Does anyone know of a good tent camping spot within about 3 hours from Houston? I want to get out of the city this weekend for a couple of nights and have a campfire and see some stars. I'll be taking my girlfriend so I was hoping for a place somewhat non-primitive (near a bathroom w/ showers), but preferably not too crowded. Any suggestions?
Galveston island state park around now is nice. A little more than an hour from downtown and quite. Can walk the trails and kayak.
Bastrop, Huntsville state park, Retreat at Artesian Lakes (formerly called Chain-O-Lakes). The last one has log cabins and you can get all sorts of crap in your package there. That's the only way my fiance will go camping: cabin, A/C, jacuzzi, horse drawn carriage to take you to breakfast, spa, etc.
Hard to beat Lake Somerville. Far enough away from the city but still close enough to be an easy drive. Also got Lake Livingston amd Martin Dies.
I have been to Somerville and loved it and go now, but they have a burn ban right now. What is Martin Dies like? a lot of gators?
Agree completely with Huntsville. Very nice park. Good luck getting anything more than a primitive spot (you'll still have water), though. Spring and fall camping fills up quickly. Palmetto State Park is nice. I don't know if Bastrop is 100% back online after the fires and floods it's had. Damaged a lot of the park. If so, it's a great park, too.
national parks are closed. screws up my solo roadtrip to Big Bend and Grand Canyon next week if those bastards don't get back to working.
a little farther away (4hrs) but also a State park and therefore NOT closed is Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. They have camping sites and great hiking. The view from the top of the Rock is very nice (its much bigger than it looks in the video) <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/E8WfZL1_Ck0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I just called to book at Huntsville and they were completely booked on Saturday. I booked a spot for just Friday night before it filled up ... a little disappointing
You want to see some stars? I'm surprised not enough people are touting Brazos Bend State Park outside of Sugar Land, which hosts the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences George Observatory with its 3 telescopes (although the big one has been down for repairs longer than a year). Every Saturday, the Observatory opens its telescopes for stargazing and has multiple guides to focus on stars and planets. Some people even bring their own telescopes and let others use them. I've been there twice and it's great. Unfortunately, the large 36" telescope is down and who knows when it'll get repaired, but generous donors have donated two smaller telescopes for public viewing.
Has anyone camped at Sam Rayburn? Most parks are full for both nights, I never realized that these parks were this popular. I thought I would be fine booking a spot today.
All kinds of people camp from Boy Scout troops to traveling tourist and in Texas fall and Spring are peak seasons for it because of the cool weather. When you get used to it you'll start booking a month of two in advance. Invest in a Texas Parks membership.