Pedernales Falls State Park

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Pedernales Falls State Park - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 30°18′0″N 98°14′30″W / 30.30000°N 98.24167°W

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Pedernales Falls State Park
Pedernales River running over limestone.
Pedernales Falls Show map of Texas Pedernales Falls Show map of the United States
Location	Blanco County, Texas
Nearest city	Johnson City
Coordinates	30°18′0″N 98°14′30″W / 30.30000°N 98.24167°W / 30.30000; -98.24167
Area	5,211.7 acres (2,109 ha)
Established	1971
Visitors	218,414 (in 2022)^[1]
Governing body	Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
tpwd.texas.gov/spdest/parkinfo/maps/gis/pedernales_falls/

Pedernales Falls State Park (/ˌpɜːrdəˈnælɪs/ PUR-də-NAL-iss) is a 5,212-acre state park situated along the banks of the Pedernales River in Blanco County, Texas in the United States.^[2]

Location

The park is located 10 miles (16 km) east of Johnson City, and about 25 miles west of Austin, Texas.

History

Prior to the year 1970, the area that the park occupies was a working ranch, known as the Circle Bar Ranch. The state of Texas purchased the ranch in 1970, and opened the park in 1971.

Recreation

Many of the activities in Pedernales Falls State Park center around the Pedernales River: swimming, tubing, wading and fishing. The park also has a number of picnic areas and campsites, including some primitive campsites that require a hike of over two miles to reach. There are also 19.8 miles (31.9 km) of hiking and mountain biking trails, 10 miles of equestrian trails, and 14 miles of backpacking trails. There is a park store where you can purchase gift items and ice. The entrance fee is $6 daily for persons 13 years or older, children 12 and under are allowed in at no cost.^[3]

Like many rivers in central Texas, the Pedernales is prone to variable water levels. A sign at the park shows a relatively tranquil river in one picture and a raging wall of muddy water in the next picture, said to be taken only five minutes after the first. The speed at which flash floods can arise along this river has resulted in several deaths at the park.

Panoramic view of Perdenales Falls at low water flow

Weather

Climate data for Pedernales Falls State Park
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	89 (32)	100 (38)	102 (39)	101 (38)	102 (39)	110 (43)	108 (42)	107 (42)	110 (43)	98 (37)	93 (34)	89 (32)	110 (43)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	61 (16)	63.7 (17.6)	71.2 (21.8)	79.2 (26.2)	85.2 (29.6)	91.2 (32.9)	94.8 (34.9)	94.8 (34.9)	88.8 (31.6)	80.3 (26.8)	70.7 (21.5)	62.5 (16.9)	78.6 (25.9)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	34.8 (1.6)	38 (3)	46.1 (7.8)	53.9 (12.2)	62.4 (16.9)	68.7 (20.4)	70.9 (21.6)	70.1 (21.2)	64.3 (17.9)	54.3 (12.4)	45 (7)	36.2 (2.3)	53.7 (12.1)
Record low °F (°C)	7 (−14)	3 (−16)	13 (−11)	27 (−3)	36 (2)	50 (10)	56 (13)	53 (12)	37 (3)	22 (−6)	17 (−8)	1 (−17)	1 (−17)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	2.1 (53)	2.2 (56)	2.7 (69)	2.3 (58)	4 (100)	4 (100)	2.4 (61)	2 (51)	3.3 (84)	3.9 (99)	3.1 (79)	2 (51)	34 (860)
Average precipitation days	3	3	3.7	5.6	6.5	5.3	4.7	4.1	5	4.2	2.9	3.1	51.1
Average relative humidity (%)	67	65	58	61	65	62	59	59	64	66	65	63	63
Source: Weatherbase^[4]

Nature

The river limestone at Pedernales Falls is 300 million years old. Erosion from deposits in the Cretaceous period created the current formations.

Wildlife in the park is typical of the Texas Hill Country, including white-tailed deer, coyotes, rabbits, armadillos, wild hogs, skunks, opossums and raccoons. Many types of birds, including the endangered golden-cheeked warbler, can be found in the summer.^[5]

Trees commonly found in the area include juniper, pecan, sycamore, elm, walnut, hackberry, and others.^[6]

Venomous snakes most commonly found in the Texas Hill Country are the western diamondback rattlesnake, eastern copperhead, and the water moccasin.^[7]

References

^ Christopher Adams. "What is the most visited state park in Texas? Here's the top 10 countdown". KXAN.com. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
^ https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/pedernales-falls/park_history, Archived 2019-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Pedernales Falls State Park — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department".
^ "Pedernales Falls State Park: Monthly Weather Averages Summary". weatherbase.com. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
^ "Pedernales Falls State Park Nature — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department". tpwd.texas.gov. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
^ "Pedernales Falls State Park Nature — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department".
^ "Venomous Snakes of the Texas Hill Country". November 22, 2017.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pedernales Falls State Park.

Pedernales Falls State Park information from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Pedernales Falls State Park from the Handbook of Texas Online
Film footage of Pedernales Falls State Park from Exploring the Texas State Park System from the Texas Archive of the Moving Image

Protected areas of Texas

Federal

National Parks	Big Bend Guadalupe Mountains
National monuments and memorials	Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Castner Range National Monument Chamizal National Memorial Military Working Dog Teams National Monument Waco Mammoth National Monument
National Historical Parks and Historic Sites	Fort Davis NHS Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Palo Alto Battlefield NHP San Antonio Missions NHP
National Historic Trails	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
National Recreation Areas	Amistad Lake Meredith
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Rio Grande
National Wildlife Refuges	Anahuac Aransas Attwater Prairie Chicken Balcones Canyonlands Big Boggy Brazoria Buffalo Lake Caddo Lake Grulla Hagerman Laguna Atascosa Little Sandy Lower Rio Grande Valley McFaddin Muleshoe Neches River San Bernard Santa Ana Texas Point Trinity River
National Forests	Angelina Davy Crockett Sabine Sam Houston
National Grasslands	Caddo Lyndon B. Johnson McClellan Creek Rita Blanca
Other Protected Areas	Big Thicket National Preserve Padre Island National Seashore

State

State Parks and Natural Areas	Abilene Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area Atlanta Balmorhea Barton Warnock Visitor Center Bastrop Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Big Bend Ranch Big Spring Blanco Bonham Brazos Bend Buescher Caddo Lake Caprock Canyons Cedar Hill Chinati Mountains State Natural Area Choke Canyon Cleburne Colorado Bend Cooper Lake Copper Breaks Daingerfield Davis Hill Davis Mountains Devils River State Natural Area Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area Dinosaur Valley Eisenhower Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Estero Llano Grande Fairfield Lake Falcon Fort Boggy Fort Parker State Park Fort Richardson State Park Franklin Mountains Galveston Island Garner Goliad Goose Island Government Canyon State Natural Area Guadalupe River Hill Country State Natural Area Honey Creek State Natural Area Huntsville Indian Lodge Inks Lake Kickapoo Cavern Lake Arrowhead Lake Bob Sandlin Lake Brownwood Lake Casa Blanca International Lake Colorado City Lake Corpus Christi Lake Livingston Lake Mineral Wells Lake Somerville Lake Tawakoni Lake Whitney Lockhart Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Martin Creek Lake Martin Dies Jr. Matagorda Island McKinney Falls McKinney Roughs Meridian Mission Tejas Monahans Sandhills Mother Neff State Park Mustang Island Old Tunnel Palmetto Palo Duro Canyon Palo Pinto Mountains Pedernales Falls Possum Kingdom Purtis Creek Ray Roberts Lake Resaca de la Palma San Angelo Sea Rim Sheldon Lake South Llano River Stephen F. Austin Tyler Village Creek Walter Umphrey Wyler Aerial Tramway
State Historic Sites	Acton Admiral Nimitz Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos Battleship TEXAS Caddo Mounds Casa Navarro Confederate Reunion Grounds Eisenhower Birthplace Fanthorp Inn Fannin Battleground Fort Griffin Fort Lancaster Fort Leaton Fort McKavett Fort Richardson State Park Fulton Mansion Goliad Hueco Tanks Kreische Brewery Landmark Inn Levi Jordan Plantation Lipantitlan Lyndon B. Johnson Magoffin Homestead Mission Espiritu Santo Mission Dolores Mission Rosario Monument Hill Penn Farm Point Isabel Lighthouse Sabine Pass Battleground Sam Bell Maxey House Samuel T. Rayburn House San Felipe San Jacinto Battleground Sauer-Beckmann Farm Seminole Canyon Starr Family Home Varner–Hogg Plantation Washington-on-the-Brazos Zaragoza Birthplace
State Forests and Arboretums	E.O. Siecke I.D. Fairchild John Henry Kirby Masterson W. Goodrich Jones Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum Olive Scott Petty Arboretum
State Wildlife Trails	Great Texas Coastal Heart of Texas Panhandle Plains Prairies and Pineywoods