#23. Junction, TX and the South Llano River State Park should be on your summer list

Another great Hill Country place to enjoy is Junction, TX. Junction accurately bills itself as the “Land of the Living Waters”. You will find the South Llano River State park on the southern edge of town. Floating the clear South Llano River is the main draw here (except for deer hunting in season). Summer visitors enjoy swimming, tubing, kayaking, canoeing and fishing the river as it winds its way for two miles through the park, beneath beautiful limestone bluffs and past ranchlands. It’s a relatively small (524 acres) and quiet park.


Campers can choose from water-and-electric sites and 30-amp service or 6 walk-in campsites with picnic tables and fire rings for those seeking more solitude. Most sites are shaded by mesquite and oak trees or have shade shelters.

Next door you will find the 2,200 acre Walter Buck Wildlife Management area which is also operated by the State. Walter Buck is open to the public and features over 20 miles of hike and bike trails.

South Llano River State Park is good for either short or long floats. Most "toobers" put in just above the low-water crossing at the park entrance and enjoy short floats to downriver gravel shoals and banks. For those seeking a longer tubing experience, the park recommends floating more than a mile to a designated takeout point. You can rent tubes at the park's visitor center for $5 a day. In addition, several Junction area outfitters offer canoe and kayak rentals for daylong trips or shorter treks. For a longer float, you can float all the way into Junction (the “City Park”).

Suggested tubing trips are:

• between the first and second crossings on the South Llano River (approximately 15 miles from Junction on Highway 377 south)

• within the boundaries of South Llano River State Park (park fees apply)

• beginning at Flat Rock Crossing (near Texas Tech Center) and finishing at the two privately owned campgrounds or the City Park.

Rio Grande turkeys are seen most every day strutting through the campground, river bottoms and woodlands throughout the park. From October through March, turkeys roost inside the park, restricting visitor access to much of the park during the six-month season. You will also see white-tailed deer and axis deer that roam the park.

Bird watchers love the park too! Four wildlife observation blinds equipped with benches afford a close-up view through large windows that looks out on a water feature, brush piles and feeding stations. Painted bunting, pyrrhuloxia, black-capped vireo, Eastern bluebird, house finch and other colorful species are frequently seen, especially in spring. Occasionally, birders spot the endangered black-capped vireo and golden-cheeked warbler. All three kingfisher species, too, can be spotted at South Llano.

South Llano River State Park is located in Kimble County five miles south of Junction on U. S. 377

The park website is found at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/south_llano_river/

Time your trip to enjoy Junction’s Summer Classic Rodeo held on August 13-14, 2010.

-Don Gray

(This posting was suggested by Cindy Ivy, a true HC girl)