Best Tent Camping near Big Thicket National Preserve

This park is a great option for those looking for a spot not too far from Houston, but less busy than other parks such as Huntsville State Park, etc. that are a little closer to Houston. It’s also a nice option for those wanting to visit Big Thicket, but seeking a less primative camping experience (the Big Thicket National Preserve has primitive camping only).

Most of the campsites have enough trees to set up a hammock. If you get there while the office is open, they will give you the choice of picking your own campsite (of those still available).

Canoe and kayak rentals are dirt cheap. You might see an alligator while canoeing, but per the park workers they don’t bother people.

Bring bug spray! Especially in the hotter months.

Sandy Creek ACE, TX: To Do: Great location to visit the Big Thicket National Preserve. Boat launch is in the park. Fishing. Gorgeous sunsets.

(Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(71 yr olds in 17’ trailer. )

Overall Rating: 3.5. Great price, large sites , but showers need updating and better water heaters.
Price 2023: $9 w interagency pass. Not a lot of privacy in most sites. Security: No Usage during visit: 1/3 full on Saturday. Site Privacy: No shrubbery between sites Site Spacing: Most sites have great spacing Site surface: Blacktop Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Very quiet Road Noise: No public roads nearby Through Traffic in campground: None Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Yes Potable Water Available: At sites Bathroom: Flush toilets. Clean, but in major need of updating. Showers: Yes. Common dressing area - needs updating. Water heated not adequate every morning. Pull Throughs: Some Cell Service (AT&T): 3 bars Setting: Sites are in what is mostly a pine forest.
Recent Weather: Cool. Typical for this time of year I am told Host: At entrance Rig Size: Largest of rigs are accommodated Sites: 32 has great shade. 51 and 35 doorside towards trees as opposed to another trailer.v

Thia camp ground is owned and managed by Texas Parks and Wildlife. It is well maintained and kept. The RV camp sites are plenty big and the tent sites are big enough to pitch the large multi person cabin tents. The fishing is a amazing and the store is cool.

Nice swimming area seperate tent sites close to town

These are full hook up sites only no tent sites

Tent site we stayed at was great.  Well shaded and not too close to other camper sites

We camped in Loop A during the week of Thanksgiving 2020 by making reservations 134 days prior to arriving. Very friendly volunteer gate attendants, but not sure when they work the gate as we tried to find them twice in one day and no one around and no info on how to contact/find someone, even tho there are four different campsites marked“attendant”. Overall, very quiet campground the week of Thanksgiving except for the highway noise from Highway 255, which was loud! Nine site FHU loop where sites are crammed together, weirdly and poorly laid out and spaced. No vegetation between sites so no privacy here what-so-ever! We could hear everyone’s conversations, even some that were inside their RV! Back-in site 12 was a tricky challenge to get into due to the terrain. First a dip before a narrow entrance over drainage ditch pipe, then a steep grade which almost had us scrapping the asphalt as we saw evidence of many that had previously. The narrow asphalt parking pad is deteriorating on the utility hook up side leaving a 6-8 inch drop off, so not very forgiving! Most asphalt site pads in this loop are in poor condition. Site 12 was not level side-to-side. Site 12 also has two wooden enclosures(wooden fence) that house utility panel boxes. At first, we thought we had our own outhouse! There is a slight view of the lake from Site 12. Recreation.gov states this site is"full shade", which we disagree. Our concrete picnic table on a concrete pad was fairly close to the parking pad. Our site also included a rotting shelter over the table, a rotting wooden bar-height prep table(aka fish cleaning table), a wooden lantern pole and a metal fire pit with a grilling grate that was one big tripping hazard due to the concrete slab the pit was placed on was broken up and huge hunks of concrete displaced around the metal fire pit. What a mess. Toilet/shower facility just for this campground loop fairly clean, but not serviced every day(during the week). Tent sites are along the lake in Loop A. There is a significant drop-off down to the water’s edge. Evidence of tent campsites that had been washed out/destroyed in recent flooding. Not a good stargazing location due to other close by campers with numerous outdoor lights burning all night! Super friendly squirrels that ate from our hands. No other wildlife sighting during our 4 night stay the week of Thanksgiving. Sam Rayburn Lake is beautiful. Park has a boat ramp and a large ramp parking area. No firewood for sale in this park. A bait shop, Valero fuel station, liquor store and a couple restaurants within a 5-minute drive of the Park entrance. Jasper has a Tractor Supply and a small Walmart. Lufkin has most chain restaurants, Lowes, Super Walmart, etc. Two bars AT&T signal

We absolutely love this park!  RV and tent sites right on the water, beach area for swimming, boat docks and ramp, etc.  We extended our stay and plan to for awhile!  The staff is so welcoming!  Oh and there are 13 gorgeous cabins for rent!  I highly recommend this park!

My wife and I have been park hosts here at Martin Dies jr state park for 3 months now. We have been coming here for years. The park has around 200 rv, tent sites, and cabins ( 3 cabins have a/c ). They have trails and rent kayaks and canoes. Plenty of Wildlife like deer, raccoons, gray foxes, birds and of course gators.

Went to Powell not knowing what to expect.  The lake is beautiful, the camp grounds are spotless and the Staff is awesome.  Great facilities whether tent camping, RV camping or staying in a cabin.  Cabins are small and rustic as you would expect but very clean.  What you’d want since you will be outside enjoying the great outdoors!  Boat rentals, pontoons for larger groups, fishing, water sports, they have it all.  Did I mention how awesome the staff is??? So accommodating and friendly.  We will be back!

This is a small hidden state park that has rustic beauty. 25 campsites with electric and water, that can be used for campers or tents (tent pads at each site). We camped with a 27 ft camper, with barely enough room. Slightly unlevel, needed 2 blocks on left side. Each site has a tent pad, table, and firepit. There is a dump station. Extremely clean shower and bath house. Several hiking and biking trails, as well as a small beach area, kayaking, fishing, gazebo and playground. A nature center was on site which has activities for families on the weekends! Walk in tent camping without electric and water available. Our site #4 was only 16 dollars a night. Park rangers and camp hosts were knowledgeable and kind.

25 standard RV sites with water & electric. $16, plus some walkin tent sites. Arrived on a Monday night with no reservation; no problem getting a nice site (#19). The young lady checking us in was very nice & helpful. The campground was clean & well maintained. The restroom/shower house was exceptionally clean. Most sites appear to be close to each other, but trees & shrubbery between sites provided some privacy. Sites were also narrow, but long. Enough room for a camper & tent. A few big rigs had difficulty with backing into a site. Pretty state park. Includes a hiking trail. Good AT&T & T-Mobile cell service.

Tent Camped 9JUN20- 1 night

TO BE FAIR, this was RIGHT after everyone reopened and things were all weird. There was no one to check in with and the whole time we were there we never saw any park personnel. The park was MAYBE 25% camped, but might have been less than that. Sites were huge and well treed, no pads but good drainage, which was a blessing because it POURED overnight.

Site 334 was on the water with great trees and soft ground to camp on. Our closest neighbor was 500 feet away, and they were the only other one on our loop.

The park was empty and quiet with no canoes or anything available due to COVID.

The bathrooms were older and pretty clean, but not overly tended to.

The trails were a little rough and needed a lot of rotted wood replaced on the bridges and benches. Tons of birds and wildlife to see.

Brought my dog but not a lot of good places for him to get in the water.

It was the first time I had camped in 10 years, so this was the perfect place for a shakeout camp.

We stayed in a tent at site 124. It was crazy windy when we were setting up our tent. This part of the park was really windy for two of the three days, but we still had a great time. Typical, nice Texas State Park. Nice sites. Enjoyed the hiking on wide trails. They did not rent canoes or kayaks because of the winds.

We have stayed here several times with family, some in tents and some in pop up trailers. The bathrooms are old, Texas is supposed to be getting new bathrooms in all state park facilities but had not gotten to this one as of our last visit. Park is larger, best to do with bikes if possible. Limited lake access but good fishing spots abound. Tower to climb, trails to hike, firewood to burn...

If you want to escape the hot summer in Texas, I would recommend coming to Brookeland Campground because there is a beautiful lake nearby. My cousins and I took a trip to this campground to enjoy the lake, hiking and of course the outdoors. We brought a 6 person tent, and this fit comfortably in our campsite. There is also a fire ring and table within your site as well. There is only 1 bathroom within the campground, or at least what we could find. It was a porta-potty style, and smelt so bad. Not sure how often they clean it, but it was pretty bad (especially with the heat....made it worse!). Thankfully we came prepared and brought our own toilet paper, because by the 2nd night we were there, there was no toilet paper in the bathroom. We heard a few people complain about this. Although the bathroom was gross, the rest of the campground was pretty clean. There are dumpsters as you leave, so please make sure to clean up after yourselves. We enjoyed hiking in the morning, and then playing in the lake mid morning-afternoon. There were tons of people swimming, boating, tubing, kayaking and stand up paddle boarding. It was a blast, and perfect for the hot weather. Definitely bring bug spray because there were so many mosquitos near the campground. I left with a few pretty big welts. I would definitely come back to this campground! Recommend.

Clean, plenty of spaces, tents and RV’s. Nice fire pit. Nice lake view and water fun!

We went camping with our extended family, fun was had by all. The campground was nice and clean, the host were pleasant, and we enjoyed our weekend. We were in 2 RVs and a Tent.

We came in late and left early, but it seems that there is quite a bit to do at the park. The lake is pretty and the tent spots are grassy and large. Clean bath house and nice showers. Mosquitos were out, but that's to be expected.

Would be 5 stars except it's close enough to the road that you get traffic noise. I camped early January and was the only tent camper, quite enjoyable. Very pretty lake view and sunsets and sunrise are delightful. Showers are warm, not the hottest, but welcome nontheless.

We tented here on a rainy weekend unfortunately. It was a nice site right near the water, and we saw a lot of wildlife like an armadillo, raccoon, and deer. We got out for a little bit to go for a walk and went to some of the trails which were scenic but super buggy. Bring spray and citronella candles!

Came here with a big group of family. They were in an RV, I stayed in a tent. Roads are paved, kids can roam, lots of trails and some playgrounds. The showers arent bad either. The lake was fun to kayak on. It was raining so not many people were there. Spiders galore here, fair warning.