It took 20 years of development, including weathering a flood and a World War, but in 1956 the community of Huntsville, Texas, finally got their own state park. Located just 10 miles south of town, in the Sam Houston National Forest, this 2,000-acre park of pine and hardwood forest is situated around man-made Lake Raven. Today, locals and visitors alike flock to Huntsville State Park for its hiking trails, water recreation and prolific wildlife. With so many outdoor activities to choose from, a good first stop is the park’s Nature Center. Here you can get information about the local flora and fauna, including the more than 250 species of birds, plus a variety of mammals and alligators, that make the park their home.

Campers at Huntsville State Park have access to 160 tent and RV campsites in three camp areas near the shore of Lake Raven: Prairie Branch, Raven Hill and Coloneh. Full- and partial-hookup RV sites are available, and can accommodate vehicles/trailers up to 60 feet. All sites are equipped with picnic tables, grills, and lantern posts, and drinking water faucets are shared between sites; some sites are ADA accessible. Each camp area provides flush restrooms, showers, playgrounds, picnic areas near the lake, fishing piers, and boat launches. There is a dump station located in the Raven Hill camp area. The park also has two camping cabins for rent. Campsite rates range from $15–$25/night, plus park entrance fee; cabins are $60/night, plus entrance fee.

When you’re ready to play on the water, head down to the lakeshore where you can take a dip in the designated swim area, rent a canoe or kayak (or put in your own) for paddling around the lake, or cast a line for crappie, perch and largemouth bass. A shop near the Prairie Branch day-use area has groceries, ice, fishing supplies and beverages. If you’re up for some roaming or wildlife watching, pick up a trail map and birding guide and go explore more than 20 miles of multiuse paths and nature walks. From the park’s bird blind, you can scan for a variety of songbirds and waterfowl. The park also offers ranger-led nature programs, and there are Junior Ranger activities for the kids.

Huntsville State Park Campground

There is good fishing in the lake (it's a popular place to fish, but I haven't personally fished there). The picnic area and day use area are full of large trees. Area is well maintained, and didn't feel like a short day trip from Houston!

Like a piece of the northern woods, with alligators

Huntsville SP is a great patch of wilderness that is close to Houston.  There is lots of camping, boating, and trails.  My daughter likes the park so much she invited her friends to camp with her for her 11th birthday party.  She is a girlie girl and if she wants to go camping, it must mean it is great!

Wilderness close to Houston

Huntsville is a great spot to visit, whether you're looking for a day trip or overnight. People are certainly catching on to the charm of the park so going during the week or a school year weekend (non-holiday) is the best bet to avoid crowds. Lots of good camp and RV space. The gem of Huntsville is its well-marked trail system. Whether a casual walker or ultrarunner, there are trails of every ability and distance to be found. They are color-coded with posted maps that are easy to follow. Prepare to take on a few hills and rocky/rooted areas, but well worth escaping the city for a bit in the nicely shaded woods. 

Huntsville: trail mecca

We went Thursday - Saturday, and will go again during the week to avoid crowds.  
The check-in process is a bit troublesome if you're picky about getting a good tent site- you can't reserve specific sites ahead of time.  Also, your visit will cost you more than listed on the website because they charge entrance fees for each person on top of the campsite rental.  That was an unpleasant surprise.
The only other unpleasant surprise is that the campground store is closed on Thursdays.  Lesson learned- bring your own Snickers!  
However, the scenery, quietness, and availability of rental boats was wonderful.  We camped in tent site #70, and I would grab that one again in a heartbeat.  The 70's sites have water access and beautiful views, and are generous with their square footage.  Plenty of trees down there to hang hammocks and clotheslines on, and more than one flat spot for tents on each site.  
I normally would not devote a whole paragraph to restrooms at a state park, but I will this time.  These were the CLEANEST restrooms I've ever seen at a state park, and the most updated.  The stalls had modern dividers, the toilets all had clean, functional seats, the showers had separate bench areas with lots of hooks, plus normal faucets you could just turn on once (as opposed to having to push a button every minute), and the sinks also had great faucets with good pressure and reliable water temperatures.  Very easy to use.  
All our issues with this park were related to unexpected costs and logistics, but the park facilities were fabulous.  We will definitely be back!

Beautiful Piney Woods Campground

We've camped here a few times and I've made a couple day trips. I LOVE this park! I'm a fan of hiking and canoeing while my husband likes to fish. This sprawling park has it all! 
There are a few different trials of varying lengths. They are nice and have some great views. I'm a fan of loops, and there are a few to hike here. 
The park offers canoe rentals and they have a good size lake to explore. The lake it smooth and has some fun little areas to explore. 
The fishing is good. My husband caught mostly sunfish. But the best is the alligator sightings! They are fairly common, which makes fishing an adventure. 
My camp in our school-bus-turned-RV and those spots are great. They have good showers. There are different t camp grounds, and we prefer the Prairie Branch. We typically try to get the spot next to the dock! For tent campers they also have shelters with power and lights. 
This is definitely my favorite park. 

A little bit of everything 

Huntsville State Park was my basecamp for hiking the Lone Star Trail.

I camped in the water only section of the camp, which was nice, but most of it was on a slant, which can be an issue when it rains. The campsites all had tables, fire rings, water spouts, and a hook

The nearby bathrooms were clean and there were showers. In the same section, there is a pier you can fish off of and a small playground.

At the enterance or with the park hosts, you can buy firewood at $5 for 10 pieces of wood, which is a great deal! Most places have the price at $1 per piece of wood.

There is a nice day use that has tables and bbq pits. You can be in the forest or by the water.

There is a boat ramp you can use and there is a swimming area with a raft to jump off of. However, there are alligators in the water, but the park rangers are good about checking on their activity.

There are a few trails in the park, but I wasn't able to hike any on this visit.

I did visit the nearby stature of Sam Houston. It is free to visit and is billed as the tallest statue of an American Hero anywhere in the world. It's worth checking out.

A park in the center of a lot

We live cclose to this state park. So it is easy for us to get away to camp here. We have been 2 times this yr. Always make your revation,because the camp do fill up fast. We hiked, swam, and fished. We had lots fun fun meeting new people. Just remember not scouts use this camp a lot to go camping.

Camping

I stayed here for my second week after camping in Sam Houston forest for almost a week. The place was slightly better than camping in sam houston. We managed to get a site right next to the water. The site was a little bigger than camping in sam Houston. There was a lot of people swimming in the water but not close to our campsite. They were swimming further down. The locals said there were a lot of catfish but we were not able to catch any after trying for some time. The fee to enter the park was 5 dollars as we were leaving because we did not enter through the main entrance to the park.

Real good

4 of us stayed one night, the park hosts were all lovely and made sure we had everything we needed. This is a great park for families with young kids. There are alligators in the lake but we never saw any. Raccoons and other wild life are around as well but they have high hooks for your garbage bags to prevent them getting into it. Clean bathrooms and showers, very close to camp sites. Some sites have electric and water options which come in handy, just bring a long extension cord. Went during early March, weather was lovely.

Beautiful view, clean grounds, tons of space.

We loved our campsite and this beautiful park. We got to use our kayaks, go fishing, swimming, and hike also. It was just gorgeous! We actually had our campsite in a perfect place for we could put our kayaks in and out of the water right behind our tent.

Beautiful

Huntsville Park is a nice little park that is a getaway from the city. We have hiked all the trails and camped here a couple times. The facilities are nice and the staff is helpful!

Nice East Texas Park

I camped here in April with my pupper. We hiked the trail around the lake. Some trails were closed due to recent storm damaged, but I am sure they fixed it in a timely manner.
Lots of wildlife. I saw five gators in my 3 day stay. Lots of birds and turtles. 

Beautiful Area

Good campground with several small loops for campers in groups. The beach is pretty far away from some sites. Like any state park though, the evenings can get loud with music and people.

Lots of camp sites

Love the trails but man not a single site is level so be prepared to level your RV and if you are in a tent I would never recommend it. we drove around to all the sites thinking maybe it was just our area but nope all are uneven. We went into town to buy more scissor jacks to help level us. Never had that problem at any other State Park

Bring an RV

Located on the west edge of the east Texas piney woods, this state park features excellent RV and tent camping facilities, and a beautiful network of heavily forested trails. The lake offers canoeing, kayaking, swimming and fishing, and affords visitors an occasional glimpse of alligators. We love this place.

A Little Bit of Pine Forest Heaven

The camping space I had was very large with water access for my Kayak. The camping was a little noisy with some neighbors playing music but at least they were enjoying it. There's a lot of trails to hike and smooth roads for bike riding. There's a designated swimming area and canoes that can be rented. I will say its pretty hot camping in August.

Large camping spaces

Wonderful trails. Clear and well marked. Primitive (water only) tent sites on lakeshore side leave the camper hunting flat surfaces while avoiding runoff pathways. However the dip shields you from stormy winds. Be ready to share the park. Lots of day trippers enjoy this piece of bliss so close to Houston. Trails are marked for foot and bicycle travel. Birdwatchers bring your glasses and journals, you will not be disappointed.

Hiking haven with birding bonanza!  

Campsites are close together and there were a lot of people around. It was pretty loud with music and people later into the night. Canoeing was good on the lake and good mountain biking trails.

Lots of people but nice canoeing lake

You’ll find Huntsville State Park six miles southwest of Huntsville, TX in Walker County in the Sam Houston National Forest. Huntsville State Park has over 20 miles of trails to explore along with a pretty great lake to fish, paddle or swim. Fish for crappie, perch, catfish, or bass. Lake Raven also has a boat ramp, fishing piers, and fish cleaning stations. Bring your own canoe or rent one from the little supply store. The supply store also has miscellaneous supplies and bait for purchase.

Campsites are spaced _modestly_ except those in the full hookup loop. If you are looking for full hookups, book in advanced as those are in high demand at this location. All sites have a two-day minimum on Friday and Saturday.

**Available sites:**

*   **Full hookup campsites -** pull-through, picnic table, fire ring, water hookup, lantern post, restrooms &amp; showers nearby 20/30/50-amp hookup
*   **Electric sites -** picnic table, fire ring, water hookup, lantern post, restrooms &amp; showers nearby 20/30/50-amp electric hook up
*   **Campsites with water** - picnic table, fire ring, water hookup, lantern post, &amp; restrooms &amp; showers nearby

What you'll need to know....

This was our first trip with our kiddos in tent and we cannot wait to go back!! Site 146 was amazing!! 

Tent Camping Fun 🏕

I took the whole family for a weekend getaway. We loved the park, it was our first time tent camping here and it did not disappoint. It has a swimming area, trails, fishing, and playgrounds. The park was very nice and clean, the showers had door! We will definitely come back.

Nice park for the whole family

We love this park because we can be at it in just over an hour from Houston.  It makes it a great weekend camping choice.  The RV sites are water and electric only.  Some of the sites are level but some need some serious leveling work to be done.  One of the sites we stayed at required 4 blocks on one side to level it.  That will test a marriage :-P.  Most of the sites are very shaded which really helps during the summer. 

There are miles of trails and several geocaches throughout the park.  Which will give hours of entertainment.  There is wildlife all over the place.  We have a couple food buckets that we keep chips etc in outside so the kids don’t have to go in and out of the camper to get.  I have woken up to footprints on the bucket so the raccoons were obviously trying to figure out how to get to the goodies.  The park also will run a couple of events per day with the rangers for education.  As you can see from the pictures that I am posting there are horseback riding activities but that costs extra.  Also, we have heard rumors that the company that did it has pulled out of the park.  I hope not because that is something we typically did as my girls really love doing it.  

Wonderful park just minutes from Houston

Great park with great programs! Had such a fun time as a family here! Gator program, Pond-life exploration program, guided hikes, bird watching, etc! So fun! Also, virtually no mosquitoes, due to the prevalent BeautyBerry plants!

Great park with great programs!

Well maintained camping sites with lots of space to each site. Wonderful facilities and activities around the park. Will definitely be coming back

Great site right on the lake/Awesome sunrise!

Tent camped 23JUN20, 1 night

I love Huntsville SP.  It’s my “home park”.  So many great memories of family and scout camping here, all the way back to my youth.  The tall trees and lake make for a “summer camp” feel.  

It literally rained every second I was in camp except for a little while when I was loading out.  For the most part it was a quiet heavy rain that I enjoyed from my covered hammock! 

I always forget there are alligators there, but they don’t seem to care too much about people.  It is a bit disconcerting to be standing on the fishing peer 2 feet over the water and look down to see one just chilling under your feet. 

Site 139 was large, had complete shade coverage and was right off the trail.  It also had the unfortunate attribute of being at the bottom of the hill and kind of where all the water from everywhere seemed to be headed.  Not a problem unless it’s raining a lot. Fortunately I realized this and set up my tent on the end of the parking space.  Have you ever driven a tent stake into asphalt with a hatchet?  Good times. 

The bathrooms were clean and updated.  The fishing was non existent due to the rain and I’ll go back soon to hike.

Did I mention that it rained?  A lot?

Trees, Rain, & Alligators, oh my 

I’m so surprised I hadn’t been here yet, but it’s just gorgeous. Pine needles everywhere, beautiful lake. We tent camped and we weren’t too close to the people around us. Completely surrounded by huge trees. The bathroom had a lot of spiders but I’d expect that. The showers drained super slow but you just have to take a quick one. I appreciate the parking at your spot a lot. A nice cold front (and storm) came in during the night and blew out the humidity and it just got that much better. We went on the long trail in the evening and heard coyotes which was cool. We turned around though lol. 

Definitely a Top Fav State Park

Very peaceful campground. Spaces were spread out nicely. Saw some alligators and raccoons! Cloudy night when we stayed but overall a new local favorite! 

Beautiful and quiet

This is our favorite local (2hous from home) park. We’ve been coming here almost every year for close to 20 years. We’ve done primitive tent camping, tent camping with power, shelter camping and just recently became glampers!😂 Site 142 in the prairie branch loop is our favorite site. It’s on the water and at the trailhead. It’s recently been designated Accessible so our last two trips we chose the shelter sites 10 and 11. These sites are also on the water and have lots of space. The showers on this side are individual rooms as opposed to the semi private (too small shower curtain) ones in the big restroom. The water is nice and hot but I suggest bringing a broom or you will be sharing with some pretty big spiders. Overall the restrooms are clean but the campgrounds are busy lately so I’m sure it’s difficult to keep up. Staff are super friendly. Firewood is on a suggested donation basis and is available most days before 5pm.

Our home away from home 

I like Huntsville State Park campground for a long weekend getaway.  It is about an hour north of Houston not far off Interstate 45, so very easily accessible.  They have a large campground section which is only campsites, and also another section on the other side of a cove that is more of a recreational section which has a swimming beach, cabins, screened shelters, etc.  This state park gets very crowded in the summertime, with campers as well as lots of day use folks enjoying the water.  It is hard to get a campsite reservation, so plan ahead!  

The sites are spacious as in most Texas state parks, and there are many shaded sites.  The waterfront sites are tiered.  The upper tier is where you park your rig.  Then there is a retaining wall and steps to walk down to the lower tier where the picnic table, fire ring, lantern post, etc.. are located.  We really didn't ever go down to the lower part of our site because it was inconvenient.  It was a good place to walk the dogs though.  The campground does slope slightly and the sites are not all real level, so be sure to bring your "legos" if you don't have a leveling system on your rig.  The grounds did not seem to be as well maintained as some other state parks I've been to.  We couldn't use the picnic table because it was surrounded by tall weeds and had a lot of spider webs under it.  Bath house was not well maintained and kind of dingy.  It was also not ventilated well and felt like a sauna as it was so humid in July. 

There is a nice fishing pier and several places to fish off the bank.  A ranger told me there are alligators in the lake, so be careful.

Good Weekend Getaway Close to Houston

I hadn't been camping in years but decided to go for it. My first stop of many was Huntsville State Park. It's the beginning of spring so no fish were biting, bugs fly after dark was crazy so once I'm in my tent I had to kill bugs. I used a spray but once they are in they're in. Beautiful lake, friendly staff but If you go for ice at the main gate watch your step, there's an unmarked drop (for handicap) don't tumble and fall like I did. Overall,  I enjoyed staying and sure to be back. 

Nice place!

This is our go to park because it is really close to where we live and it is a nice park with trails and the lake 

Go to park

fabulous place to relax, with many things to do as a family and enjoy the tranquility of nature, my family and I really enjoyed it, we were there from April 24 to 26, 2021🤗

fabulous

Site 51 Raven Hill /

We stayed for a total of 3 nights and it was pretty awesome. The site we chose was enough room for my 30 ft camper and mega cab next to it. It was a tight fit but I know next time a 35 ft campsite does not mean you can fit a camper up to 35 ft. It’s total feet including your rig. But the surrounding camp area given is very large space for activities picnic table, fire pit kids to play. We had a mega pour down while we were there and the next day there was no standing water anywhere. Great drainage. There was a slight incline and was mostly level. I would definitely visit again but would most likely choose another site for size and for sewer hook ups. 

Jurassic like

We had a great time at Huntsville State Park. Will definitely be returning as it’s so close to Houston. Park was jam packed and it seemed like rangers were a bit nervous as they drove through the grounds multiple times. Our site had direct water access and my husband floated a bit but we saw an alligator (small) just off in the distance. I think we had one of the better sites, but the one to the left of ours looked fantastic too. Overall great time. 



Huntsville State Park is an underrated park 

beautiful family weekend with places to walk and places to ride a boat beautiful lake and a beautiful forest, usable bathrooms with shower, I will come back any time

Family weekend

This is a lovely site, but regrettably the best campsites were prebooked by "ghost campers", folk w enuf $ to book sites BUT NOT USE THEM. This hurts camper fams &amp; retirees 




on a budget. Richy Rich Has Reservations 4 Whole Planet!


Good sites prebooked, sad

We went for one day (Christmas Eve) it was surprisingly packed. Hiking was great and there’s definitely alligators. The bathrooms are so clean and the trails are very well kept. The sites are clean and have pretty good space between them. We will definitely be back! 


Busy Christmas Eve 

We loved this park has a lot of things to do, a great nature center, sites with shelters, a place to swim in the lake and the trails for mountain bikes are nice.

Great park close to home

This is a beautiful park about 3 hours from
Dallas. Spent 2 nights at the park camping in a RTT while supporting friends running in the races. There’s an extensive trail network, clean facilities, easy to access park store and plenty of activities for the family. 

Rocky Raccoon 100 Race Weekend

I was totally surprised at the beauty of this park. I stayed in a screened shelter site with a view of the lake. The weather was cold, but I came prepared and setup my tent in the shelter. The park has many trails and view points. The staff at check-in were extremely helpful and you could tell they love their job. Ended up purchasing a Texas Parks Pass because I am quickly learning that Texas has some of the best camping in the country.

The Solitude of Huntsville State Park

This is a nice park jot far from where we live, we really enjoy staying here

Nice park close to our home

I love this park—it’s well maintained, lots of trails, functional clean bathrooms, and the staff are all very kind and helpful. 

One of the best Texas parks

Overall great place for families or small groups! Amazing swimming area and lots of beautiful trails to hike. Have grown up coming here and will continue to bring my future family here!

Amazing

I stayed two nights on the primitive camping side(coloneh campground I believe). This was my first time camping at Huntsville State Park. I got the change to hike the Chinquapin trail. It was a beautiful hike. The campground had plenty of areas with showers. 


Beautiful campground 

It is really close to our home so even for short trips it is amazing. Biking, hiking, fishing or just relaxing this park has all. 

Our favorite state park

I've camped at this park for the last 2 years while running the Rocky 50k trail race. 

  

Here's a link to my video that contains footage of the journey to the park, the campsite and the trail race. Be sure to subscribe to the channel to continue to see more camp &amp; trail running footage.

  

[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOxkmteenN-Mm3vsW1tLgew](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOxkmteenN-Mm3vsW1tLgew)