Enchanted Rock — Local services in Fredericksburg

It's hard to give a rating between 5 stars for a place like this.

First time here driving from Austin. Totally worth a day trip or a few night stay. Came during a no-moon phase and the stargazing was perfect. Witnessed a heat/dry lightning in the distance.

The parking lot is where everyone parks so there is no driving into your campsite. Expect a little bit of a walk to transport stuff from your vehicle.

Park rules prevent sleeping inside your trailer/pop-up/rooftop tent/RV and we were advised that all Texas State Parks are like that.

The Park Rangers work on the dot. We saw a woman walking to the door while the ranger went to put the lock on and turn the open sign to closed so that woman was denied. And while we brought firewood, the ranger unlocked the lock for us to grab more and when someone behind me asked if they could buy firewood, the Ranger said no, we are closed.

Speaking of which, firewood is $1 a piece and is at the Ranger office where you check in before driving to the lot so get them before they close (and lock up). It's located outside the ranger's office in a locked metal cabinet.

Rules say you must leave the rock half an hour before sunset. We stayed up there as well as many others (it's stargazing!). Be careful leaving the rock however as we spotted a baby rattlesnake and it was also quite easy to lose track of the trail. The two times we did this, we kept missing the 'Summit trail' and winded up on a longer trail down.

Some people head the wrong direction and get stuck (rock scrambles on the other side). The Rangers say that they get so many calls to the fire department/park rangers that they do not want people up on the rock at night for this reason. Bring a torch, not just a headlamp. It helps to light things up far away to spot the trail markers. Most headlamps won't do this. There are no signs when at the summit (as to preserve the rock we were told).

Friday night seemed quiet until around 10:00pm when the Boy Scouts arrive. And wow, what a group. What started off as barely any vehicles in the lot was now almost full. They camped in the open areas that are likely to be reserved just for them (you can't book these otherwise). They won't disturb your sleep and this was more an issue with the parking lot than anything else. They congregate at the parking lot end furthest away from the Summit Trail entrance.

I learned about 'stickers' here and yes, some of these cacti bush-like plants have leaves and buds that stick to you. When you brush though them, it is very difficult to get them off your clothing. Even duct-tape didn't work well.

Bugs. There weren't many mosquitos although we had some and I had a nice collection to add to the bites I already got from the city. 60 and counting. Gnats were more a nuisance here than anything else. They just like to tickle you giddy and get close to your eyes and ears.

Showers. The bathroom closes after 8am and opens back up at 5:30pm. If the showers were open throughout, it would had made the hot summer sun more bearable. There are no bodies of water around the park that you can swim in. Moss lake had animal feces among other matter in there and we were advised that it's not a good idea to dunk there. Frog lake was also not advisable by the volunteer guide we had.

There are spigots at one end of the parking lot where we were as well as outside the bathroom/shower so those are always assessable. Water temp was lukewarm. It's close to the ground so you can't shower underneath it. Not sure if the other end of the parking lot where the summit trail is has water too.

There are plenty of portapotties outside the bathroom so when they close it, you still have a place to do your business. It's clean.

I plan to...

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area consists of a gorgeous granite "batholith" (a blister of igneous rock formed by a magma clot over a BILLION! years ago) in the heart of Texas situated in the rolling green carpet that is the Hill Country. It is a short 25 minute drive north on 965 from the tourist town of Fredericksburg and all of its boutique shops, restaurants, and numerous resort and hotel/motel accommodations. I believe the park offers around 11 miles of hiking, with the best view situated on top of the big batholith (dome) where one can see the surrounding landscape in all directions--it only takes about 20 minutes or so to hike to the top of the dome and amounts to a little over a mile round trip back to the trail head. There is no marked "trail" visible near the top as it's simply rising granite with no vegetation and demarked paths--one simply can walk up to the summit of the dome in about any meandering direction. One can also circumambulate the domes in a relatively flat trail that loops for about 5 miles (I think--we missed this trail and other side trails). Parking is not particularly ample, and I figure it's best to get there and hike before noon. We went in early January when it was not too hot--I can't imagine doing the hike on top of the solid granite in the middle of July (best to start early). Winds at the summit where moderate. There is a restroom building near the trailhead to the summit along with picnic tables and a gazebo with telescopes for those wishing to view the summit but cannot hike it. They also have a small gift shop with water and other items at the "ranger" station in the main entrance. We purchased and printed our entrance pass online the night before our visit (they want you to schedule your time in two hour or so slots so it seems they regulate the flow of people), but I think one can purchase entrance in person at the station should there be availability for that hour or two. I strongly recommend you purchase entry online BEFORE your visit. Overall, this is a nice day diversion from urban Texas into the natural beauty of the area. I hope to visit more in the future and hike all of the trails. Texas is embarrassingly scant on state parks as most of its land is monopolized by ranchers/farmers (and an attitude that favors hegemonic private ownership at the expense of common good). Hence, Enchanted Rock was ONLY established as a park in 1978--what other wonders are selfishly guarded by elite landgrabbers in our beautiful state? Anyway, do not miss Enchanted Rock--worth the hour+ drive or so from...

This is our family's second visit to Enchanted Rock. First visit on a Spring Break 4 yrs. ago, no problems except for the very long line before getting admitted to the park. The second visit, Spring Break 2018, we arrived at 8:17am and followed the line of cars by the entrance to the park. We thought that the lights which were a few miles before the entrance were not flashing meant we were in good shape because the park is not yet full. The cars were inching in very slowly and it took us over an hour to get to the entrance only to be told the park was already full. The guy handed us a pink voucher and said it guarantees us entry if we come back after 1pm that same day. For those who are visiting Fredericksburg for just a day trip and just for the purpose of going to Enchanted Rock, that was a huge disappointment. There has to be a better way of handling a busy week like Spring Break to get people in without turning anybody away. They could have issued entrance vouchers for the first, lets say, 2,000 cars through their website for a specific future date and for a blocked 2 or 3 hr. time frame so people do not waste time waiting on the road only to be told they cannot be admitted to the park. Another way, is to invest on some drones that relay info to the entrance staff about how many cars are in line, and staff some people at certain points where they can inform incoming visitors/customers that the cut off for the amount of cars have been reached. The other disorganized and mismanaged operation of this park is that people coming from the other side of town had to bypass everybody else waiting on the opposite side of the road waiting, make a U-turn about where the line ends and follow that line. There has to be a way that visitors from both sides of the road can enter or get in line as a first come first serve basis. We were supposed to head on home after lunch but we ended coming back after 1pm because our little girl insisted that this was the reason why we drove down to Fredericksburg and drove over 4 hrs. We had a grand time inside with the spectacular view from the summit, but the experience getting in could have been more pleasant if the people running the park were...