Devils River State Natural Area, 12/26/16

46. Devils River SNA has campsites, but we were leery of taking our little Scamp down the dirt road to the park - turns out we were right!  It would have had a hard time getting to a campsite in the park, so we got a spot at an RV park on the edge of Del Rio and made this one a day trip.  We talked to the Ranger at the office and he gave us hiking suggestions: there is a 12 mile loop (which seemed a lot to ask of our dogs) and a shorter road to the river.  He recommended walking to the river, checking out Finnegan Springs, and then doing the loop just to the top of the first hill and back again.  So we did exactly that.  There are signs in the park that give WAY more information about paddling the park than is available on the website; someday we'd like to return and do a little paddling there.  The campsites are lovely, this is a VERY remote park, but there is a bunkhouse available that sleeps 10.  It looked like they might be building a second bunkhouse too.
If you go, make sure you have a high-clearance vehicle (and trailer), and the recommended tires and supplies.  There is no go-back-to-town to get stuff - town is at least an hour's drive away, and cell service is non-existent as well.  The Ranger office doesn't even have a cardswiper and there are no toilets at the campsites!

Road to the river, composting toilet at river.

Hiking trail map.  Note that only 4.76 miles of the trail is actual trail - the rest is dirt road.  Bring 2 vehicles and shuttle?

Paddling map.  Very helpful.  

Devils River.

Hike up to the top of the hill.  Look for rock cairns. 

An absurd trail marker.  Made us laugh! 

View from the top - that's the river way out there. 

Our Scampsite at Lonesome Dove RV Park.

Nearby Devils River SNA: Del Rio.  It has lots of RV parks, restaurants, groceries, movies, bowling, and a lovely 3-mile (roughly) walking path along the San Felipe Creek.  We walked the dogs there twice and thoroughly enjoyed it both times.  It's located between the Lions Park and the Country Club.  Val Verde Winery is also Texas' oldest winery, and the drive to it is gorgeous. 

Lake Amistad is part of the National Park system, and is an international reservoir.  There is camping available there too, but not much more "luxurious" than Devils River would have been.  Definitely not as nice as most other Texas State Parks.  Probably easier access for our Scamp than Devils River would have been.