
-You are responsible for bringing water and lunch or snacks for your day of climbing with us. We provide all climbing gear needed for each course. We can however be flexible with start and end times. Please request a start time change in the notes when making your booking.
Enchanted rock texas full#
For more information call 83.-Half Days: start no later than 8:30 am, end 12:30 pm. Full Days: start no later than 8:30 am, end 3:30 pm.Scout groups and large groups are full days. There, they can pick up a trail map and review climbing rules.Įnchanted Rock State Natural Area is located at 16710 Ranch Road 965, Fredericksburg, TX 78624. Rock climbers must check in at Park Headquarters before starting their hike.

Bottled water is available at Park Headquarters. The park’s camp store sells souvenirs, firewood, ice, and other supplies.ĭue to ongoing drought conditions, the park suggests bringing your own water.

Enchanted rock texas free#
The entrance fee is $8 for guests 13 years and older and free for children 12 and younger. It suggests reservations for weekdays as well. The park requires advance reservations for day passes and overnight stays on weekends, holidays, and spring breaks. A billion years after that event, this multi-layer granite dome remains an active formation, still evolving - and still captivating those who visit. The granite batholith that Enchanted Rock is apart of began as an underground pool of magma (molten rock) that pushed its way to the Earth’s surface and then cooled and hardened. To fully appreciate Enchanted Rock, however, one should make the climb to the top - a 425-foot ascent that richly rewards with breathtaking vistas of the surrounding Hill Country and closeup views of the unique geology. Guests can hike 11 miles of trails, backpack, camp overnight, picnic, stargaze, geocache, and observe native wildlife. Nowadays, some 250,000 people visit Enchanted Rock each year, making it one of Texas’ most popular state parks. Researchers have uncovered more than 400 archeological sites within the park, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as an Archaeological District. In later times, Spanish explorers, Native Americans of different tribes, and German settlers inhabited or passed through this area.Įnchanted Rock’s creaking and groaning sounds, caused by the rock’s reaction to temperature changes, frightened some who came here, believing the sounds to be messages from spirits. Prehistoric dwellers pounded food on the granite rocks to make flour or meal, leaving depressions known as “bedrock mortars,” which visitors can still see today. It then sold the land to the TPWD, which added 3 acres and developed it as a state natural area.Įnchanted Rock attracted people long before it became part of the state’s park system. In 1978, the Nature Conservancy bought 1,640.5 acres in Gillespie and Llano counties that included Enchanted Rock. This year, Enchanted Rock celebrates its 45th anniversary as part of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department state park system. Give yourself plenty of time to explore its distinctive geology and rich history. Remain after dark to admire the silhouette of Enchanted Rock against a star-filled sky. Stay awhile and watch the rock’s colors change as the day progresses.

As you approach from RR 965, this giant outcropping of granite dominates the landscape, exuding mystery, wonder, and enchantment. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is one attraction that lives up to its name and then some.
