McKinney Falls State Park

McKinney Falls State Park sits along Onion Creek within the city limits of Austin, Texas, and includes two sets of waterfalls, generally called the Upper and Lower Falls. The park is named for Thomas F. McKinney, one of Stephen F. Austin's original 'Old Three Hundred' colonists who settled land here in the 1850s and built a homestead, including a gristmill, whose ruins remain visible in the park today. The creek's limestone falls and swimming holes make it a popular escape from the city. Its location inside Austin gives residents relatively easy access to a natural, undeveloped stretch of the creek.