Backpack Trail Guide

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Colorado Bend State Park Backpacking Loop

Colorado Bend State Park (about 30 miles west of Lampasas)

Colorado Bend State Park, about 30 miles west of Lampasas by Backpacker’s directions, sits on the Colorado River, with a network of hiking and biking trails over limestone hills and canyons and the 65-foot Gorman Falls, according to Backpacker. The park has two backcountry camping areas, Windmill and River, and Backpacker’s “multiday epic” strings both into one loop with a stop at the car halfway for a resupply.

The hike

Backpacker’s route starts at the Cedar Chopper Loop trailhead, where you leave a cache in the car for later. The first leg links the Lemons Ridge Pass, Lively Loop, and Windmill Trails for 4.4 miles to the Windmill Backpack Camping Area, which the magazine describes as a prairie setting among mountain cedars. Backpacker’s note for this camp: “BYO water.”

The next leg links the Windmill, Lively Loop, Gorman-Windmill Connection, and Gorman Falls Trails for 3.4 miles to a tributary of the Colorado and Gorman Falls. TPWD rates the Gorman Falls Trail difficult, and Nutty Hiker describes a steep, rocky descent to the falls with a handrail. TPWD asks visitors to view the falls from a distance, and bans swimming in the creek fed by Gorman Spring to protect Guadalupe bass. Backpacker adds a 1-mile out-and-back on the Gorman Spring Trail, then returns on Old Gorman Road to the car at mile 10.5. Both of those trails are currently closed in part (see the notice).

The second leg heads east 3.5 miles through Dogleg Canyon, which Backpacker says has trailside sinkholes and caves open only by permit, and up the River Trail to the River Backpack Camping Area at mile 14.4, a flat site near the Colorado River. The last 4.2 miles follow the River and Lemons Ridge Pass Trails back to the trailhead.

TPWD lists the trails used here as Lemons Ridge Pass (5.0 miles, moderate), Lively Loop (4.8, easy), Windmill (1.6, moderate), Dogleg Canyon (1.3, difficult), and River (3.4, easy). The trails are shared with mountain bikers unless marked otherwise. Backpacker recommends October through May; Nutty Hiker warns that the park fills in busy season and the gates close for four hours when it does.

For another Hill Country overnight, see Pedernales Falls or Lost Maples.

Tips

Camping

TPWD describes both backcountry areas as low-impact, limited-footprint camping with up to four people per site and no water or restrooms. Larger groups must split into four-person groups; this isn’t a group camp. Open fires are banned, but containerized fuel stoves are allowed for cooking. At Windmill, tents must stay within site boundaries and camping outside the designated area is prohibited. The River area is less than a mile from the River Trailhead, and Windmill is about a mile from the Windmill Trailhead and about five miles from the river and main campground. Carry out all trash.

Inside Intel: Backpacker describes the River Backpack Camping Area as a flat site with easy access to the Colorado River, and the Windmill area as a prairie setting with mountain cedars where you bring your own water. No other camper accounts recommending a specific site were found.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

The rocky drop to Gorman Falls:

TPWD rates the Gorman Falls Trail difficult, and one writer describes a steep, rocky descent to the 65-foot falls with a handrail. See how to set your poles for steep downhill pitches like this.

Read the pole tips →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.