McKinney Roughs Nature Park — Attraction in Bastrop

We had a good time at this park with the exception of getting lost and a very negative interaction with someone working for the Harry Potter exhibition. The getting lost part was our fault for reading the maps wrong, but we inadvertently hiked 5 miles with 3 kids and through a series of misreading the maps took the hardest trails through the zip line course, all the while thinking we were heading back to the parking lot but in reality getting further away. The spot where the pine ridge trails branches off to go down in the valley that people zip line above was misleading and the signs were not very clear. We thought we were on pine ridge heading west, but actually were on pine ridge heading south. I had a 7, 4.5, and 1.5yo with me. The baby was strapped to my back which made it much harder. We kept checking our google maps trying to figure out where to go because the kids were exhausted. We passed all of the zip lines and finally came out by the trails being used for the Harry Potter Forbidden Forest exhibit. Those were the trails that seemed to be the most direct route back to the visitors center. We passed a man on a golf cart who saw us looking obviously lost and discussing directions but he waved and offered no help. We kept walking through the Forbidden Forest section, not touching anything but trying to find where it reconnected with the trails back to the visitor center parking lot. The whole area was walled off with large metal panels covered in black tarp. When we got closer to where the paths connect, we got worried it would be walled off, so when we found a spot where the walls had enough space for us to slip through, we took it. Not 5 minutes later, another man came riding up in a gator and I thought, “hallelujah, someone can help us figure out what to do.” He immediately launched into accusing us of stealing from the exhibit, saying he would follow us to our car and take a picture of our plates and of us, then didn’t believe us that we were lost or that we were parked so far away. It took several minutes to convince him that we were genuinely lost and couldn’t have stolen something because we were juggling 3 kids and too tired to do anything but trudge back to the car. After he finally believed us, he took us to the picnic tables they had for guests and gave us water then came back with a golf cart he could carry us all on back to the parking lot. He explained people have been coming and stealing right and left, so I understand the impulse to not believe us, but he said most of the thieves are young couples in their mid-20s, not middle aged people pushing 40 with a gaggle of kids. In the stress of being told the cops were going to be called on us, my husband forgot his walking stick with his sweatshirt tied on it. I won’t say I wouldn’t come back because it was a beautiful park and under different circumstances we would have had a great time, but I felt the trails should have been better marked and I’m in no rush to hike it again with kids. Thank God we went in December when it was cool enough...

My now wife and I got married here just last month. We really can't say enough how great our experience was.

To start, the grounds are beautiful and well maintained. This goes for both the exterior landscaping and the interior of the reception hall. The reception hall itself was the perfect size for our 120 guests. We had to move some tables around to create a dance floor, but there was still plenty of room for everyone to comfortably get to their seats or get up and move around. Finally, the full service kitchen in the reception hall was incredible. I really cannot stress enough how big of an advantage this is. When our food arrived it was placed in large warming cabinets and fridges to keep everything at the proper temperature, and when our guests were ready to eat everything was put out on a lunch-line style serving line which made dinner run very smoothly.

The best part of our experience was Jheri, the coordinator for McKinney Roughs. She was knowledgeable and helpful during the entire planning process and was amazing the day of our wedding. While my bride and her bridesmaids were getting ready the entire day I spent my time setting everything up in the reception hall and kitchen. The moment a minor issue popped up Jheri was right there to help me solve it and keep things moving. We had planned on an outdoor ceremony, but the rain came and washed away those plans. Jheri quickly helped us move some tables out of the way to create and aisle and we had the ceremony in the reception hall. At one point one of the bridesmaids needed an iron because her dress was wrinkled. I sent Jheri a quick text and minutes later she's walking into the room with an iron and ironing board, like some kind of superhero. I still don't know where she got them from...There were no disasters and zero miscommunication throughout the day and everything went perfectly.

At the end of all the festivities we simply cleared out all of our decorations and for a reasonable fee the park did all of the clean up. Our experience here was nothing short of fantastic and we are so very happy. If we have any major events to plan we will, without a doubt, be coming back to...

This nature park is the best kept secret in the area. For some reason it doesn't get that much attention which astounds me because the park is beautiful, the trails are awesome and the view from some of them is literally breath taking. Maybe because you have to hike to the lookout points and I'm not a fan of cardio lol. They have a pecan tree in this park that is so big you can't even get your arms around it with two people. Its located where all the different parts of Texas come together so you have the sandy area with the pines and you have the area where the Colorado river runs through and the prairie type land with all the evidence of the crazy fires we had awhile back and there's a rocky area with limestone and little ravines and a rest area at the top with picnic tables to enjoy the view. All through the park there are little signs telling you about the history of the area and the people who settled it. And every time I have come here there is only maybe a small handful of people checked in that are out in the park hiking so you have the whole park to yourself which doesn't happen too often anywhere these days..matter of fact I debated doing this review because I really love this park and would hate to see more people here possibly ruining the peaceful beauty all around it but it would be wrong of me not to let folks in on the it. so I say if you want to know more about McKinney roughs then come see for yourself and be prepared to really enjoy it. Make sure you stop in at guest services and pay the small fee to enjoy the park so they can keep it open for many years to come. They have summer camps here for the kids too. And the Hyatt next door does activities here, trail rides with horses and such. I believe there is some geocaching going on here too because I've seen some weird things in the park that would indicate some kind of hide and seek...