Need advice on Texas state parks. Need recomendations on 2 different situations. State parks with really nice cabins and state parks with really good camping areas. I have never taken my family. Ill be taking my 2 oldest and leaving the 1 year old at home with family. My wife doesn't like the idea of camping though she's never really went. I wanna make these the best experiences possible. Also, we live near Austin so I don't wanna be too close or too far. Let's say 4 hr max 1 hour minimum (drive)

Inks Lake would be a great first-time experience for you, close to home, nice cabins, great lake, etc.

Almost every one of our family vacations when I was growing up was camping at state parks. It's something that I don't get to do as often as I would like to now-a-days, and something that I really want to do when I have kids.

We didn't go to a whole lot of different ones. Once my parents found a few they really liked, we always went back to them. A few that I think would fit in your situation would be Guadalupe River, Pedernales Falls, Lost Maples and Garner. Guadalupe River and Pedernales Falls are fairly close to Austin, but still over an hour away (I think) and both have good camping areas, hiking trails, and the respective rivers. Garner and Lost Maples would be a little longer drive, still well within 4 hours and they are just just awesome places. Plus they are very close to each other, so you could make two trips in one. Lost Maples is very limited on camping spaces and it's very popular so it fills up quick. Garner had a ton of camping spaces and I'm pretty sure they still have cabins. But it's extremely popular and fills up in the summer to the point that they turn people away during the busier days.

Hope that helps your search.

Inks Lake SP is definitely our favorite

Anyone know if Beucher made it through the fires?

Yes, Buescher State Park made it through the fire.

The cabins at Bastrop made it, but they are getting redone some.

They may be redoing the cabins at Garner right now. Always good to check out the TPWD website for the park as it will have current information.

The hill couuntry parks in Texas are the best, particularly in the offseason. There are others that make good trips, too, however.

Most of my Spring Breaks and at least a week every summer through college were spent at Garner St Park.

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Also, we live near Austin so I don't wanna be too close or too far. Let's say 4 hr max

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There goes Palo Duro or Caprock Canyons

PD Canyon thread on Panhandle board.

Check out Brownwood. Would be a good driving distance, and they've got some nice amenities. They have cabins you can rent.

Enchanted Rock is awesome for climbing and having fun things to do. Don't remember cabins, we always had a tent. You can camp off site down the road and I believe there were cabins, its been a while.

Tyler State Park. Bring mountain bikes if you have them.

Tyler State Park has the cabins you were talking about. Nice lake for fishing. Lots of trails for hiking and mountain biking, paddle boats, canoes and a swimming area. Really nice and clean.

Pedernales Falls, Gudalupe and Choke Canyon are all good.

In the winter, if the weather is going to be the least bit nice, book well in advance.

We got turned away at Enchanted Rock the other weekend it was too crowded.

I miss the days of just showing up at that place.


You might also want to look into Colorado Bend. I remember that being a nice place.

Inks Lake SP is very nice. Be aware that a lot of the water only (tent) sites are not on the water. However, they do have a lot of water/electric (RV) sites right on the water. Sites 273 to 276 are also right next to a fishing pier. There is also a small restaurant near the cabins, which is not something that you will often find at a state park.

Pedernales Falls is close by to you. The campsites for the most part are all pretty good. However, be aware that they are not very close to the river itself. For small kids, it would be a bit of a hike to get from the campsites to the river.

I would also 2nd the Tyler SP suggestion too. There are three areas for camping, for some reason called Areas 1, 2, and 3. Area 1 is not near the lake, but offers tent camping. Area 2 had tent camping and is right on the lake. Sites 31 to 33 are very nice, and just steps from the lake. However, these sites are at the opposite end of the area from the bathrooms. Area 3 does not have tent sites.

Blanco SP isn't too bad, but it's not as interesting to me as most other parks. You can fish on the Blanco River there, but I've not found the fishing to be that good.

Even if you aren't going to camp there, you still have to see Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. Tent camping only the last time I was there. Very interesting place to explore for a few days, and really great for scenic photography. Hike the circumference of the Rock as well, as there are some really interesting formations at the back side.

If you like fishing, check out the US Army Corps of Engineers parks at the central TX lakes. The Wilson Fox unit at Granger Lake is just east of Georgetown. Get a campsite on the small penninsula at the far end of the campsite area, and the lake is just steps away. Good catfishing there. The campsites have very good spacing between each other, and the tables are on a concrete pad and are covered. Belton Lake also has some good US Army COE campgrounds too. We like one called Live Oak, or something like that. You can make reservations for COE campgrounds at the recreation.gov site.

Colorado Bend State Park.

+1 more on Tyler SP. Been there more times than I can count and it's always been a great time. Good size lake to walk around or fish/canoe, and a very clean "beach" area for swimming if it's warm enough.

Canyon,
What would Capricious or Palo During be like for Spring break? Would there be much to do?

You don't need the at!

Agree, not good to end a question with a preposition.

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Canyon,
What would Capricious or Palo During be like for Spring break? Would there be much to do?

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Capricious? I'm guessing auto-correct "fixed" "Caprock Canyon" for you.

Really depends on what you want to do. The problem with spring break is that the weather can be the best in the state of Texas....or the worst. In either place, and especially in PD, the terrain can protect you from the wind. But March up here IS rather capricious. It can be 80, still and sunny, it can be a blizzard, it can be a dust storm.

Generally, it is a nice time of year out here, just telling you to be prepared. And if you do get a bad day, just hunker down. The next day will likely be great.

As far as "things to do" if nature, hiking and camping aren't enough for you, you may be out of luck. Check the Texas P&W Department web site for each park to see what special programs they may have that week.

In general, CC is more primitive than PD. It is much further from a town of any size. The nearest to CC is Quitaque, with about 1000 people. The benefit is that it is thus much less crowded. CC also has a small fishing lake.

PD is just 12 miles from Canyon. Canyon has several fast food places and a couple of good restaurants. It also has the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum, one of the finest regional museums in the United States. There is a movie theater, and it's just a few more miles into Amarillo where there are tons of restaurants, theaters, shopping, etc.

Again, the bad consequence is that PD is going to be much more crowded. If you want to go to PD, reserve NOW.


As I said above, if you are at all interested, go to the PD Canyon thread linked above. Lots of good info and links to previous threads.



[This message has been edited by CanyonAg77 (edited 1/24/2012 9:19a).]

+1 again for tyler state park. My grandparents would camp there multiple times a year (they always parked their motor home in the exact same spot)

We always had a great time, and I have tons of great memories from there