Looking to do our annual dads and boys camping trip in the coming weeks and needing location recommendations. Last two years we have gone to Ratcliff Lake in Davy Crockett NF and Lake Somerville. Prefer the chill atmosphere of the National Forest campgrounds. Will be all tent camping, don't need power at the site but prefer potable water nearby.

If you are not opposed to Texas State Parks, you may look into Stephen F Austin State Park. We spent many camping trips there and it is a beautiful park not far from Houston.

Martin Dies, Jr. State Park in Jasper is roughly two hours away, depending on what part of Houston you're in.

Brazos Bend

Anyone camped at Double Lake Recreation Area?

Brazos Bend. Last time I went, really cool state park. It's been 20 years, though.

Boykin Spings in Angelina national forest is a great spot to camp. They used to stock trout in the pond in January / February but that 20 years ago - not sure if they are still doing that there.

Lake Raven / Huntsville State Park

Goose Island State Park

Brazos Bend SP. I had heard people rave about it for years but never went until a couple of weeks ago. We loved it and plan to put it on the yearly rotation. So much to offer in terms of hiking, wildlife, nature center, observatory, and recreation. Definitely one of the top parks I've been to in TX.

Big Thicket National Preserve near Warren.
Village Creek State Park in Lumberton.

Brazos Bend or Livingston State Parks

It's a cool park, right off the lone star trail. We love going there, but I've only been in an RV.

Several responses above on my list of recommendations.
SFA SP - great camping, sites aren't stacked on top of each other, trails are good. We like biking here. Wide enough trails you're not running over people and enough hills to make it fun. Not mountain biking, just fun trails.

Martin Dies SP - camp sites are good, canoeing, kayaking, fishing. You can stay in the park and paddle or go up the river and have someone drop you off and then paddle back in. You start on the Angelina and the Neches joins it before you get back to the park. Good half day paddle.

Brazos Bend SP - Campsites are good, trails are fun and tons of wildlife. Gators are cool, lots of birding. Ranger had a baby gator out at the visitor center last time we went and people could pet the gator.

Double lake is solid. Facilities are a bit run down, probably not as nice as Ratcliff Lake or Huntsville. There's a couple of Sam Houston NF campgrounds that I've been meaning to try that might be solid. Is Mission Texas within 2 hrs?

Quote:

---

Gators are cool

---

If you are going to Brazos Bend, take a trip about 20 minutes aways to the Crocodile Encounter.

https://www.crocodileencounter.com/

AgDad121619 said:

---

Boykin Spings in Angelina national forest is a great spot to camp. They used to stock trout in the pond in January / February but that 20 years ago - not sure if they are still doing that there.

---

We loved going there as kids growing up. It is on my list. Mom and dad both went to SFA so we spent a lot of time camping in the East TX National Forests.

No one's going to mention Sommerville SP? When I lived in the Houston area and our kids were young we camped a lot and it was one of our favorites.

mneisch said:

---

AgDad121619 said:

---

Boykin Spings in Angelina national forest is a great spot to camp. They used to stock trout in the pond in January / February but that 20 years ago - not sure if they are still doing that there.

---

We loved going there as kids growing up. It is on my list. Mom and dad both went to SFA so we spent a lot of time camping in the East TX National Forests.

---

that Area between the lakes has some surprisingly big hills if you like hiking. I did a lot of turkey hunting there back in the early 2000s and there are lots of fire lanes that you can walk that aren't official trails but provide a great experience in the timber.


When my kids were little , they would spend hours playing in the little creek coming out of the pond. A hidden gem that doesn't get much traffic

Went there last year. It was pretty good, but didnt have any group camping sites that could accomodate our number. We had to stay in 2 neighboring equestrian spots which was certainly not ideal. I prefer national forest camping.

Lots of good suggestions. Huntsville St park is nice. Also there are some national forest campgrounds on the north end of lake Conroe that are nice.

PlanoAg98 said:

---

Quote:

---

Gators are cool

---

If you are going to Brazos Bend, take a trip about 20 minutes aways to the Crocodile Encounter.

https://www.crocodileencounter.com/

---

Croc Encounter is cool. Got pretty intense when they had the gators jumping out of the water right next to my kids! Lady that gave our tour was easy on the eyes too.

MouthBQ98 said:

---

Lots of good suggestions. Huntsville St park is nice. Also there are some national forest campgrounds on the north end of lake Conroe that are nice.

---

We stayed at Hunstville State Park a lot with my grandparents when I was a kid.....it's probably been 35 years since I've been but I remember some sort of paddleboat and burning the hell out of myself when I pulled a stick out of the fire.

For scouts, we've enjoyed Double Lake, Livingston, Somerville, and Stephen F Austin. I'd go back to any of those. Just get sites away from the group sites where scouts may be!

mneisch said:

---

Anyone camped at Double Lake Recreation Area?

---

Many years ago, but it was always fun when I was a kid. Havent been there in probably 30 years, so no idea what it is like now.

mneisch said:

---

Anyone camped at Double Lake Recreation Area?

---

Had a ton of camping trips there with scouts. Was the close easy trip that would get scheduled for the monthly trip atleast once a year.

We would use the lone Star trail for backpacking training. Leaders would drive us up to one of the Trailheads away from the park then hike back to it. Also have mountain bike trails and such. It is also nornally a nice quiet park.

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232752

Thanks, think we are going to try it out this year. For whatever reason their fees are pretty steep. I was a bit shocked to see it is $180 for 1 group site for 2 nights.

Cagle Recreation area, north end of Lake Conroe.

mneisch said:

---

Thanks, think we are going to try it out this year. For whatever reason their fees are pretty steep. I was a bit shocked to see it is $180 for 1 group site for 2 nights.

---

the link I posted above is for Yegua Creek, great spot on Somerville, I consider it a hidden gem, its $30/night

Not sure how much it used to be. We always got away with 3 or 4 campsites together instead of the group site. Which is probably similar in cost. For scouts they never seemed to enforce the limits per site. I think we always had 2-4 tents per site.

TommyGun said:

---

Brazos Bend SP. I had heard people rave about it for years but never went until a couple of weeks ago. We loved it and plan to put it on the yearly rotation. So much to offer in terms of hiking, wildlife, nature center, observatory, and recreation. Definitely one of the top parks I've been to in TX.

---

noted. any tips? did yall camp in a tent? my kids really want to camp in a tent

Beuscher State Park near Smithville is another good option. Really nice campsites, the forest areas that burned are growing back nicely. Just a peaceful place to hike, use the lake, ride bikes, etc.

AgDad121619 said:

---

Boykin Spings in Angelina national forest is a great spot to camp. They used to stock trout in the pond in January / February but that 20 years ago - not sure if they are still doing that there.

---

We enjoy the 5 mile hike (roundtrip) to an abandoned sawmill.

Lake Houston Wilderness Park is a nice one that I hadn't heard of until a few years ago. They have some cool creek frontage and a solid nature center with spider and snake demonstrations. Our Cub Scouts enjoyed it.

Lake Houston Wilderness Park

gigemJTH12 said:

---

TommyGun said:

---

Brazos Bend SP. I had heard people rave about it for years but never went until a couple of weeks ago. We loved it and plan to put it on the yearly rotation. So much to offer in terms of hiking, wildlife, nature center, observatory, and recreation. Definitely one of the top parks I've been to in TX.

---

noted. any tips? did yall camp in a tent? my kids really want to camp in a tent

---

I pulled my RV and stayed on the Red Buckeye loop site 229. My FIL was across from us in 230 and it was a really nice site with lots of room. My three kids are all 6 and under so we don't get too crazy with long hikes. My 6 year old will go all day long but not so much with the other two. We got to the nature center early and joined up with a Ranger who led a small group on a walk around Creekfield Lake. Fun and interactive for young kids as he pointed out plants and wildlife throughout the park. We then did some walks through Pilant Slough and around Elm Lake in the afternoon. We didn't bring the bikes on this trip, but definitely will next time.

For the evening we got put on the waiting list for the observatory. We tried making a reservation two weeks in advance and they were already booked. So if you're interested, make sure you look at availability at least a month in advance. We were lucky though and got access due to some cancellations. It was an excellent night for stargazing and the volunteers working there were pretty fun to listen to as they pointed out the various constellations and such they were observing. My oldest is blind, so the folks working there brought out some tactile displays for him to explore. That was a really nice gesture.

There were a lot of people tent camping as well as numerous scout groups. Several folks on our loop had tent set-ups and there were primitive sites just down the road from us. Over by the park there were screened shelters that looked really nice. Might be a good option to set a tent next to you so you have a little semi-indoor space for food and stuff or a place to get out of the rain if the weather turns on you. Facilities were very clean and well maintained all throughout the park.