Pace Bend Park

This county park offers hiking/bike trails, swimming and other water-sports as well as great scenery. It is close to Austin and all the things that this brings. The "improved" campsites are ideal for RVs in the summer but if you come in the winter months it is a great place to dry camp in the primitive camping areas. I have been coming to this park for over forty years and it seems to get better with age. Well maintained and secure (police patrols every few hours).

While Pace Bend does offer some RV spaces, if you're looking for hook-ups I'd go somewhere else. It's tight there. The reason to go to Pace Bend is the dispersed camping...camp basically wherever you like. Along the cliffs. along the water's edge, under the trees. I choose Pace Bend for small groups, kayaking, etc. There are some bathrooms...but I'd recommend bring your own as they may be a hike to get to.

This place can get noisy and rowdy, but Police patrol more now than in the past so it doesn't get out of hand like it did for a while.

We really enjoyed our stay here.
Our GPS guided us through some neighborhoods (The Hills) which was definitely not ideal for a big rig...better to take Hwy 71. There is a dump station just before you get to the entrance station of the park (there is a tiny wooden sign pointing to the dump) and there is a fresh water fill inside the park --which is a little tricky because it's super sloped and a little rough getting over the shoulder of the road but we did fine in our 33' RV with our toad attached. You'll be given a map upon entry which shows where the fresh water is and the ranger at the entrance gave us some suggestions on where to camp, which was much appreciated in this huge park. There's over 400 camping spots!
We chose a spot on the east side, with easy access to the water. We were in the full sun, which did get a bit hot, but if you want shade there are lots of options. There were mosquitoes at night but they weren't bad during the day.
We had great internet connectivity with Verizon and AT&T, no booster needed.
We paid $20/night to camp ($15 per vehicle plus $5 for the toad). The entry pass can get you discounts to other Travis County parks -- like Hamilton Pool which is about 45 minutes away and should not be missed (emerald swimming hole in a cove with a waterfall! Check their website, reservations are needed for the summer season).
There was a resident heron that loved to fish right next to our site and was there every day.
We saw a tarantula and heard there are scorpions, water moccasins, and snapping turtles but didn't see those.
I asked a ranger if there are alligators in the lake and she said "not that I know of"
I guess people do cliff jumping here, maybe more so on the west side where the cliffs are bigger -- I can't speak to the safety of this...but if we'd camped on that side we might have been enticed to try it :)
It's about an hour to Austin which we visited on one day. In Austin there's lots of kayaking and SUPing on the river that runs right through downtown -- wish we'd of known, looked like so much fun with all huge skyscrapers right next to the river. There's also a large off-leash dog park right down there by the river too, not far from the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue. Loved it.
Pace Bend was so peaceful and beautiful and we'll definitely stay here again!

This is a county park in Travis County, Texas. We stayed one week in the middle of March 2019. We decided to stay outside the campground in the dispersed area. Technically, you can camp anywhere in the park; however, we believe there are only a few decent spots for RVs. Camping is limited to 7 days in a 30-day period. We stayed at Mudd Cove Mesquite Point and found a great spot right by the lake. We were able to get level without leveling blocks after some trial and error. There were several spots in that area that would be great for a RV of any size. As of April 1, 2019, they are closing the Tournament Point area to camping, so Mudd Cove Mesquite Point will have some of the only RV spots (IMO). Those spots are off Grisham Trail. The areas down Pace Bend Road were not RV friendly. Most were a tight squeeze, and many did not have turnaround spots. Great areas in there for tent camping, but not RVs. On Grisham Trail, you will find potable water. It is easy to miss and in a horrible spot on a curve and hill. It will be on left if you are coming from the park entrance. The dump station is outside of the park, right before the entrance on the right. Easy in and out when leaving. Since we were in the dispersed area, we relied on our solar for electricity. The area we found was perfect for that. We were able to find a nice open spot with no trees and the weather cooperated, so we had no trouble with electricity. The park was quiet and empty for most of the week. Things did pick up Thursday and over the weekend, but most people were respectful and quieted down after 11pm. We walked the trails a few times, but overall there is not a ton to do here unless you are swimming. The cost for us was $20/night. $15 for the truck and $5 for the travel trailer. Day use fees are $7 a person which is included in the camping costs. The employee working when we arrived was not friendly or helpful at all, but the other employees we encountered were very helpful and nice. Overall, we will likely not be back. The price seemed steep for no hookups and the park just didn’t offer enough for us to want to stay again.

Pace Bend Park, also know as Pale Face Park, has been my favorite campground for decades. This is the first time I have had a camper verses a tent though and it was even more awesome. There are only 20 improved sites with 30/50 hookups and water. Dump station is close by at the entrance. Cost is $20 for your camper/RV and one vehicle. 8 person maximum camping at your site. They basically charge by the day per vehicle. Day rate is $10. Tent camping is $15 a night. You may only stay 7 days in a row, but you can stay up to 14 days a month.
This park has hiking trails, but is all about the camping, swimming and cliff jumping. Cliffs on both sides and the flats at the end. You can launch your boat or toys right in. They also have 2 official boat ramps.
The hundreds of cliffs range from 5' - 70'. That 70' foot is well named Thrasher. The most popular cliff jumping spot is called Acid Rock. Lots of locals always there jumping 30' then climbing the smaller island rock to rest, dive, and climb the rope back up and do it again.
It's a great county park. Lots of shade. Hundreds of tent camping sites with picnic tables and grills. Well patrolled by the police. Restrooms have a few Daddy Long Legs, but they won't hurt ya!
P.S. There are no bugs or mosquitos right now. lol

Pace Bend Park is a clean, well cared for park. It was smaller than I expected, but they do have nice RV sites. Only drawback is no sewer hookup, but that is common in county parks.

We stayed off Grisham Trail, in site 1. There is a restroom with showers right across the street. I have a 40ft fifth wheel, and seems like it could accommodate a bigger rig.

Dump station was quite a distance away, so we just used our portable waste holding tank to avoid having to pack up and drive to dump.

There really isn't much to do around this area. Except if you are going to have a boat or fish.

Most grocery stores, and restaurants are at least 30 to 40 min away- with a few exceptions.

Would stay here again. Or go to Pedernales Falls campground and stay there. Much more hiking and prettier.

4 of the campsites around us showed reverse polarity on surge protectors. Maintenance could not fix. Took a night and the next day with no electricity for them to finally allow us to move to another site......with the park being about half full but with all sites “reserved”. Next site had huge pieces of exposed rebar in the parking area... not safe, especially with kiddos running around. Bathrooms in fair shape. This park has sadly become a bit run down for “improved (ha!) camping and is double the price of nicer state parks. If you are in a camper, go somewhere else!

We came to this campground in January, so no swimming or cliff jumping for us. Hiking was not exciting, but it looked like the trails were well-suited to mountain biking and lots of road bikers were riding through the park.

The campground was not very crowded at all despite most sites showing reserved online. This could be because some were not available due to covid or the odd way the park handles reservations. You pay a $10 fee online to reserve your site but then we had to pay in cash or check only when we arrived for the #30 nightly fee. Easy to skip out on a reservation if you only lose $10. Site 13 is the best site in the park, imo. Electric and water hookups were great but the bathrooms were sketchy. You get a code to enter through a gate, but they felt a little odd to me. Very basic toilet/showers available. The sites are hit or miss on whether you have any privacy but since there are only 20 sites, it had a calm feel anyway.

Campsites:

20 sites are available with electric, sewer and water hookups.
400 unimproved sites are available.

The west side of the park features high, limestone cliffs and numerous rocky coves with some of the most impressive views available of Lake Travis, especially at sunset.

Most of Pace Bend Park is easily accessible by vehicle from the seven-mile, paved roadway that loops the park. However, the interior of the park is managed as a wildlife preserve and can be reached by foot, bicycle, or horseback only. Numerous trails lead into the hills and provide excellent views of the lake and the Hill Country. This area serves as home to a large number of whitetail deer, raccoon, fox, ringtail cat, and dozens of bird species.

Boaters on Lake Travis and other lakes are required to drain their boats after use to help prevent the spread of zebra mussels.

Day Use $10 per vehicle
Pedestrian/Bicyclist $3 per pedestrian/bicyclist
Primitive Camping aka Day/Night Combo $15 per vehicle
Improved Camping (plus $10.00 reservation fee) $20 per vehicle
Trailer Parking Fee (No charge to Lone Star Seniors and Veterans) $2 per trailer/per day
Annual Day Use Permit (+ $5.00 per vehicle at Hippie Hollow / Hamilton Pool Preserve) $100 per vehicle
Duplicate Annual Permit (+ $5.00 per vehicle at Hippie Hollow / Hamilton Pool Preserve) $50 per vehicle
Pedestrian/Bicycle Annual (+ $5.00 per pedestrian/bicyclist at Hippie Hollow / Hamilton Pool Preserve) $25 per pedestrian/bicyclist