Austin, Texas is a surprisingly green city and has numerous parks and lakes with hiking trails in and around the city. Some even boast waterfalls, such as McKinney Falls!
McKinney Falls State Park is located within the Austin city limits. Arriving at the park, we paid our admission charge and received a map and instructions on how to get to McKinney Upper Falls. The parking lot for the falls was such a short walk that I didn’t realize we were there at first.
Upper McKinney Falls
The upper falls were just a trickle in late June, but visitors still arrived with floats and towels, ready to take a dip in the lukewarm water. Even with low water levels, it is a very pretty spot, but I imagine the falls are much more dramatic after the rains, when they are cascading over the wide limestone ledge.
Trail between the falls
A one-mile trail goes between the upper and lower falls, but it seems to have been blocked off. The path merited further investigation, but honestly, the triple-digit temperature and seventy percent humidity didn’t do anything for my motivation. I would love to go back in the Spring or Fall to tackle the myriad waterfall hikes along the greenbelt.
Lower McKinney Falls
Someone we met at the upper falls informed us that there was nothing at the lower falls, but we decided to go anyway. We had arrived at the park around nine and as time progressed, more and more visitors arrived. The gravel path from the parking lot led to a flat expanse of limestone with no water in sight. We saw others walking ahead, however, so we followed them.
We found the river! Creek? And considering the water level, the swimming hole below the small waterfall was quite impressive. Many people were arriving with cooler boxes and beach gear, ready to spend a day playing in the water. My brother took off his shoes and waded a bit while I walked across the rocks to find the pool.
For more information about McKinney Falls State Park, take a look at these website:
Very nice! We wanted to spend more time exploring Texas on this last trip. Hopefully we will get to see more next year!
Stout
IG: @EverybodyLovesStout
Thanks for reading Stout! I hope you’re enjoying Oregon. I miss that green!
This place has really captivating rock formations! I guess it would be best to visit during cooler weather conditions 😀
There’s a lot more water when it’s not so hot and dry. I hope I can visit again!