Colorado Bend State Park

Base of the Gorman Falls

Beneath the Gorman Falls

Colorado Bend State Park is a 5,328.3-acre (2,156 ha) state park in the U.S. state of Texas, located in the Texas Hill Country region. It was purchased by the state in 1984 and opened to the public in 1987. It is representative of the karst features typically seen in the Hill Country, with many sinkholes, caves, and springs.

Hiking trails[]

View of Spicewood Springs taken along the Spicewood Springs trail

The Spicewood Springs trail, one of the hiking trails in the park, has numerous creek crossings. The trail is 2.5-mile (4.0 km)-long one way, but hikers can take a slightly different hike back. It has numerous spring-fed swimming holes along the trail.

The Gorman Creek trail is divided into a blue-marker loop and a yellow-marker loop, with dry chaparral terrain. The highlights of the park trails are a travertine creek on the east, and a large waterfall with caves on the west. A protected portion of the park is open by guided tour only. The Gorman Spring and a few other springs feed Gorman Creek, which then descends a spectacular 65 feet (20 m), forming what is known as Gorman Falls. The tour is a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) round-trip trail leading to the spectacular waterfall, which is formed by fern-covered travertine. The self-guided Gorman Spring trail and the trail to the waterfall are now open to the public during regular park hours. Also, many wild-cave tour opportunities are available, ranging in difficulty from walking to crawling.^{[citation needed]}