Best Glamping near Albany, TX

Was pretty busy when we went for spring break. Lots of people live nearby so the lake is constantly filled with watercraft, swimmers and people cliff diving near the shore. Decided we didn't feel like kayaking with such a big crowd.

Lots of amenities and places to buy stuff. Very much a glamping crowd.

Although I don't fish according to our neighbors it is a good fishing spot. Saw lots of people cleaning fish at the designated fish cleaning spots.

Hiking trail near the primitive campsites afforded some birdwatching opportunities, although mostly we saw wild turkeys.

We stayed in a tent only spot for 8 days in Dec. Really quiet even with a trail behind us. Lots of winding beautiful trails. One of the cheaper Texas State Parks so the trails aren't very long.

BUT the real hidden gem was in the bathroom by the yurts. They have a disabled shower. So it's within reach and the showerhead is lower. Awesome to use to clean my toddler without getting drenched.

Felt very safe, even walking around past dark. We saw feral hogs a few times at dusk. Really loved it.

The playground isn't very good but you are 20 minutes from Abilene with oodles of great parks and a small zoo.

A pretty basic state park, kind of in the middle of nowhere. I arrived at 9PM and google maps took me down a bunch of country back roads, which was a little unnerving. I camped in wagon wheel, which was doable, but definitely nothing to write home about. It had zero privacy and most campers seemed confused about which direction to park their vehicles. There was a yurt-like permanent structure in the middle that I was under the impression housed bathrooms, but certainly didn’t appear so. The pool area/buildings were very pretty, but the pool was bone dry. I never saw a single park ranger. I only stayed for one night and likely won’t be back.

We had plenty of space to spread out and relax. Rented a pontoon and saw Hell's gates worth the stop. Spent most of the time swimming and fishing from shore. This is one of the clearer lakes in Texas.

This Texas state park was really nice, lots of shade for my dog and lots of friendly people. During the day lots of squirrels running around and at night raccoons and armadillos. The park is kept up with its cleanliness. Also there is restrooms and showers here.

We stayed here January 26 -31, 2021 on the first stop of a 3 month escape from Northern Wisconsin winter. I’m guessing it’s great when it’s warm and you have a boat. It was always windy. Concessions store closed for remodeling. Construction on cabin near our site. Nice bathrooms, shower water not super hot. Nice trails and tons of birds. A bunch of guys cleaning their catfish at a cleaning station near our site. Left a ton of carcasses that the rangers cleaned up. If you plan to use Texas state parks, get the pass as it will save you lots of money!

If at first you don’t find something you like– keep driving! You’ll find it! This place is Texas big with more recreational activities than I have ever seen, and I have been on the road for quite a while. The only thing I didn’t see was a bocce court! There are multiple camping opportunities so take your pick. The Wagon Circle was a trip-- 17 sites with water and electric in a circle around the facilities, see the photos. There are two pools– a kiddy pool and a full size(25 yards) lap pool. The pool area is in great shape, but many of the other activity areas are a bit dated. I was relying on my Verizon hotspot because of issues with Starlink and the signal was not great. I ended up dry camping in a picnic area because it was the only place I could get two bars LTE.

This park was definitely out in the middle of nowhere, with a long peaceful drive full of wildlife. We made it to the park entrance, check in was quick. We arrived on a week day and they ranger informed us the camp store was closed until weekend and no firewood. Closest store with firewood was 30min away. They lake was beautiful. We were right beside the restroom and shower facilities which was great! We came to stay for one night, we had a roof top tent so the site we had was nice and would make a perfect side for a RV but for us it could’ve been wider for our ladder but we were close to the restroom which we wanted. The restrooms were clean, could use a little update, and water was warm but not hot. Lots of wildlife around! I would stay again but I don’t think it’s the best place to go for a winter camping trip. Thank you Texas state parks!

Abilene State Park is an interesting park to visit in the middle of Texas. The park is a short drive from the City of Abilene so it receives quite a few visitors on the weekend. During the weekday, you'll find considerably more peace and quiet. 

You can pick up supplies in the city and there is also a small store within the park office with some snacks and souvenirs.

The park has a nice grove of trees scattered around the open spaces and the campsites which can provide sanctuary shade from the summer sun. The campsites have clearings for tents, picnic tables, fire pits and water. There are restrooms nearby which have sinks, toilets and shower, all of which could stand some updating. There's a swimming pool which is often the main attraction of this park. 

When I was planning a visit to the park I thought that it would be nice to be right on the shores of Lake Abilene. However, I discovered that the main park area and campsites are in one area and the access point to the lake is in another area. You actually need to drive outside of the park, down the road and enter into another part of the park. There's a dirt road to access the lakefront and once you are at the lakefront there is a little beach. I guess that this is one reason why so many people appear to prefer hanging out at the swimming pool. 

The arrangement of the facilities is a little strange and many of the facilities could use an update. For this reason I only rate this park 3 out of 5.

As a kid we would come out here several times a year. We would boat, float, cliff jump, cookout, and enjoy each other's company. Twenty years later we are still enjoying these traditions.

If you like primitive, tent sites, cabins, or RV sites, there are plenty of options.

You should check out Hell's Gate while you are here.

There are also a few hike and bike trails, but this is mainly a park for boating and fishing.

It was nice and peaceful there. They had an awesome store close by where they use the honor system at night for ice and firewood. The campsites close to the water were a little small and Rocky but we had a nice grassy one across the street.

The campgrounds at PK look well kept and cleaned up. The trails are nice. They have plenty of shaded areas as much as they do have open and sunny areas. Summer I was alil weary of the sunny areas because of the overgrowth of vegetation on the trail for the worry of a rattlesnake encounter. Other than that there are nice wide trails and great outlooks of the lake for just sitting back to rest with a view or snapping a few photos. You can see far on some spots. Overall it was a good experience. Might look into camping there once warmer weather hits us again.

This is one of my favorite parks to kayak or canoe at! You can rent them right there at the dock. You can rent jet skis, as well! You can’t get to the famous Hells Gate from the park, but if you take the loop through a private community called Sportsman’s World, you will run right into a view of it.

I have visited here many times and now that some time has passed since the golden alge epidemic that the area has returned to it's natural beauty.

We have been camping here for about 35 years.  Started out tent camping and now prefer a RV.  Love this park.  Many of the campsites are directly on the water, the wind coming off the water will keep you cool in the summer.  We camp here year round.  We camp to relax and this is great place for this.

 First impression- 112 is located perfectly right across from the bathrooms, and has a semi “easy to access” water’s edge. Not ideal for kayak releasing, but there was a small cubby hole in the rock where the water comes in that we discovered once the other half arrived. 
 Only about a 35-45 minute drive to Hells Gate, which seems to be a hot spot for parties. Boats all tied together, bands playing, beer drinking, good time spot. That was where we met Carol, who allowed us to access her property to unload the kayaks, and proceeded to have an incredible time, being the only two people on kayaks in a multi million dollar neighborhood. 
 Stopped at Boondocks Bar and Grill, and met the lady responsible for the pea salad... an unsung hero of the culinary world. 
 Once back at the campsite, we had the privilege of meeting the state representative/ rule enforcer that happened to be on duty that night. He gave us a lesson on how to properly consume alcohol while on the campsite, even though no one was being harmed by the methods chosen to do so before he arrived. 
 Someone from the group thought it would be a good idea to leave out the chips and queso, previously ordered at Boondock’s, for the raccoons. It would have been adorable to be able to feed them by hand, the chips, that we had learned they absolutely loved, not too long before. Once they arrived, we would surprise them from out of nowhere, and shower them with love and affection, in hopes they would take to us as family, and allow us to hand feed them. We were very surprised to find, not only were they not raccoons, they were skunks, but also, skunks also enjoy the salty taste of a tortilla chip or two as well. I regret to inform you, that we were not able to hand feed them like we hoped, but all in all, the skunks were an exciting addition to the adventure. 
 Overall, I would say it was a trip that was

better than expected, in a very peaceful environment.

This is a nice little park for swimming doing a little tubing, not a hiking park, there’s a trail that’s about a mile and change long. It’s a big lake so if you have a boat you will truly enjoy it. I did not. So swimming and tubing is all I did in the water.The 2011 fire it’s not evident anymore, so it’s a great time to go. June 27 to July 3. 2020