Best RV Parks & Resorts near Bardwell Lake

• Sites are first come first serve - there is no holding sites especially if you are going as a group
• No open fires - only propane or charcoal
• Bathrooms were nice, clean and air conditioned...definitely a couple of notches above the Texas State Parks   
• No wildlife here...just the human kind
• Nice shady sites but not a lot of elbow room (pretty cramped)
• Take lots of allergy medicine if you are allergic to Red Cedar
• 30 AMP sites with full hook ups
• A lot of kids activities - water melon eating contest, face painting, etc.
• Could see a lot of stars in the night sky
• Don't hang anything from the trees..will get in trouble
• No place to hang a garbage bag outside
• Overflowing trash dumpsters
• Propane filling station on the campground property
• Cell service with T-Mobile was sparse. Verizon seemed to work fine.

We got a free Thousand Trails membership from the dealership when we purchased our new camper so we decided to use it for Labor Day at Lake Whitney RV Campgrounds. We went with our camping buddies (theDyrt Ranger Jenny S and family) who also pulled their camper. The sites are first come first serve and there is no holding sites, so if you go as a group finding sites that are together is tough (several sites were bagged and not usable).  We picked Sites #6 and #83 on Loop B. Luckily these sites back up to each other and the kids could roam between the two sites. The sites were 30 AMPs with full hooks up and that part was nice. Didn't have to watch tank levels every time someone (kids) flushed. 

The campsites were pretty shady with red cedar trees which created havoc with my son's allergies. Poor kid was stuffed up the entire time we were there. The sites were pretty cramped, we were not able to extend our awning without hitting the tree branches. The road inside the campground is pretty beat up with lot of bumps. The amenities were nice - a family swimming pool, shuffleboard, washers, putt-putt golf. The campgrounds had several activities for Labor Day such as a water melon eating contest, frozen T-shirt contest which kept the kids entertained.

Don't hang anything on the trees. We had some LED light up and the park ranger had us take it down.  Was actually a little harsh about it. Following that encounter we took down the clothesline that we strung up to dry our swimming suits and wet towels. No place to hang a garbage bag either.

Politeness in customer service was hit or miss.

Our stay was free because of the Thousand Trails membership but otherwise each site goes for about $45/night. I'll do it again for free, if I have to pay...I will go down the street at Lake Whitney State Park for $25 with full hookups.

A large array of tent campsites and RV hookups as well as a decent sized lake makes this a great spot. There are a few hiking trails however no really spectacular views. The lake allows motor boats

I’ve been there twice and have had a great time….quiet,clean convenient to the DFW area..nice fishing area and water sports rentals available…will be going to this park a lot..had full hook ups…has 30/50 amps..water/sewer…a lot of tent spaces and spots with just water/electric…a great variety…

We tent camped in a primitive spot #47. Overall the spot was nice but not very level making the best placement of our large tent a bit of a challenge. Vault toilets were clean and had hand sanitizer. The nature and hiking in this park was our favorite part. Even rented a canoe and paddled across the lake to the river. Park staff were friendly and helpful. Some primitive tent sites are right on the edge of the lake and after a big rain were very swampy. I believe all sites had partial shade and some have more privacy than others. We did spot some full hook up sites in the RV section that have good space for a tent set up and we may try that next time cause we definitely will be back.

We spent an entire month, as we typically do, in Bluebonnet Ridge RV Park in Terrell, Texas. There is a lot to really like about this campground. We would definitely stay here again.

Pros:

• The park was clearly being maintained

• The basketball /tennis courts had just been resurfaced

• Anytime someone left, or a spot was empty, new gravel was being dumped and leveled

• Even though closed for Covid, the pool was cleaned daily.

• There's a small dog park area.

• Doggie bags were provided in multiple places, and ample trash cans in which to drop them.

• Sufficient WiFi repeaters throughout the CG

• The grass is kept mowed down, good to avoid those Texas stickers getting in your shoelaces.

• All but one staff member was really friendly.

• Package receiving was well handled and painless.

• Each visitor, even short term like us, gets a mailbox. You can go in 24/7 and check it.

• There's a "swap area" where people leave magazines, etc. (Near the mailboxes.)

• There's a nice little pond you can fish in, catch-and-release only, no license required.

• LOTS of room to walk the dog!

• There's ample overflow parking and trailer storage space so you don't have to crowd your campsite.

• Laundry facility on site, we didn't utilize it since we have a W/D in the rig.

• Bulletin board for posting things, we bought our W/D from another person at the campsite!

• Park was pretty quiet while we were there. No ruckus or loud people. Folks walked around, talked a bit.

• They have Good Sam and Passport American discounts available.

Cons:

• You're really close to I-20, you will hear the road noise. Only trucks are loud. (We did hear a blowout, scared me to death!)
• The WiFi, while available, is really slow. When you connect, they track usage by hardware MAC address. Use too much, you get blocked and have to ask to be allowed back on.* There are some boggy areas you have to watch for near the pond. (Don't step on the thousands of crawfish towers!)
• The road is in fairly bad shape, leading into the park. They could really use a road company out there to fix it.
• There are some rigs that appear more"permanent" with stairs, patio furniture, that sort of thing. But none were run-down looking.
• When it rains, some of the driveways do get muddy.  The gravel replacement helps.

Other:

• There are a LOT of Tiny Houses that have been put on the property. They all looks really new, well maintained.
• The staff appears to reserve some spots near the front for folks coming in for a day or two to a week.  It was NOT all permanents by any means.

This was the best RV experience I’ve had.

This is a great little lake and campground, especially for fishing and boating. The campground offers nice, secluded campsites with full hook-ups. They each have a table & fire pit. The campsites are clean and well maintained. There are several fishing piers and boat loading docks. The lake is clean and great for tubing, standup paddle boarding or just swimming. There is also a roped off designated swimming area with a small beach. The campground is usually not crowded except for big summer holidays. Lots of wildlife like deer, etc. The public restroom & showers are clean and well kept. There also is a dumping station and a park host is on duty 24 hours a day. No hiking though but walking around the lake is really enjoyable. Bring your own water crafts because there isn’t any rentals offered here. Very low key & enjoyable.

We made reservations 92 days prior to arriving Thursday of the Columbus Day weekend for Horseshoe Loop full-hook-up site, which is a nice elm tree grove. With the Texas State Park Pass, we paid$21/nightly. Our spacious pull-thru site was partially shaded, but there is no vegetation between sites in this loop, so not one site had any privacy from another. Site surface was mostly gravel from deteriorating asphalt. Our site had a deteriorating concrete picnic table on a concrete slab and a fire pit with a grilling grate. There is a possibility that trees make could make site access difficult to deploy slide outs. We witness larger rigs getting creative with pulling into their site because of close trees. Quiet campground with no highway noise. There is no gate closure overnight. This is an excellent dark sky campground, but unfortunately during our stay surrounding campers had excessive outdoor lighting illuminated throughout their site most of the night, which inhibited good star glazing and Draconid meteor shower viewing. Shower/toilet facilities for this loop were clean, but heavily worn and not ADA compliant. Besides a small step into the structure, the women’s had 3 equally sized toilet stalls and 2 equally sized shower stalls neither with any safety grab bars. There are no sites in this loop that are lake front. A few sites can just see the lake from a distance. Trash dumpsters are placed on roadway edge making safe rig egress tricky. AT&T 1 bar coverage in this campground loop. No wildlife sightings during our 4 night stay. Campfire wood available for sale from“lockers” at the Park Headquarters building. Closest restaurants, fuel stations and grocery stores in Whitney and Hillsboro. Waco is 40 miles southeast.