Are you heading out to the Texas Hill Country? Well, you should! The area is lovely and boasts fantastic weather for at least nine months per year. Rich history seeps through the rock formations. From the historic Alamo to the LBJ Ranch, you could spend days immersing your family in National Park sites!
But where should you stay to best enjoy your trip? We are on a mission to find out! Catch a glimpse of the new, Hill Country FIMFO family campground:
Hill Country FIMFO Location
This two-year-old FIMFO resort is located almost equidistant between Austin and San Antonio, Texas. It lies about twenty minutes west of Interstate 35, and it hugs the Comal River.
NPS fans will enjoy this location only forty minutes from the San Antonio Missions and just over an hour from the LBJ Ranch in Johnson City:
Texans looking to cool off from the intense summer heat intertube past the campground on the Comal.
The adjacent river bank and second popular neighbor of Hill Country FIMFO is the Whitewater Amphitheater where guests can hear Texas country music in the evenings.
Ways to Stay at Hill Country FIMFO
We love to camp and enjoy exploring tent life, cabin life, and RV life. The Hill Country FIMFO offers all three options with many sub-variations!
Tenting at Hill Country FIMFO
The tent sites at this campground are gorgeous. They are nestled back towards the wooded hills. The sites are spacious with tent pads, picnic tables, and grills. Some even include shades! Although I wouldn’t recommend tenting during the Texas summers, these tent sites are so charming that I am craving a fall trip to enjoy them! Prices start around $60 per night and rise to over $150 per night during high season.
RV Sites at Hill Country FIMFO
There are over 250 RV sites at the Hill Country FIMFO. Yes! You read that correctly! RV sites seem to be priced based on proximity to the amenity center. Few have any shade at all. While we did not bring our RV on this trip, we have heard some rumblings that sites are not always level. Be sure to bring your levelling blocks! Prices start around $95 per night and rise to over $200 per night during high season.
Cabin Camping at Hill Country FIMFO
Although we are calling it “camping,” the truth is that the cabins at Hill Country FIMFO are pretty glamorous…more like “glamping!” They have several different types of cabins from three bedrooms with hot tubs (as toured in the video above,) to treetop cabins with separate bathhouses, to tiny, queen-bed A-frames. The campground has the best selection of accommodations we have ever seen!
Just to warn you, your kids will be drawn to the treehouses like moths to a flame!
Cabin prices start around $160 per night and rise to over $500 per night during high season.
The Pros and Cons of Sites at Hill Country FIMFO
Let’s start with the pros. First of all, the sites are beautiful, relatively large, and in a stunning area of Texas. Since the campground is so spread out, visitors feel like they have truly landed in a neighborhood. There is a strong, community feel to this park. The energy encourages you to relax and unwind…well, for the most part…
The first con of the sites is that they are all so far from the main amenity center. If you think you need a golf cart to navigate Disney World’s Fort Wilderness, you should not even CONSIDER booking this campground without renting a cart.
Aside from the bounce pillow and the basketball court, all amenities and activities are at the top of a steep driveway that may be a quarter mile from your campsite. Consequently, those that do not rent golf carts often drive through the campground to park at the amenity center. This makes the entire campground feel more like you are staying in a master-planned community than a resort.
The second con of the sites is the pricetag. If you want to bring your RV for a weekend visit, you will likely pay over $200 per night. Given the fact that you may also rent a golf cart, your nightly camping bill will exceed $300. Even if you wanted to tent camp in the fall, you will be hard-pressed to find a weekend when your basic tent site will be less than $100 per night.
Although I certainly have sticker shock, the park does often sell out on the weekends. Don’t expect prices to drop any time soon.
Hill Country FIMFO Amenities
The Hill Country FIMFO does offer numerous amenities to enjoy during your stay. They include:
- Tennis courts,
- Basketball courts,
- Arts & Crafts,
- A bounce pillow,
- River access,
- Amphitheater music,
- Pool,
- Water slides,
- Splash pad,
- Counter service food,
- An indoor bar and a swim-up bar,
- FREE Mini-golf, and the pride and joy…
- Texas’s only mountain coaster!
The water amenities are truly spectacular at this campground. We could have easily spent an entire week enjoying all of the water play. Between three large and two smaller water slides, river tubing, and the main pool, Texans definitely enjoy cooling off at this Hill Country FIMFO.
The only two amenities that come with price tags are the craft projects, priced at cost, and the mountain coaster. We absolutely loved the coaster, but it does cost $20 per ride (or two for $35.) We did not realize that this amenity was not included for guests.
Hill Country FIMFO does offer a limited number of campground day passes to the public. Thus, especially on the weekends, you will likely be sharing the amenities with non-campers. This does increase the density of the activity centers.
Final Thoughts on Hill Country FIMFO
First of all, I will extend our gratitude for the warm and patient welcome from the campground’s general manager. He is full of enthusiasm for this little slice of Heaven! He has big plans and navigates deep waters. Furthermore, I am impressed and encouraged that he carefully listens to camper feedback and does all within his power to support them.
Second, it is important to acknowledge that the campground is understaffed. Staffing, especially quality staffing, is especially difficult in 2023, so we extend our grace and understanding to those working hard to run their businesses. I point this out as a plea for everyone, including myself, to continue patience with this issue.
Third, the pool and water park are absolutely inadequate to meet the demands of a family campground with FIMFO’s capacity. The area is “people soup” during summer weekends. There is trash and chaos all over the pool deck. The density of people in the main pool, many of whom are enjoying alcoholic beverages from the swim-up bar, make it uninviting and stressful.
We appreciate the beauty of Hill Country FIMFO, and we look forward to its continuous development. If we return, we will likely do so in the cooler season, when crowds are lower and the music is carrying over from a beloved Texas country band at the Whitewater Amphitheater. If a great concert is included, we may be able to swallow that $200 per night RV site price tag!
For more information about the Camp FIMFO Waco, which we LOVED, check it out HERE!
