Guadalupe River State Park

Quiet weekend at the park. Literally. It was a fairly empty weekend but that might be because only one RV loop was open. The tent site was also open.

Day use area was pretty busy for early in the morning. But amazing river access.

Roads were well signposted. Not to mention the burn ban! No ash producing fires at all.

Easy directions to the sites, not a terribly tight road - pretty easy to back into your site. Road is two way so just check the angle your site is on. Easy to hook up services; some sites have full hook ups.

Granted, we only stayed two days, but we'll be back. Each RV site had asphalt pad, picnic table, lantern pole, picnic table, electric and water. Bathrooms were clean, serviceable and heated. Park was quiet at night, and no excessive lighting or road noise. We did hike a bit around the day use area near the river which we loved. The have a nature center and other things to do. The staff were very friendly and helpful as were all of the park hosts. They have a nice variety of sites in terms of size. We saw every type of RV there including a large Class A, but research ahead of time to make sure you get what you need.

We continue to be impressed with Texas State Parks. Guadalupe River SP has excellent facilities for camping and RVing. All sites are water electric and a dump site is located in between the park entrance and the two camping loops. Large trash dumpsters were conveniently located in several places in each loop. We stayed in the Turkey Sink loop as the Cedar Sage loop was closed for some construction during our visit. We did walk through the Cedar Sage loop, however and concluded that the Turkey Sink loop had nicer and generally larger sites. Each loop has a bathhouse which in keeping with our tradition, we did not use or visit.

There are plenty of large sites in the Turkey Sink loop. Do check the information provided on Reserve America to make sure your rig will fit. We noted plenty of sites that would accommodate a 40 foot rig, but there are some sites that were better suited to tents and Class sites th make S.E. are very spacious and offer plenty of separation and privacy fromyour neighbors. The campground is very quiet (except for the usual “family noise” during the weekend when the place seems to fill up. During there were never more than ten sites occupied (late February.)

Verizon data (boosted) worked very well in our site and we were able to download HD video.

The campground is conveniently located to visit both San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country.

There was a wonderful grocery store (HEB) in Spring Branch about ten miles away.

Bottom line: if the general location suits your needs, you won’t find a better place to stay.

The price reflects the discount provided by the Texas State Park Pass ($70/year) which is well worth purchasing if you plan to spend more that five or six days a year in a Texas State Park.

We spent a nice three day weekend at Guadalupe River in mid December. Weather was perfect and the park was half full. Checked in Friday was quick and easy. We had water and 30 Amp service. Had enough cell service (AT&T) to check email and watch YouTube. Hiked down to the river and enjoyed the beauty of this park. Will definitely stay here again.

• I’ll start with this. There is a drought so the water is off and the river is low. That probably influences my review a lot. (They discounted 50 percent so we decided to stay. Normally $24 plus entry.)
• We had to drive to a friend’s house in San Antonio to shower. They had portapotties which was better than nothing for sure.
• It was very hot in July and not having the ability to cool ourselves off at the site was a bummer.
• Many of the sites are even but the actual parking spot for RVs/trucks are in the full sun most of the day. (Grills and picnic table. Nice tent pads and pretty trees.)
• There are lots of trees between the sites which give you a bit of privacy. You can only cook out with a propane grill right now too so we couldn’t use anything we brought.
• Some other reviews say this park is usually full in the summer but it was pretty empty (again, probably due to the drought).
• There was still a $7 ($6? Can’t remember bc we have stayed in 3 Texas state parks in the last week) per person, per day entry fee on top of the camping fees.
• Can’t speak to the bath houses or nature center since those were not open at the time.
• We did enjoy splashing around in the river with our baby for a little while one day.
• Mostly it was a place to park the camper while we visited SA, Gruene, and New Braunfels.
• Not sure about the hiking trails bc it was just too hot this time of year and they weren’t shaded.
• I would like to come back maybe in the Spring or Fall.

We've stayed here multiple times (tent and RV) so obviously we like it enough to return, but at the same time, I would rather go to South LLano SP, Garner SP, Blanco SP, or even the Kerrville-Schreiner city park. We were here midweek, during the school year, so it wasn't too bad but be advised this park regularly reaches capacity during the Summer months.

The park is easily accessible, off Hwy 46 from either the East (Bulverde/Hwy 281) or West (Boerne/I-10). Bulverde has pretty much any type of store you need. They have a large HEB+, Tractor Supply, Home Depot, etc. Boerne (pronounced "Bernie") is little farther away but is a great town to go walk around and have a bite to eat.

The Cedar Sage camping area was closed while we were there (May '18), which was both good and bad. It kept the number of overall campers in the park down, but it put everyone in one camping loop (Turkey Sink) so it was pretty crowded. The sites can be pretty close together but there are a good amount of trees in the campground so it feels more private than it actually is. The highlight of the park is the river. The walk down from the parking area to the river can be challenging for some, but once you're down there it's great. Calm waters...usually not too deep or flowing too quickly. The hiking trails aren't much to speak of, and there's a Discovery Center, but it seems to be closed every time we go so I can't say much about it. The bathhouse was in decent shape. The showers ran out of hot water pretty quickly, but no major complaints.

One last thing about this park is that it is the most heavily patrolled park we've ever stayed in. While most Texas state parks have a "no public consumption of alcohol" policy, Guadalupe River SP has a strict "No Alcohol" policy. The Rangers in the office seem pretty chill but the (numerous) Rangers driving around rule the place with an iron fist. I'm not a drinker so it wasn't an issue for me, but this is not some wink No Alcohol wink type of deal. I've seen Rangers walk into people's campsites, ticket them, and then make them dispose of all the booze. ...and this was a group of 60-somethings casually drinking wine around their picnic table about 8:30pm. They're also very strict about parking and pets. It can seem a little overbearing at times, but if you mind your P's & Q's you should be fine. .....And, I get it. This is an extremely popular place and I'm sure they've had numerous issues in the past with people getting drunk and acting a fool, but still, it can be annoying and I thought it was worth mentioning.

Go check it out for yourself! Have fun and safe travels!

We stayed here and visited friends in the area. It is a good state park and good option for visiting the San Antonio area. It definitely feels like an older state park but it suited our needs. There is a ton of nighttime wildlife, which will surprise you if you walk after dark. We ran into raccoons, armadillos, and other large rodents. You will also see deer roaming through the area.

We stayed here in late February in the Turkey Sink loop. Our site was just long enough for our 28 foot trailer and truck. Many sites on the loop looked very short. This park was just ok for us. The river is nice, but it had been raining (not torrential downpours) and the trails to the river were closed. The SP office said the trails get really muddy so they have to close them often. Seems they need to improve their trails since most people must go there for the river. The loop road was narrow and the sites were generally muddy. Picnic table was wooden and old. If we are in the area again we will try a different state park.

The park itself is nice enough. $24/night for hookups sounded fine. We got in around 5pm, about 30 mins after the office closed. We didn’t have change but the ranger told us we could pay what we did have ($20) and then pay the rest in the morning. Apparently, EVERYONE entering the park has to pay $7pp regardless of camping or day use. So, our $24/night turned into $38. If we had known, we wouldn’t have stayed there.