Smith Rock Shelter, Archaeological site at McKinney Falls State Park, Austin, Texas.
Smith Rock Shelter is a natural limestone overhang beside Onion Creek within McKinney Falls State Park near Austin. This formation creates a protected area where layers of soil have preserved archaeological evidence spanning multiple millennia.
People inhabited this natural shelter from around 500 BCE until the 1700s, with different indigenous groups using it across that span. The Tonkawa were among the last communities to occupy the site before settlement patterns shifted in the region.
This shelter served as a gathering place for indigenous groups across many centuries, with artifacts revealing how people hunted, made tools, and organized their lives. The site remains a connection to the daily rhythms and choices of those who once lived here.
The site is accessed via an easy hiking trail within the state park that takes about 0.8 miles round trip to reach the shelter. Visitors should wear sturdy shoes and stay on marked paths to safely explore the protected archaeological area.
This is one of only two documented rock shelters in Travis County listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This distinction highlights how rare and important such archaeological sites are for understanding central Texas history.
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