A Brand-New Texas State Park Just Opened Its Gates — and It's Wonderfully Quiet

Texas has a brand-new state park, and you can go walk it right now. Post Oak Ridge State Park, near Lampasas, opened for day use on September 24, according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department news release in mid-September — which means a big, rugged piece of Hill Country that almost nobody has set foot on is suddenly yours for a $2 day pass.

What happened

TPWD announced in mid-September that visitors can now come explore the park at their own pace, with an online reservation required to enter. The park is a genuinely fresh patch of ground: a new 3,000-plus-acre park located along the Colorado River in Burnet and Lampasas counties, and per the Lampasas Dispatch Record, it opened with a capacity of 40 vehicles per day, straddling the county line northwest of Naruna with the Colorado River forming part of its western boundary.

Don't expect a visitor center and a gift shop. After the gate there's 2.5 miles of gravel road to a parking area with a restroom, then an accessible picnic area surrounded by post oaks before you head out on 3.5 miles of rolling Hill Country trails with several scenic overlooks. That's it. That's the park. For now, that's plenty.

Why this is the good kind of unfinished

The best thing about Post Oak Ridge might be what it doesn't have. Park superintendent Kacey Sloan said the park is "rugged and primitive, with a unique sound environment" — ranger-speak for: it's quiet out there. There's limited cell coverage in the park, which TPWD calls the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in nature. In 2026, a place where your phone gives up and the post oaks take over is not a shortcoming. It's the whole point.

There's more coming, too. Post Oak Ridge is one of the first new state parks developed using interest from the $1 billion Centennial Parks Conservation Fund, and the goal is a fully operational park by March 2029, when visitors will be able to enjoy overnight facilities and camping. We're getting in on the ground floor.

How it fits the neighborhood

This corner of the Hill Country was already good. The park sits cattycorner to Colorado Bend State Park, west of the city of Lampasas — which means a stretch of the Colorado River country that was mostly private ranchland now has two public front doors. If you've ever driven those county roads west of Lampasas and wondered what was behind the fences, the answer, as of this fall, is: a trail, and you're invited. It's the kind of thing Texans quietly do well — adding one more wide-open place to a state that never seems to run out of them, one gate code at a time. (We make a Texas State Pride Tee for exactly this brand of feeling.)

If you want to go

A few practical notes, straight from the sources. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday, and the entrance is through the town of Naruna, four miles down County Road 105 to the gate. You'll get a gate code in your reservation confirmation email. Bring plenty of water — there's no drinking water on site, and admission is $2 for visitors 13 and older, with kids 12 and under free. Trail maps are available online on the park webpage or in person at the trailhead. Book the pass, fill the cooler, leave early, and let the gravel road slow you down on purpose. Then come browse the rest of our Texas collection and tell us what the overlooks were like.

Common questions

Can I just show up without a reservation?

Not reliably. An online reservation is required to enter the park, though a QR code at the gate links to the reservation system so you can grab a day pass if any are still available. With a 40-vehicle daily cap, booking ahead is the safe move.

Can I get to the river?

Not yet. Per the Lampasas Dispatch Record, visitors won't have river access during this phase of development, but there are two hiking trails and one wheelchair-accessible path.

When will camping be available?

TPWD's goal is a fully operational park by March 2029, with overnight facilities and camping to follow. Until then, it's day trips only — which, given the overlooks, is a pretty good consolation prize.

Reported by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Details as published at the time of writing.