Longhorn Cavern State Park:
Deep in the Heart of Texas

Texas, as I’ve been discovering lately, has some really amazing state natural areas. Half of my family have moved to the Central Texas area from north of Austin to a bit south of Houston, and from those bases I’ve been able to explore several different beautiful State Parks.

Longhorn Caverns, about half an hour from my aunt’s house in Marble Falls, was the last before I left the US and one of the best.

Entrance is only by guided tour, which is good because there’s a lot of history to the Cavern that I wouldn’t have known much about otherwise.

As we walked for an hour and a half through the mysteriously-lit cave system, our guide (a student from a nearby college) told stories of Native American meetings, outlaw hideouts, and Prohibition-era speakeasies that brought this history to life.

Given the speed of the tour and size of the group (as well as a ban on tripods), photography was a bit more difficult than I would have liked. They do offer a once-monthly photography tour, though, which I’ll definitely be looking for next time I’m in the area.

I was lucky enough to be walking with one of the Guide Supervisors in the back of the group, though, and she was kind enough to point out some of the interesting small details that I otherwise would have walked past buy.

My favorite? This little guy:

Small bats live in the cavern, but without an expert eye helping me I would have never seen them. Which, actually, is what made the guided tours so good in the first place. An insider’s look at this little piece of Texas history and hidden beauty. Another point for the Texas Hill Country.

In particular, this makes a great family trip. Not only is the ‘cool factor’ high, but the hiking is not particularly strenuous to get to this easily-accessible cavern walk.