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Emma Long Metropolitan Park
Austin
512 346-1831
Locate This Park
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Texas Outside Favorite Sites: 1, 2, and 11
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Texas Outside Rating: 8.0
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Brief Overview:
Emma Long is a Texas Outside Favorite - it's pretty, has some great sites right on the banks of Lake Austin (which is a very fun lake), and there are lots of things to do in and around the park. It has over a mile of shoreline with 20 water/electricity sites (half of which are right on the shoreline), 43 primitive sites, and plenty of day use picnic tables. The park is a little dated so don't set your expectations real high. The shoreline is grass and sand and good for boat parking and swimming (try surfing if there is a lot of boat traffic). There are two very small boat ramps (you best be good at backing up) and adequate trailer parking. Emma Long has a dump station, lots of picnic tables for day use, a swimming area, dated restrooms including a shower, and a group picnic area. For the jocks there are volleyball courts, a ball diamond, a basketball court, and hiking trails.
Amenities and Fun Things To Do:
 If you like golf, about 5 miles outside the park is a Texas Outside Favorite course - RiverPlace which is rated 8.8 Texas Outside Stars click here to read a review. After golf, cook dinner on the shore across from The Pier, sit back in your lawn chair, sip a cold one, and listen to The Pier's live bands. If you have a boat or raft, head on over to The Pier - be careful and watch the boat traffic. Or hitch a ride with a local boater! Got a mountain bike or motorcycle? A couple miles outside the park is an excellent mountain biking and motorcycle park which is fun and challenging. For the jocks, choose up some teams and play baseball, volleyball, or basketball. For the rest of us, we can grill some burgers, sip a drink of our choice, and watch the boats go by - get bored with that, go swimming or fishing.
A Typical Texas Outsider Day:
If you have a boat, cruise on down the lake marveling at the people, scenic beauty, and very big expensive houses; stop and swim in Bull Creek cove; boat up to Lucy's Boatyard (you can catch some excellent music on the deck) or Hula Hut and have some good food and a drink of your choice (excellent margaritas!); head back upstream and tie-up at Ski Shores or The Pier for a cold beer, good burgers, and live music. Can't get much better than that! If you don't have a boat and you want some strenuous activity in premier Texas hill country, walk or bike - this is not for the weak at heart - on the roads for 3 miles or so to Ski Shores have a good burger and listen to some music on the deck. If you're not a jock or your bike tires suddenly become flat, you can drive over to Ski Shores. Just a short dive or long walk outside the park is a very nice hiking trail called Turkey Creek Nature Trail which is a very easy and pretty 2.5-mile trail through the trees along Turkey Creek. After the hike, head over to Ski Shores (2 miles), have a burger and then take a tour of Lake Austin with Sunshine Machine Boat Tours.
Cool Nearby Activities:
The entire town of Austin is less than 10 miles away and is at your beck and call for things to do. If you can't find something of interest in Austin, then it doesn't exist in Texas -- head to the coast. Visit the Guide to Austin section of Texas Outside to find some fun things to do.
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Texas Outside uses a tough rating scale and it’s difficult for a campground to get a “10”. Each park is rated on:
- Scenic Beauty: a campground that is flat with no trees or character gets a “1” and hills, lots of trees, beautiful lake site, and lush ground cover gets a “10”
- Park Condition: the cleaner, well kept, and maintained campgrounds receive high scores
- Amenities: we are looking for lots of amenities like restrooms, dump stations, playgrounds, boat ramps, shelters, concession stand, rental toys, and more.
- Campsites: low scores are given for sites that are right next to each other (good for getting to know your neighbors, but not what we’re looking for when we’re camping); have no lantern holder, no water or electricity, no fire pit, no grill, or no picnic table (or it’s rotten wood); have no trees and no view; the ground cover is crushed rock (my bare feet hate that stuff!); and they require a lot of work to get your rig level.
- Things To Do: Bonus points are given for campgrounds that offer lots of fun things to do at the park or very nearby – this includes: biking, hiking, climbing, boating, entertainment, golf, swimming, fishing, volleyball, horseshoes, and more
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