant called Isaack's which served a variety of food from catfish to hamburgers to chicken fried steak . The food was pretty good and very reasonable. For our party of five, we paid $30 for meals and tea or sodas.

Overall we really enjoyed our stay at South Llano River SP. Although the park is small, it was peaceful and scenic and the staff was friendly and helpful. A beautiful drive out there and a very nice park to visit. (With all the blasted turkeys,it's even Thanksgiving appropriate!)