Pedernales Falls

Johnson City / Austin, Texas, USA

About Pedernales Falls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Pedernales Falls seemed to us to be a series of smaller cascades and waterslides that stretched the definition of what a waterfall was.

After all, its uppermost tier came the closest to having a somewhat steep drop, but the rest were really nothing more than waterslides and streams over slanted limestone sheets and chutes.

Pedernales_Falls_025_03102016 - Pedernales Falls
Pedernales Falls

While it was very tempting to get into the Pedernales River for a swim around the falls, the permitted area for swimming, wading, tubing, etc. was actually well downstream and out-of-sight.

Actually, we had to continue further downstream towards the Sponsored Youth Camping Area for a swim.

Anyways, we felt the cliff and rock formations around the Pedernales Falls added to its scenic allure.

Indeed, the presence of smooth slanted slabs of bedrock and cliffs suggested to us that there was a history of geologic upheaval here.

And while we’re on the topic of rocks, the word pedernales was said to be the Spanish word for flint as hard chunks of rock could be found around the river.

Experiencing the Pedernales Falls

Pedernales_Falls_008_03102016 - Julie and Tahia walking on the trail leading us closer to the Pedernales Falls
Julie and Tahia walking on the trail leading us closer to the Pedernales Falls

Accessing Pedernales Falls was pretty straightforward.

From the dedicated parking lot, which was past the park headquarters (see directions below), we walked down a wide and obvious trail towards a fork.

We kept left at the fork, which led us straight to an overlook of all the upper tiers of the waterfall (shown at the top of this page).

Going right at this fork led to a different overlook with more of a downstream view towards the lowermost drops of the Pedernales Falls.

Pedernales_Falls_014_03102016 - Julie and Tahia approaching the overlooks for the Pedernales Falls
Julie and Tahia approaching the overlooks for the Pedernales Falls

Both overlooks were about a quarter-mile from the parking lot.

On the left side of the viewpoint at the left trail fork, there was a combination of steps and a trail that descended to the banks of the Pedernales River.

That gave us a closer look at the slides comprising the falls, the geology, and the plunge pools.

Our visit happened to have taken place during a week of persistent rains that rejuvenated the otherwise lackluster Pedernales River, which suffered from a lack of precipitation and abundance of abnormally warm temperatures for most of the Winter of 2016.

Pedernales_Falls_031_03102016 - Julie and Tahia scrambling to get closer to the Pedernales Falls
Julie and Tahia scrambling to get closer to the Pedernales Falls

That rainfall made the waterfalling experience more photo worthy, but it also made the rocks very slippery.

Under less slick conditions, it definitely would have been worthwhile to scramble around and explore all the different tiers of the Pedernales Falls.

We especially would have enjoyed the uppermost tier, which seemed to have the most vertical drop although it was probably no more than 15ft or so.

However, while exploring around the near side of the Pedernales River, we did chance upon an interesting spring that produced a small 5ft cascade.

Pedernales_Falls_018_03102016 - Focused on the uppermost tier of Pedernales Falls, which was probably the part that best fit within the definition of a waterfall
Focused on the uppermost tier of Pedernales Falls, which was probably the part that best fit within the definition of a waterfall

We weren’t sure if this spring was a permanent feature or merely a consequence of the abundant rainfall throughout the week.

In any case, most of our time spent at the falls was pretty much around this intriguing spring.

Back at the first overlook, there was also some stairs and a less formal trail leading further downstream to the banks of the Pedernales River.

This one seemed to reach the lower waterfall’s tiers as well as a somewhat sandy area that seemed like a little bit of a beach.

Pedernales_Falls_065_03102016 - Tahia playing by what appeared to be some kind of a spring that was emerging from the ground higher than the banks of the Pedernales River before feeding it
Tahia playing by what appeared to be some kind of a spring that was emerging from the ground higher than the banks of the Pedernales River before feeding it

Overall, we spent a little over an hour away from the car.

In addition to passing on scrambling on the rocks to get closer to the remaining waterfalls making up the Pedernales Falls, we also passed on visiting the nearby Twin Falls.

That waterfall was on a temporary creek next to the camping area (accessed between campsites 19 and 21).

Authorities

Pedernales Falls resides in the Pedernales Falls State Park in Johnson City in Blanco County, Texas. It is administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.

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Tagged with: johnson city, austin, blanco county, texas, hill country, waterfall, pedernales river, state park



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Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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