Covering more than 5,000 acres, Pedernales Falls State Park in Johnson City, Texas, offers camping, miles and miles of hiking trails, plenty of river to explore, and some amazing and unique scenery with a little wildlife, too.

My family typically takes an annual camping trip from our Houston home base, often to Garner State Park. But one thing this pandemic has done is to change up our routines, right? When we couldn't find any open slots that fit our schedule at that park (most of the Texas state parks are operating at reduced capacity), we found Pedernales Falls State Park.

Pedernales Falls proved to be a wildly untapped resource that's only three hours from Houston, and offering both electric and primitive campsites. In fact, this fallback option turned out to be one of the best camping trips we've ever taken. Read on for just what made it so special. 

There has been a dramatic increase in interest in RV camping this summer—and with good reason. RV camping lets a family get away to enjoy the outdoors, and maybe even some national parks, but with many of the luxuries of home. We have been a camping family for years, and we've run up the ranks summarily, starting with tent camping, then pop-up campers, then RVs and towable trailers. We've done it all at this point and can confidently say that RV camping is an amazing (and socially distanced!) way to vacation, as long as you know the basics.

When the first heat wave of summer hits Houston, it hits hard. And as every Houstonian knows, once it comes it's here for the long haul, sometimes well into "fall." This means it becomes crucial to find fun ways to keep the kids cool without locking them indoors, and in 2020 that can be a challenge.

The free splashpads below are our favorites, so we've called them all to find out which ones our kids can enjoy this season. Due to Covid-19, many are closed until further notice, however there are a good number that are open and ready for kids to splash and play. Most are open year round, but if you're visiting outside of summer months be sure to check the park website before heading out. 

And don't forget, you can cool off in the evening with an outdoor movie screening!

As a reminder, the Texas DSHS recommends practising social distancing to avoid catching or spreading COVID-19, and the CDC recommends using face coverings in public to help slow the spread of the virus.

Splash pad and spraypark schedules may be subject to last minute changes.