Located 5 miles north of Vanderpool on Ranch Road 187, Lost Maples State Natural Area displays a breathtaking autumn array of colors sometime during October or November of each year. Depending on when the first freeze occurs, the exact time to visit is hard to predict.

The below photo is of my son, Matthew, who accompanied me to the park as part of a field trip. (Isn't he handsome?)

I visited this gorgeous park just this week, November 2008, for the first time and I was quite impressed. Others that were there said I missed all of the color from the week before, but I saw plenty of yellow, orange, and red leaves. There are all sorts of beautiful trees, maples, oaks, and a host of others.

The park opened to the public in the fall of 1979 and boasts 2174.2 scenic acres in Bandera and Real Counties, north of Vanderpool on the Sabinal River. (Of course, Real County is the county in which Leakey, Texas is located and where my husband grew up.

From San Antonio, it takes between 90 minutes and two hours to drive to Lost Maples. It is well worth the drive. There is a small gift shop near the entrance to the park for your shopping convenience.

The cost to get in for the day is $6 per person, $3 for senior citizens. There are many things to do. You can hike the on the designated trails, but do not climb the rocks or hillsides. This is for your safety. There are 11.5 miles of trails for you to walk on and that is plenty.

Taking leaves, rocks, or anything else nature-related is strictly forbidden so do not do it. Take a camera and you will get some amazing shots.

Pack a picnic lunch and plan to stay for the day. The park has picnic tables and the fall weather is just perfect for being outdoors. Remember, this is Texas so the days are still fairly warm in November. It was in the 80's on the day that I went.

Matthew took the below photo of me standing in front of a beautiful tree.

If you like to camp, you can camp in this park as well. There are restrooms with showers for campers. There are primitive campsites with nothing and campsites with water and
electricity.

If you are an ornithologist, you are in luck. (For those of you who have no clue, an ornithologist is a bird-watcher.) Lost Maples State Natural Area has some rare bird species, such as
the Green Kingfisher, the Golden-cheeked Warbler, and the Black-capped Vireo.

For animal lovers, there are gray foxes, rock squirrels, armadillos, raccoons, javelinas, bobcats, and white-tailed deer. I did not see any animals but we did not go very far into the park to look. I only wanted to see the leaves.

If at all possible, visit this park during the week. Avoid going on the weekends because the park is always crowded on
Saturdays and Sundays. Parking is limited to 250 cars and it was close to that when we went on a Thursday.

This is a beautiful park to visit anytime of year, but fall is the most popular time to see the fall foliage in the Texas
Hill Country.