Mother Neff State Park
- Drive from Austin: 88 miles // 1 hour 30 minutes
- Where am I? Moody, TX - north of Austin
- Downside: No water access (lake, river, etc.), hiking trails weren't very thrilling
- Upside: Brand new, clean bathrooms with showers
Mother Neff State Park came recommended to us from multiple people, so it was time for us to check it out.
The weather was a threat in the beginning of the day, but by the time we got to the park, it was one of the most beautiful days we've had recently. The original entrance for the state park was closed down due to all the flooding recently, along with the original campsites and grounds. The new headquarters they built in January was beautiful, clean, and disclosed the history of the oldest state park in Texas. After checking in, we explored some of the near by hiking trails. Unfortunately, these hikes weren't very long and didn't provide many different views. We did the Prairie Loop Trail which was .70 miles round trip. It offered a scenic point, but didn't give the best view. We then did the Pond Trail, which was about .15 miles and took us to a man made pond which I definitely did not want to get in... And last but not least, we went and looked at the Tonkawa Cave. Another short walk, but was a funky cave to go see. The black patches on the cave walls were thousands of daddy-long-leg spiders chillin' with each other. Freaky stuff. And then the boys poked them all with sticks and made slow-mo videos because, boys will be boys.
As the day turned to dusk, we tried to view the sunset at the look out point, but it didn't offer much of a panoramic view. The night was beautiful, with a low in the 70s. Playing Scattergories around the campfire and making smores offered some nice Saturday night entertainment. In the morning, we did one last trail to see the Rock Tower.
I enjoyed our quick trip to Mother Neff. I wish we could have seen the original caping area of the State Park. The hikes and views seemed more authentic. The weather and company were lovely, but probably wouldn't frequent the new park area due to the lack of hiking and activities.
