All the tips and reasons you should visit Lost Maples State Natural Area in Texas.
Lost Maples State Natural Area is well-known in Texas because of its fall foliage. It is a great place to catch some red, orange, and yellow bigtooth maple trees in late autumn. However, the park is a wonderful place to visit year-round with the abundant wildflowers, steep canyon walls, and scenic Sabinal River. The park is located about 2 hours northwest of San Antonio in Vanderpool, Texas. Lost Maples State Natural Area is definitely a bucket list item and you can see more items on my Texas bucket list here.
What to do at Lost Maples State Natural Area
Most visitors tend to explore the Lost Maples State Natural Area in late fall to see the fall foliage, which means the park is extremely busy on the weekends in October and November.
Hiking Trails
There are several hiking trails with over 10 miles of trails, including a loop trail that takes you along the top of the 2,200-foot cliff. We took the Maple Trail which takes you through some of the bigtooth maple trees and along Sabinal River. Then continued onto the East Trail past Monkey Rock, the Grotto, a scenic overlook, and a pond before completing the loop with the East-West Trail which crossed and ran along Can Creek. In total, the East Loop hike was 4.6 miles + the distance back to the parking lot.
Camping
There are 30 RV/tent camping sites to choose from with water and electricity hookups. The park also has primitive camping sites.
Fishing
You do not need a fishing license to fish as long as you fish from shore or pier. You can either fish in the Sabinal River or Can Creek.
Tips for Visiting
- Bring plenty of water, hats/sunglasses, and sunscreen.
- If you plan to swim or cool off in the river, bring water shoes.
- Central Texas is extremely hot during the summer, I highly recommend you hike early in the day or save your hiking for fall/winter/spring.
- Texas State Parks and Natural Areas are utilizing a park pass reservation system currently. Due to the popularity of Lost Maples State Natural Area during the fall, day passes for the weekends/holidays fill up well in advance so be sure to book your park pass early.
- Check out Lost Maples State Natural Area’s fall foliage report on their website to see how the foliage is progressing.
Have you visited Lost Maples State Natural Area?
