Pace Bend Park

Went camping here and chose to hike into a more primitive location, away from other people. Pros: it’s easy to park your car nearby your site, unless you hike out like I did. You can find a lot of trails to explore and there’s lots of spots for swimming. You can also check out the cliff jumping. There’s a variety of campsites available, so you can choose which kind of scenery you wake up to. I got to see a mountain lion cub, which was pretty exciting. Cons: Biggest complaint is that I had to listen to music blaring until about 4am. People were out camping and playing beer pong at their sites. Also, not all the primitive campsites are maintained, particularly the ones in the back wooded areas.
Good spot to get away from the city for a bit, but don’t expect to have a lot of seclusion.

We went this last weekend and stayed in primitive camping near Mud Cove (latrine #11 on your map there) — 2 adults and 1 three year old. We went there for the first time to camp and watch the meteor shower during the new moon and do some swimming. What I learned:
1) The cool thing about Pace Bend is you can pretty much just drive to wherever you can get your car and set up camp. There are campsites, but you are not limited to camping in them. I was under the impression you could just park it practically anywhere. You can get away with practically anything, too. The rangers don’t seem to give a poop as long as you’re not using glass containers.
2) The cool thing is also the crappy thing. You can get away with practically ANYTHING. There was a group of about 100 college kids on the other side of our loop and they partied all night. ALL. NIGHT. So loudly. SO LOUDLY until after 6:00a. I get it. It wasn’t so long ago that I too camped and partied all night but this was ridiculous. And the rangers do not care. At around midnight, my hubs and I were quietly in the field next to our site watching the stars when a ranger came by to inform us that we needed to get our wine into a Solo cup since glass bottles were prohibited and then proceeded to give me the juvenile explanation about broken glass and blah blah blah– which I totally understand, I should not have had my wine bottle there etc. –and I would have taken my reprimand more respectfully if he didn’t have to use a raised voice to be heard over the mini-​Burning Man expo happening down the way. It was complete crap to be bothering us about a wine bottle and not bat an eye at the BS happening on the other side of the loop. (for the record– we operate on the «cleaner than you found it» philosophy in our fam. Clean up all our trash and then each person has to find 5 more pieces of trash before we can check out of the campsite. STFU about my wine bottle.) Also: Cars driving by with their brights on and stereos blaring, whizzing by the campsite until 4a from people looking for said party.
3) Mud Cove lives up to it’s name. It is muddy AF. And the beach was dirty. There was washed up lake trash debris from broken docks and there where trash piles from beach goers everywhere. Broken bottles, torn up floaties, dirty diapers– you name it. That was a disappointment.
Over all, it was a pretty area– the cliffs are nice and the lake scene from a distance is lovely. I doubt we ever will go back, but if we do, we will try the West side on the park. I don’t think it was as populated. We camp as a family, but don’t go into situations expecting everything to be some cushy, bubbled «family friendly» experience– but I do expect that the rangers dole out their wags of the finger equally and that there is a reasonable, mutual respect from other campers.

I struggled with whether to give this a three or four star review.
It’s close to Austin and by the lake, what’s left of it.
I do like the open camping options, as in you’re not just a number backed up to many other numbers with no privacy or room to spread out. While there are bathrooms, there are no showers. I can deal with that.
Mostly the reason it lost a star was the police activity both nights we were there. It’s very disconcerting to the children to see flashing lights for hours while trying to sleep. Night one — Lights, Sirens and a women screaming bloody murder. Probably over dramatic, but come on people. Night two — Lights, sirens and 4 hours of flashing lights plus a search helicopter with spotlight hovering overhead.
Are you looking for a dead body or a criminal on the loose? Some communication to the concerned campers would be nice since we had 15 children with us and it was rather dark out.
I’m sure we’ll be back. Just not this summer.

This is a great place to come running, hiking, or biking if you don’t mind the drive. It’s quiet and I felt like I had the whole park to myself.
I would recommend taking a phone. I got lost on these trails running last year. I see a single soul for 2 hours.

Great views at this place. My fiancéé didn’t like it, but she doesn’t like the outdoors that much. I liked it a lot though, I REALLY enjoy outdoor views, especially being from such a flat state in Florida, these hilltop views are new to me. I thought there would be somewhere to swim, but I guess the areas were closed for winter season, even though we’re about to be in mid-​April. I wanted to finish hiking, but my fiancé wanted to leave, and it was getting dark, so we left and had a romantic night. There was also incredible camping grounds, although the prices were high for the permits. Good Texas park all around, I will be back to hike! SOON!

Pace Bend has a very special place in my heart. When I camp, it’s almost always here. I live about an hour away and it’s the perfect distance to «get away.» I camp here October — April as long as it doesn’t get below 40 at night… Which means I get to camp here a lot!
Here’s the deal. Thus isn’t California or Colorado. Yes… This place won’t compare to a mountain lake nestled at 12,000 feet. If you want that experience… Go back to CO or CA. You have to appreciate Pace Bend for what it is… A Texas hill country oasis.
I’ve been nearly 2 dozen times, and I’m usually the only one out there. It feels secluded and private. The crowds are crazy in the heat of the summer, so that’s when I avoid… But the other 7 – 8 months of the year, it’s all mine.
Yes, Lake Travis is at an all time low which is very depressing… But even with the drought water levels, the landscape has changed creating some stunning rocky coves to explore that are usually underwater.
I highly recommend this place for camping, hiking or general exploring… One of Hill Country’s best!

Great time ! Kids always have a blast. Its much better to go mid week as far less crowded. The lake is at an all time low level (big drought). So most of the really cool coves are completely dried out. Mudd Cove (area #11) is really the only spot worth hanging out and splashing around. Stick to the north/​east end of the cove, get there early, and pick a spot which has just enough beach area for your group. If you set up in a larger beach opening you will quickly find yourself elbow to elbow with a slew of other people, their pets, and their music preferences (you roll the dice if you pick a big open spot :)). If anyone in your group is a senior, make sure to mention it to the person at the park entrance as your entire car of people is free when you have a senior with !
Lastly, pack your trash out with you :)…please ;)
Have fun

Great hike, but beware of the misleading side trails. The markers on the map provided at the park entrance do not hold true to the numerous side trails, and there is a real risk of getting ‘lost’ in the park.

Wow!!! I have never seen Lake Travis this low. There is NO cliff diving. You’ll die if you do because there is nothing but rock at the bottom and you couldn’t jump out far enough to reach the water if wanted.
It’s so sad.

When reading this keep in mind that I went on a camping trip with a Pusheen stuffed animal and a rather cute SO, so. my analysis might be a tad checkered: P
Oh, and also remember I went during a period of severe drought. The water level is, I hear, at an all-​time low.
Pros:
— In close proximity to Lake Travis; I went zip lining beforehand (which I highly recommend)
— You can camp on a cliff overlooking a beautiful view of the lake
— Pretty expansive area, so there is some good strolling to be had
— Fire pit in most camp sites, so a nice, cozy fire can be had
— Benches on each camp site
— Romantic, cliffside dinner can easily be had
— Close proximity to convenience stores where you can buy necessary supplies: propane for your lantern, firewood, booze, even chicken curry (the store is owned by an amicable Indian guy who seems like a proper dude).
Cons:
— I don’t think you can truly unplug yourself when cars and buildings are visible off into the distance, as in, right across the lake… As a native New Mexican, this is a little hard to digest. (Sigh, «I want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains!») Perhaps I am a landscape elitist, and I should shut up.
— Moreover, it is crowded. So when you see a ton of RVs and cars parked rather close to you. you wonder whether you’re camping in the «wilderness» or a parking lot that just happens to have a bunch of trees…
— Not much to explore in terms of hiking; you can only walk around designated camping grounds
I will say though, don’t let the cons deter you. In terms of general Texas-​standards and flatness and the park’s close proximity to Austin, this is probably as good as it gets. In this case, you don’t have to drive out 2 – 7 hours for a decent experience!

Pace Bend Park on Lake Travis. We have a picnic near the water, but could not find any shady spots. Good thing we carried our own tent! If you do go to the park for a day trip. It was very hot, but taking a few dips in the lake was refreshing and cooled us off. The beach is a little bit rocky, but there are very few rocks once you are in the water. The regular entrance fee is only $ 10 (for day use). Also, there are plenty of restroom facilities, dumpsters and prepared picnic and day use sites. Some of the picnic and day use sites do have covering, but they are not right on the shore. So, if you are in the area, Pace Bend Park is a great place to explore.
Spanish
Pace Bend Park en Lake Travis. Tenemos un picnic cerca del agua, pero no pudimos encontrar ningún lugares con sombra. Menos mal que llevamos a nuestra propia tienda de campaña! Si tienes que ir al parque para un día de viaje. Hacía mucho calor, pero tomando algunas inmersiones en el lago era refrescante y nos refrescaba. La playa es un poco rocosa, pero hay muy pocas rocas una vez que están en el agua. El precio de la entrada normal es de sólo $ 10 (para el uso del día). Además, hay un montón de instalaciones de baño, contenedores de basura y de picnic preparadas y sitios de uso diario. Algunos de los picnic y sitios de uso día sí tienen cubierta, y que no están justo en la orilla. Así que, si estás en la zona, Pace Bend Park es un gran lugar para explorar.

This is a cool, easy place to camp. We live in Austin and made the decision to go camping on a Friday afternoon at 5pm. We were on the beach in the park by 6pm, with our truck backed up to only about 50 feet from the water.
Go if.…
— you want an easy camping experience
— you don’t want to deal with reserving campsites (you’re basically allowed to pull your car up anywhere you want)
— you want to stay near Austin
Be aware that they allow dogs, but if a ranger comes near you need to put them on leashes. Basically, just put your dog on a long lead if a ranger is within sight. Otherwise, no big deal.
Also, make sure to drink your alcohol out of dixie cups or coozies.

We just come here to camp. As climbers, this is the only campground close to some great climbing spots. So if you’re not from Austin, then hell yeah you have to be a fan! I can’t give you much more info than that — cause I’m a peace loving gal and don’t want to have to whoop your A@* for my favorite camping spots ;)

Love Pace Bend Park!
I’m going to be a bad Unilocaler and not tell you about my favorite spots though, sorry. Don’t want them to get too crowded! Part of the fun of this park is it’s size and exploring it. Arrive in the morning, set up shop and move around to different areas if you aren’t satisfied. $ 10/​car and ask for a trash bag!

Wow. This park is beautiful. I’ve been to many lake parks, but this is the first one I’ve been to that has smooth sandy beaches instead of rocky shores.
There are people here, but they aren’t all in your space. You have enough room to spread out. The camp sites are really cool, and we stayed in the primitive ones near the water. We were walking distance to the bathroom and the water. It was quiet enough at night to sleep, but not too quite to be up hanging out if you wanted to.
I love the natural cliffs that surround the water. It made it feel even more like the hill country. It’s also really affordable, we only paid $ 15 a car for camping.
I highly recommend checking it out if you’re looking for a beautiful place to pull up to the sand and hang out.

I’m going to go ahead and give this place a big «meh.» After reading the glowing Unilocal reviews I totally got wooed into driving an hour out to Pace Bend and shelling out 10 bucks to see Lake Travis for the first time. I had packed a picnic, I was wearing my bathing suit and sunscreen, and I was ready to swim it up while also scoping out the camping scene for the fall. On all counts, I ended up being really disappointed (except for the bathing suit part, it’s pretty cute).
Now I know that some of you may find the Texas «Hill» Country to be quite beautiful, but being from Colorado, my standards for natural beauty are pretty flippin’ high. The park is mostly full of sort of scrubby small trees, some prickly grass and cacti, and a big desolate beach area (we didn’t manage to see the cliffs that people have mentioned). The beach area in particular was quite anti-​climactic as it was chock full of weekend revelers who for some reason decided the best place to park would be directly on the water. It was like super crowded tailgating, but with a view of a depressingly low lake and the various jet-​skiers and boaters that zoomed by.
Rather than rubbing elbows with the locals as they pulled each other’s trucks off of sand dunes with their tow straps, my husband and I looked for a more secluded and hopefully more aesthetically pleasing cove to enjoy our picnic and do some swimming. We settled on a small «swimming only» cove on the opposite site of the park, and while it had its own sort of charm, it was still pretty lackluster. We ate our picnic on one of the provided picnic tables, and then scampered down a rocky ledge littered with old beer cans to swim in a teeny-​tiny alcove of water. The water was very warm; the bottom was gross, squelchy mud; and the amount of gasoline floating in the water was a bit disconcerting.
Honestly we were ready to leave within a half an hour of arriving, but we tried to stick it out a bit given the length of the drive and the price of admission. Maybe if you plan on camping (though even this looked rather depressing) and boating, this would be a cool place to visit with some friends, but for swimming/​picnicking there are many closer, cheaper, and much more beautiful places to achieve this in the Austin area.

Great place for camping and enjoying the scenic parts of Austin. This is for people interested in cliff diving because I couldn’t find any advice through my search. As a swim team tradition from Dallas, my friends and I would always travel out to Lake Whitney near Waco and go cliff diving every summer.
I was pretty stoked when I heard about cliff diving in Austin. After calling Pace Bend Park to get a feel for the possibility of cliff diving, I was confronted with a bit of hesitation as usual. If you are interested in cliff diving, note that all lake administration NEVER recommends cliff diving and suggests you avoid it any time of the year at any water level. When you drive up to pay at the front, there are even big poster boards declaring, «CLIFF DIVING NOT SUGGESTED.» Liability reasons is understandable, and there are always cases of people diving in without a straight head. A day pass is $ 10.
I’ve found Mudd Cove Tournament to be a good place to jump through videos, personal blogs, and my own scouting. When you drive into Mudd Cove, take the right road. The area is between restroom 11 and 12. Across the lake, you should be able to see the massive manshion-​like hotel to your right at about a 60 degree angle. In Waco, the cliffs I dove off of were about 30-​maybe 40ft. At Lake Travis with the drought, you are looking at 50−65ft. (At these heights, make sure to keep your legs tight together. You are reaching heights where if you land awkwardly, it will hurt.)
However, this year round. The lake has been hit hard with the drought. The lady I called informed me the lake is less than 55% full. So when I reached the cliffs, there was absolutely no one diving. After I swam in the lake to check the depth, I built up the confidence to dive. I’m the type of person to generally dive in first, and I consider myself as a adrenaline junkie. If you don’t have that type of person, really scout the place out.
When I jumped, there were a bunch of people watching with curiosity. Some have been waiting all day for someone to go first. Generally, the smarter thing to do, but I don’t think I am patient in that aspect.
Disclaimer: Not for the faint of heart. Stay safe. Have fun. Definitely, not a good idea with drinks. Pretty common sense, but I see people every year get injured in Waco.
Make sure to drive the speed limit of 10 mph once you get off the main road. The rangers are very assertive.

Ehhh the boyfriend, bff, her bf and all four of our dogs come out here at least once a month. We’re kind of a big deal out there.
Their campsites are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo awesome. They are secluded and (for the most part) heavily wooded so you get plenty of privacy. Whether you want to smokes trees, climb them, or boogey underneath them (if you catch my drifts) you have quite a good amount of privacy. There are a few well-​kept «secret» areas that are closed certain parts of the year that we prefer to frequent but pretty much all the areas have been graced by our collective presence. The water is gorgeous. The lake bed around the cliffs (for cliff diving, duh!) is pretty rocky so bring your Tevas or Keens or other preferred lesbian-​esque water shoes otherwise you’ll hurt your feet. There are sandier areas too but they’re usually pretty crowded.
Their leash laws seem to be more strict this year but whatev. Last weekend we had a run in with a ranger who the Senior Ranger referred to as Uncle Grumpy (LOOOOOL) but other than that the rangers there are really nice. Ranger R. Johnson (aforementioned Senior Ranger) is seriously the nicest guy EVER. He LOVES my dog Rogue — seriously loves her. He has offered to take her on ride alongs, home, to meet his other pups, etc. As of this past weekend (April 2011) he is retiring in three months after 20+ years, so if you have questions about the park he will certainly be able to answer them. Again, he’s the nicest guy there and kind of a hippy, which I think is pretty legit. If you are nice enough and have a cute enough dog (I mean, no dog could compare to Rogue but it’s cool to try) maybe he will show you pictures of his two. They’re adorable.
Go camping here, bring koozies for your beers («IF I SEE BEER YOU’RE OUT OF HERE!» — Uncle Grumpy), bring leashes /​tie outs for your dogs and probably some TP if youre a female cause when you get drunk and the bathrooms are a ½ mile walk uphill… ya know sometimes you gotta pop lock and drop it. Best camping spot in Austin if you have dogs fo sho.

My first weekend in Austin and my friends took me camping at Pace Bend Park. I haven’t gone camping much, but I have gone camping and slept in tents and stuff.
The park has primitive and RV campsites. The primitive campsites are first come, first served and you pay a fee per vehicle to camp, not for the campsite. The campsites are not numbered or clearly delineated, so take up and stake as much area as you want. The campsites are either on the beach or on cliffs overlooking the water, or back in the trees a ways.
I found the campsites to be primitive but well taken care of. There was some garbage and glass on the ground, but not much. It appears that the fire pits are dug out regularly. The bathrooms were concrete structures built over giant holes in the ground. The were maintained pretty well for what they were.
The park requires dogs to be on a 6 foot leash at all times. I guess that’s reasonable. There were a lot of dogs in the park. Also, drinking is allowed, but you can’t bring glass and you can’t show the label of your beverage, so cups and coozies are a necessity. The other main rule is that quite time is at 10pm.
The only run in we had with the rangers was Saturday night. A ranger came up to our campsite to say that a truck was driving around erratically and dangerously close to tents. She just wanted to let us know and if we saw it have them call the main gate or 911.
Overall, I thought it was a great park and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to go camping.

So I haven’t been camping here (yet) but this place is great. It’s clean, it’s big, my dog went swimming and had the time of her life, not to mention you can jump off cliffs!
You, not your dog. Though I have heard of people throwing their dog off the cliffs, I did not practice this, nor do I recommend it.
Sure it’s a little scary when you first jump, but it’s well worth it. The best cove we found was N Baldwin, we definitely had to drive around a while to find safe cliffs, but once we found them it was awesome.
Even if cliff jumping isn’t your thing, there are plenty of places to go swimming and cook out and just have a grand ol’ time.
I’m going back to this place asap.