Blanco State Park

Blanco State Park is 104 acres on the Blanco River in Blanco, Texas. The land was deeded in 1933 and the park initially constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps and opened in 1934. The park area was used as a campsite by early explorers and settlers. A spring in the park made the location ideal when the river was dry. Two small dams form large swimming areas for the park, and it really is a nice place to be. A variety of large trees provide shade and excellent facities make this a popular place to be. The north side of the river is mainly picnic areas, with tables alongside the river on both sides of the Highway 281 bridge. The campground is on the south side of the river, across a low water bridge, with 29 campsites, 10 with sewer and the rest with water and electric. While the bridge can be closed during high water, there is an alternate access road. A few campsites have water, electric and sewer, while the majority have water and electric. Bathrooms with excellent showers are in the campground. About 50 miles north of San Antonio on Highway 281, it is an excellent overnight stop for traveling RV's. WiFi internet access is available in the campground, for a fee when we were there in 2007 but they hope to change to a free service in the future. We used our Sprint aircard instead, which worked fine in the campsites near the river. The 3/4 mile Caswell Nature Trail runs along the south side of the river downstream from the Highway 281 bridge to the lower dam. See the second video for a walk on this trail. While not suitable for motorboats, the river is a fine place for canoeing or kayaking, and especially swimming. Fishing and birdwatching is also popular, we saw several swans and ducks and they stock the river with rainbow trout in the winter. For camping reservations at Blanco State Park call 512 389 8900, the park phone is 830 833 4333. This video was taken with the Panasonic PV-GS35 Texas State Park Index Texas Lakes Sailing Video Index

Dialup video, 9 MB Broadband video, 32 MB Caswell Nature Trail Video, Dialup, 11 MB, Caswell Nature Trail Video, Broadband, 46 MB Looking north over the center dam, picnic area across the river. Swans and geese at the park. We stayed in campsite #13, not far from the showers and on the river side of the campground. The no swimming area is just upstream of the low water bridge, they don't want people sucked into this culvert that goes under the bridge. The Caswell Nature Trail in Blanco State Park