Best Cabin Camping near Austin, TX

A camping cabin at Inks Lake State Park was our ‘home base’ while checking out some nearby attractions, mainly Lornhorn Cavern State Park. What a cool place that is! So many tours of the caverns and great things to see. We enjoyed our lakeside cabin at Inks Lake. Things were somewhat rustic but well maintained plus the draw of a cabin for us, airconditioning! We spend a day kayaking (rentals available) and another day checking out Devil’s Waterhole and some waterfalls. Great experience :)

This was our very 1st RV park. It set the tone for all our spots moving forward. Clean bathrooms, clean pool/hot tub, clean laundry, well stocked store, gated community, great walking trail around a big lake and near big long horn cows. Met some big white neighbor dogs on the trail, but they kept their distance. Seems like the middle of nowhere, but it's really close to Austin, lockhart, Circuit of the America's. We stayed a week. Will stay again.

Such a nice place to park and relax! Ten dog park is huge, grounds immaculate, pool, hot tub, laundry and showers are incredibly well kept and best of all the staff!! They are hands on helpful, super social and always driving around the grounds to see how your morning is or if you could use a hand. They know your name and genuinely take an interest!

Such a refreshing pleasure!!! I would highly recommend a stay here! You’ll love it!! And it’s easy to drive in and out!

Campground Review

This was my first time to Jellystone Hill Country, and my family had a wonderful time.  We will be returning in the near future for sure!  Luckily for us, they do have a very detailed website that addresses a lot of the questions and concerns one might have.  So in this review, I will do my best to give insight to the aspects that may not be clear on their website.  

CABINS

We stayed in a Cindy Bear cabin, number 6 specifically.  What a fabulous cabin.  It had everything we needed and had plenty of space for our family of 5.  I love that the “master bedroom” is on the opposite side of the cabin from the bunk room.  Makes the space feel larger.  The kitchen has a full size fridge/freezer, microwave (huge, modern microwave), coffee maker, toaster, and plug-in 2 burner stove.  NO oven so skip the frozen pizzas.  You will need to bring ALL your own linens, including sheets, blankets, TOWELS, and dish rags.  There was a small bottle of dish soap on the sink for us, but no sponges or rags.  There was also plenty of plates, bowls, cups, silverware, etc. but the pots were somewhat old and had lost their non-stick properties.  I would throw a frying pan into your luggage if you plan to make pancakes during your stay.  (Actual items vary by cabin, so another cabin may have a very nice frying pan, who knows?).  I literally didn’t see a single spider or fly in the cabin the whole time we were there, which is a miracle considering all the buggy cabins I’ve stayed in over the years.  What a clean and pleasant experience.

GOLF CARTS

We rented a golf cart during our stay.  While they are cute and fun to buzz around in, the park really isn’t big enough to warrant one, unless you are staying in a cabin or site very far from the action.  When booking, there is an option to choose your specific site for a $15 fee.  My advice is to pay the $15 and choose a site close to the Hill Country Hall and the waterpark, and save the $62 a day on the golf cart.  We stayed RIGHT next to the HCH and had no noise problems whatsoever.   

ACTIVITIES

Each weekend they have planned activities for the kiddos.  Most of these activities occur on Saturday.  Our weekend was Carnival Games and Halloween.  The carnival was cute little games set up for the kids to play with candy as prizes. I would say the optimal age for that carnival was between 4 and 7 years old.  In the evening they had a costume contest (we won best group!) and trick or treating around the park.  The kids had a blast.  Check their website before your trip to see the calendar of events.

WATER AMENITIES

Wow!  If you and your kids love to play in the water, this is the place for you.  Their outdoor complex includes: one standard rectangular pool, one very shallow splash pad with several water spouts and a tiny kids slide, which flows into a deeper (3 foot) pool, and a large kids water play center that includes two decently large kids slides, high pressure water cannons, and lots of stairs to climb around.  We were so impressed by the sheer square footage of fun and how a whole family could be happy in this one place for hours.  Also, plenty of seating for mom to relax ;).  Here you can find their concession stand, that serves fairly priced hot food and Blue Bell ice cream.  

If the sun is not your scene, no fret!  They have an INDOOR pool too!  The water is the perfect temperature, and has a connected hot tub for soaking.  Perfect for mom and dad to relax in the hot tub and keep a close eye on the kids swimming.  

STORE

If you forgot anything, or have the unexpected occur (like my husband having a stomach ache), the store is there with items you may need.  They also sell tons of souvenir items if you want to adorn your entire house (or RV) with Yogi Bear paraphernalia.

Overall, I can’t say enough good about this place.  The staff is friendly, the cabins clean and roomy, the activities sweet and age-appropriate, and the water park out of this world.  We are already planning our next trip back!

(My family and I were given a discount in exchange for this review, but these opinions are my own and no way affected by the discount)

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - here I am testing the MH2 Headlamp by Ledlenser ( http://www.ledlenserusa.com/mh2-505.html#start=3 )

One night, my daughter noticed a “cave” (read: drain pipe under a bridge) that she wanted to explore.  Sure that there would be dangerous critters in said cave, we strapped the MH2 on her and followed close behind.  Well if there were any critters, we would have seen them for sure!  

The lamp was bright and strong and showed exactly where you needed it to shine.  You can simply twist the lens in the front, and the beam can change from focused to broad.  It also can shine red light, or flash, both of which would be very useful in an emergency.  The headband is also wide and comfortable.  The adjustable strap made it easy to transition between my daughter, all the way to my husband in a second.  Both could wear the light comfortably.   I recommend this headlamp for anyone looking for a low-price hands-free lighting option.

If you're not able to drive far, McKinney Falls is a nice quiet getaway. It's a typical state park where you're pretty close to your neighbor, but there are a few good spots that give you space. The Airport is nearby so you'l get some of the air traffic noise, but other than that it's a nice quiet break away from Austin.

First primitive camping trip and was lucky to get the last camping spot available for a holiday weekend. The area of the state park where the primitive camping is is very quiet, about 2 miles walk away from the RV and cabin camping. So not much traffic near our spot. The site was cleared well and had several areas to choose from to put up our 2 person tent. We were near a compost restroom, which I always prefer if available. It was amazingly clean and well maintained (except for the trash can, which didn’t have a lid— critters enjoyed some midnight snacks. We ended up storing it inside the restroom itself on night two to save us the noise).

The first time I camped here was Memorial Day weekend. We had reservations, but it was packed and we regretted our timing. Lots of loud people during the day and into the evening. Luckily the rangers/state park cops reinforce the no noise and no alcohol rules very seriously, so it was quiet after 10pm and no people doing stupid drunk hijinks.

There used to be a decent place to eat nearby, but it was closed the second time we went in 2015. No idea if the closure is permanent.

Some decent kayaking and beautiful pink cliffs. Friend from Austin brought his bike and said the biking trails were excellent. Lots of folk fishing both times we were there. Cabins were available (with a reservation) but we set up tents and enjoyed the view.

Mosquitos weren’t terrible when we were there but the chiggers were a pain in the…leg. Learned my lesson the first day and wore pants for the rest of our trip(s).

Devil’s Waterhole was a blast to swim in, despite the creepy name!

McKinney Falls is great because it is in such close striking distance from Austin. It's not a spectacularly huge park, but the falls are definitely worth the visit. Especially on a hot summer's day! There are plenty of awesome shade trees to hang out under and catch a nap too.

Pedernales is a classic Texas state park with a lot to offer and a short distance from Austin. It is often fully booked and your best chance to book a spot is far in advance or create a notification through the Texas State Parks site if a spot opens up. In the warm weather there's lots of swimming to be had, not in the falls themselves which are prone to flash flooding, but in another part of the park. Occasionally the water is home to poisonous algae which makes the water neither kid or dog friendly. Many of the sites have small shelters over their picnic tables.

Large, spaced out sites with nicely covered picnic tables, lantern hook, and fire pit. It was nice to not easily see your neighbor. This park has it all with very many miles of trails for good hiking, rugged mountain biking, and has the beautiful falls to explore. You can even swim in parts of the river. This place is a gem and is not very far away from Austin! Two downsides: no cell service in the campground and only one dump station for quite a few RVs.

An hour and a half away from Austin, we found Inks Lake to be a quiet and relaxing camp area away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

There are several sites set up across the state park. The more modern RV campgrounds nearest the designated safe swimming areas. And the more remote camp zones on the other side of the main entrance. We chose the more remote area, which was perfect! We were close to the water, it was dark and quiet, and the campsites are more spread out. We still had access to some very nice bathrooms a short walk away.

Overall, close to civilization, yet far enough to enjoy nature.

I'm always on the lookout for new campgrounds nearby my town. It's nice to have a few places to escape to for a quick day or weekend trip. I searched on thedyrt.com for campgrounds nearby and noticed a group of listings near Lake Travis in an area called Hudson Bend. I decided to check them out.

If you are looking for a short, mid or long-term place to RV camp or cabin camp near Lake Travis on the Hudson Bend penisula this might be your best option.

The facilities are modern, clean and offer many amenities. And the people that I talked to that were staying at the park seemed to be friendly and happy with their choice of facilities.

At the entrance there is an office that is open during typical business hours 9-5. Next to the office there was a small pool and courtyard. And next to the pool was a group meeting room.

The park offered a variety of options from short, mid and long-term stays. One gentleman that I met and talked to said that he was a snowbird and had stayed at the park for the past four years every summer. This appeared to be the norm.

There are RV sites that offer back-in parking and drive-through parking. There are also little multi-color cabins that can be rented. The grounds looked like they were well taken care of. There was some open green space and what appeared to be a fenced dog walking area. Each of the RV sites offered a picnic table and electric and water hookups.

The only downside to this RV park was that it was not located directly on the shore of the lake. To access the lake one must drive down the road and visit the marina. Also, the park is rather large, so some might feel there is a lack of privacy. I wouldn't say that this park has great access to nature, it is more of a modern RV park.

Overall, if you're a mid to long term vacationer you might really enjoy this site. If you're looking for access to nature, you might look elsewhere.

Catching up on my reviews…Inks Lake SP is a superb park about 40 minutes from Austin in the Texas Hill Country.  Great lake with a large no wake zone in one area that makes it very family friendly and paddler friendly.  There are sites away from the NWZ that allow you to ski/tube right from your campsite.  Great choice of flat, easy access spots.  Tent-only spots with only water are available as-well.   Decent hiking and easy biking around the park is available.  The area around Devil's Hole is great for floating about and jumping from the rocks.  Just wish that folks would clean up after themselves better.  Great camp store with lots of products.  Lake was lowered in 2019 to update the docks and boat ramps (very nice now), lake is back to normal seasonal levels.  ILSP is close to Austin, so it stays busy during the season, so reserve well ahead of time.  No Wifi at the campsites, but decent mobile reception (ATT).  30/50 amp and water at most sites.  Fire ring and table on concrete pads at all sites.  Tables are not covered, however.  I've been told that there is Wifi available at the camp store, but I cannot personally verify that.

I actually would rate this campground 3.5 stars, because it is better than average and getting better every year.

In 2011 a forest fire swept through this park and devastated over 90% of the piney woods. The park is still recovering.

However, something that has never changed about this location is that Bastrop State Park offers multiple camping options and great opportunities for family fun.

The park has car camping, walk-in camping, RV camping and even cabin camping/glamping. One of my favorite activities when visiting this park is to drive the scenic and winding tree lined road between Bastrop State Park and nearby Buescher State Park.

There are recreational activities for kids such as a playground, swimming pool, fishing, geocaching and hiking trails. Many of the facilities underwent a remodel and now offer restrooms with modern sinks, showers and toilet stalls.

There are sections of the park where one can see the devastation cause by the forest fire. It is a humbling experience for both children and adults to see the burnt but recovering forrest. There are also sections of the park where one can still stand under some of the old growth majestic pine trees. The walk-in sites are surrounded by forrest. The RV site has some of the tallest trees still standing. One caveat about the RV site is that you can hear the auto traffic from the nearby highway.

The park office has a small store and sells camping necessities and souvenirs. The town of Bastrop is nearby where you can find supermarkets, stores and restaurants so you're never too far from supplies.

Based on my recent visit to this park, I think that it still offers a variety of camping options, family fun and possibly an eco lesson for all of us.

We have an annual Easter weekend camping trip every year and tend to reserve our campsites late as most parks an hour from Austin are always booked. Except for South Shore Park; they always have availability. They aren't cheap; campsite fees plus day pass fees and car fees; 2 nights was $50 for just me and my site. There are a couple hiking trails/trail walks and a swimming area with a volley ball net and grill areas, but otherwise not much to do. Bathrooms were kept clean and park staff are friendly. There is a power plant nearby and Friday early morning we were awoken by loud noises from the plant which was annoying. Didn't hear anything Saturday morning which was good.

Overall, this park isn't anything special but if it's your only option in the area then it isn't bad.

Been here a few times now.  We camp all the way down back next to the creek (which was stagnant).  It's definitely more peaceful and scenic than the other sites, but also places you as far away as you can be from any facilities if you need them.  From the site you can walk to the swimming hole which is cool. The walk over is a bit uneven so if you're not balanced you gotta be a little careful. The swimming hole is cool but gets crowded on hot days, particularly weekends, and when crowded it isn't always super clean due to shitty people.  They don't do reservations so you can just pull up early afternoon and camp for as long as you like. Overall, it's nice for a quick/last-minute escape from Austin, but I wouldn't make it a destination for a roadtrip or anything.

This state park is a little outside of Austin near the airport. The park stays busy and it’s easy to see why– it’s really nice with waterfalls you can check out in the park and it isn’t far from the airport. We had a great stay here and will definitely check it out again if in the area. Although– watch the branches if you are in a bigger rig– we watched a guy hit one and mess up his roof. Also, if you will be camping in Texas State Parks a bit be sure to get the annual Texas State Parks pass– it will end up saving you a lot of money! Also, we went to a nearby market to buy what we thought was salsa(see pictures)– it definitely wasn’t and it was sooo spicy!!