Mistakes to Avoid When Hiking to Colorado Bend Gorman Falls

Don’t get confused with the name, because Colorado Bend, with its famous Gorman Falls, is not in Colorado. It’s in Bend, Texas, southeast of San Saba and west of Lampasas in central Texas.

I first heard about Colorado Bend and Gorman Falls from a lady at the store where I volunteered every Monday. She told me about hiking to these beautiful waterfalls and kayaking on the river, Colorado River. I went online and told my husband that we should check this park.

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That’s where we went for our first hike during one Spring Break in the Texas Hill Country. If you do not know, Texas State Parks in the Hill Country are one of the best places to go for Spring Break on a budget, especially if you love water activities. Colorado Bend was about 1,5  hours from the Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park in Fredericksburg, where we stayed for the trip. Our main goal in the park was to hike to Gorman Falls, and when we had time and energy, we tried to do one or two more trails.

When we arrived at Colorado Bend State Park, we saw the sign to Gorman Falls near the entrance, but didn’t see the headquarters. Well, apparently it was all the way to the end of the park, where they had their main camping area. It was 6 miles past the entrance and felt like forever to get there with the park’s speed limit.

Hiking in Colorado Bend – mistakes we made

After we got the permit, we drove back toward the entrance, and when looking at the trail map, I offered to check the Dogleg Canyon Trail, which sounded interesting: Enjoy views of this hidden gem’s cliff walls and canyon rim. It was also one of the points of interest at the park, and it said on the trail map ‘enjoy this hidden canyon view that feeds the Colorado River. Cliff walls and interesting rock outcroppings make this a unique destination. I thought we could hike there for a lunch break, and went back to the car to continue to the Gorman Falls Trail by the entrance.

Bear in mind, I was a beginner hiker at that time and much younger. My husband and son were in the Cub Scouts. Also, I was the one who read the map because my husband was concentrating on driving. I thought we could handle the trails easily, which was a mistake.

So, we started from Cedar Chopper Loop and hiked for 0.8 mi (difficulty: moderate). This loop winds through cedar tree breaks on relatively flat terrain, but is rocky almost all the way. Then we turned east to Dogleg Canyon Trail, which was also rocky. After hiking for about an hour, we found the rim and a quite big basin where we took out our sandwiches for lunch and let our son play a bit along the rim.

After lunch, we continued and saw a couple of houses in the distance. I didn’t know why, but I assumed we would see the river soon. Another mistake. You must learned about the trails before you leave for the trip.

But still, we had not seen the water yet. Then the trail started to change downhill, and it felt easy on our already tired legs. At the end of the trail (1.3 mi, difficulty: challenging), we hit River Trail and finally saw the river! When we looked back at where we came from, we decided not to go back. We were too tired to climb up the trail. Besides, the River Trail connects to other trails that will take us to Gorman Falls. Yay!

River Trail was an easy hike (1.1 mi, difficulty: easy. We started from the middle. It was flat, and the trees canopied the trail along the river. A beautiful hike along the river.

At the end of the trail, we turned to Old Gorman Road Trail (0.1 mi, difficulty: easy. Note: they said it is easy if you go down the hill with your bike, but we had to go up on our feet and were pretty tired. It was not easy!). The trail led to Gorman Falls Trail, and we added another 0.3 mi to the falls (difficulty: challenging).

Before we reached this point, my husband decided to turn around to pick up the car. We didn’t know how hard the trail was and how many more minutes for us to get there with our tired legs. I offered to get a ride from the people who are going toward the headquarters, but my husband didn’t think it was a good idea.

Colorado Bend: Gorman Falls

I tell you what. Even though it was only 0.3 mi from where we started, it was pretty hard. It was rocky and at the end of the trail, it was steep, so they put a handrail to help people walk more easily down to the viewing area. I didn’t take any pictures from the steep part because I had to make sure I made it safely to the bottom.

We finally arrived at the bottom. The falls were beautiful and we spent almost 20 minutes there.

The first thing I wanted to do was to dip my feet in the water, but it’s prohibited. But still, there were adults and kids who crossed the line and climbed to the falls. My son said they couldn’t read. I guess it’s because no rangers on duty there. Rules are for others, not me.

Going back was harder. I think my knee touched my chest several times when climbing up from the viewing area. After that, the trail went up all the way to the parking lot. We were so tired and asked people we met on the trail how far it was to the parking, and they said ‘about 45 minutes, about 30 minutes, no, it’s not, it’s less than that. You can do it.’ They didn’t know we started hiking at 11.30 a.m., and it was 2.30 p.m. already. There was a nice couple who filled up our water bottle, which was pretty low on our way to the parking lot.

Finally, we saw the top of the cars and heard people talking. It’s a parking lot! What a relief to see my husband with cold water in both hands for us. Apparently, he had just arrived, too. His hike back to the car was another story.

Here’s the Colorado Bend State Park trails map, and you can see the hike we did on our visit. When you plan a trip to Gorman Falls, stick to the Gorman Falls Trail. Don’t repeat our mistakes, unless you are an avid hiker.

Colorado Bend: Tips for hiking to Gorman Falls

• Bring plenty of water.
• Wear appropriate hiking or walking shoes. The ground was rocky, and it’s pretty steep at the end. I saw several girls wearing strap sandals and boys in their flip-flops. Leave them at home if you love your feet.
• Bring snacks.
• You are not allowed to climb to the falls. If an accident happened and caused the park to close the trail, it’s a bummer for the rest of us who respect the rules.
• Gorman Falls Trail is 1.5 miles one way with challenging difficulty. It also has little shade, so take a rest when you need one. Know your limit.
• Use your Texas State Park pass or get one if you plan to go to other state parks a lot during the year.

Other things to do at Colorado Bend State Park

• Swimming at Spicewood Springs, one of the best swimming holes in the Hill Country. You are allowed to swim in the river, too. No lifeguards on duty, swim at your own risk.
• Mountain biking on rugged terrains. The park is one of the best places for mountain biking in the state!
• Boating and paddling on slow-moving water. Bring your watercraft, or rent kayaks from the park.
• Caving to Colorado Bend’s underground world. You will crawl, slide, and climb through small spaces and into large chambers with an experienced guide. Reservation required. (The park has more than 400 caves!)
• Fishing for bass. Do you know that you don’t need a fishing license when fishing in a state park?
• Join the ranger program, and if you are visiting with children, let them do the Junior Ranger program.

Distance from major cities

• Austin: 2h
• San Antonio: 2h 40m
• Dallas: 3h 30m
• Fort Worth: 3h
• Houston: 4h 15m