Best Tent Camping near Brackettville, TX

This site was 2 sites away from a wide road to the river. We took our kayak down this path on wheels (would’ve been a hassle without the kayak carrier). The site also has a narrow game trail to the water. The bathroom is a short hike away through the shortcut up the nearby hill. Slept with our rain fly off and saw beautiful stars. Truly wonderful. Would come back here if it wasn’t for the river being too low to really kayak in (at least for our 2-person kayak). Campsite has a picnic table, lantern pole, one tree that provided a bit of shade, and water on the other side of the driveway. Would highly recommend hiking crystal cave at the park!

We stayed two nights on our way south to Big Bend National Park. Because it was winter we were not interested in the lake (it was cold) but we appreciated the ample space between each campsite. We had a covered picnic table and fire ring.  Overwise there is no water, sewer or electric.  They do have vault toilets conveniently located throughout the campground.  It's a self-serve place. We just paid our $6 fee at the entry kiosk and that was it.  There was quite a bit of traffic in and around the campground as it appeared some people stay quite awhile.

This park is a great escape to disconnect, view the DARK SKY and witness Mexican free-tailed bat emergence! Park campground is 25 miles after the turn off of US90. We stayed Friday and Saturday nights in mid-March. Few bats emerged during our stay; much better emergence in April as experienced in previous visits to Stuart Cave. 

Pros:

• Excellent DARK SKY campground

• Stuart Cave bat emergence nightly from a very nice viewing deck

• Small park

• Extremely quiet park during March Spring Break

• Good campsite privacy due to good brush coverage

• Most sites had a nice distance from neighbor sites

• Clean campsite

• Picnic table in good condition, especially eating surface

• Our site had aluminum picnic table on a concrete slab under a metal shelter; not all sites had metal shelter

• Clean restroom/shower facility

•  Campsite hook-ups in good condition.

• Level gravel campsite.  

• Pedestal BBQ grill, fire pit with grilling grate, double hook lantern pole and aluminum picnic table at each site.   

• Park roadways in good condition. 

• Park Ranger patrolled campground numerous times throughout day/evening 

Cons:

• No AT&T signal; no park WIFI, so completely without phone service and no public phone available for emergerncies. Had to drive outside of Park about 3 miles for AT&T signal.

• County burn ban prohibited wood campfires and ban posted on Park’s website. Park Ranger stopped by our campsite to tell us to put out our campfire, but we showed him it was a propane firebowl.

• Limited shade in campsites

• Must pack out all personally generated trash. Absolutely NO dumpsters; no garbage cans in park

• No campground host

•.  No entrance gate locked at night

• One and only restroom used by entire Park, so campers and day users. Women’s restroom had 2 toilets, 2 sinks and one shower stall

• Women’s restroom lacked consistent supply of TP and wall dispenser soap• Wildlife sightings limited to squirrels and armadillos

• No park store, so come prepared with all necessary supplies as Brackettville is closest small town which is 25 miles away with only a grocery store and couple fuel stations. Ulvade and Del Rio have the typical box stores.

This site was located 2 sites away from a wide road to the river. We took our kayak down this path on wheels (would’ve been a hassle without the kayak carrier). The site also has a narrow game trail to the water. The bathroom is a short hike away through the shortcut up the nearby hill. Slept with our rain fly off and saw beautiful stars. Truly wonderful. Would come back here if it wasn’t for the river being too low to really kayak in (at least for our 2-person kayak). Campsite has a picnic table, lantern pile, one tree that provided a bit of shade, and water on the other side of the driveway.

Just 5 miles outside of Del Rio, Texas lies the limestone lined Amistad Reservoir which gathers the waters of the Rio Grande river on its journey to the gulf. Amistad means friendship, and as a dam project, was co-sponsored by the US and Mexico.  This park is a confluence of three distinct ecosystems, which makes the flora extra special.

There are many developed campgrounds throughout the Recreation Area, the San Pedro campground has a few sites that offer more privacy away from the main campground, and dozens in the larger, more open area.  Each is set up with a grill, picnic table and shade shelter. A large group campsite is available for reservation, but not during COVID. There are no electrical hook-ups (bring your solar!), and no water available at this campground.  Pit toilets were clean and hopefully they'll fix the lock on the doors soon (in the meantime, just use a stick).  Whaddya want for 6 bucks a night?  The stay limit is 2 weeks, and the rangers do check.

San Pedro is further away from the water than some of the other camping areas, but it was quiet, comfortable and lovely. Since the Verizon signal was super strong we were able to get a ton of things accomplished while also squeezing in some hikes, bikes, paddles, and runs. There are a few trails around, but lots of quiet dirt roads to stay active.  The boat launch was a short 2 mile drive away. And of course the crystal blue lake offers everything from swimming, fishing, paddling, and powerboating.

Del Rio is one of the larger cities along the border between Loredo and El Paso, so there really isn't much you can't get in town just a short drive away. We even got some work done on our truck and were able to just bike back to the campground whiel it was in the shop.  Drinking water can be filled at the Diablo East Campground dump station, about 4 miles away for no charge, and of course the town is full of water filling kiosks like all southern desert towns.

Type of Park: Private- book with them through Campspot. 

Check In: 2 pm for RV sites, 4 pm for cabins Check Out: 12 pm

• 🚻 Restrooms
• 🚿 Showers
• 📶 Wifi(did not use)
• 🧺 Laundry facility
• 🐕 Off-leash dog park
• 🛒 Store has RV supplies, necessities, few groceries, souvenirs, ice
• 🚶🏻‍♀️ Trails
• 🌊 Water access- Frio was very low but still had some water from the springs
• 🏚 Cabins
• 🦌 Wildlife: Scarlet Tanager, bats, woodpeckers
• 📆 Nightly activities- mostly geared towards kids Volleyball, tetherball, gaga ball, horseshoes, playground
• 📡 AT&T had good signal. Verizon was non-existent
• 👩🏻‍💼 Staff was friendly and helpful 
• Can bring golf carts or rent them here 
• Recycling bins for cans
• ❗ Note: CP 3 is directly across from the dumpsters, but has a good shade tree

📋 Site#CP 06, Central Park 

Premium site, Central Park sites have a patio area looking toward the river with pergola top

• 🔙 Back In
• 🅿 Site Pad: Raised in the back to be level(watch small children), river rock base, level, long enough for camper and truck when unhitched, wide enough for another vehicle
• 💧 Water- low to the ground so hose and filter come off to the side along the ground
• ⚡ Electric max 50 amp
• 💩 Sewer connection in good condition
• 🔥 Fire Ring- but in a burn ban 
• Picnic Table: wooden with metal legs 
• Close to restrooms/showers 
• Shade in the afternoon 
• Full sun in the mornings 
• A little green space between the next campsite and lower campsites 
• Next to a road that leads to lower level and river- so a little extra traffic(but no campers on the front side of camper)

In the Area:

🛒 Several small stores, tube/kayak rentals

🍽🍺 Bar& grills on the way to and in Leakey(15 minutes) 

Garner State Park is very close- a Texas Parks Pass is very handy

This small campground sits high above the banks of the Amistad Reservoir, but unfortunately, a little too close to HWY 90. The campsites enjoy a stunning view of the Chihuahuan Desert landscape and the water. The sites are spacious with lots of room for bigger rigs, and enjoy a shade structure over the picnic table area. 

With potable water and clean pit toilets this campsite is worth the inexpensive fee.  Bring your solar panel because there are no electrical hookups.  With water recreation opportunities just a stone’s throw away, the boat launch is just below the campground, you can escape the heat of the day. There are just a few hiking trails nearby for more land-based recreation. 

We spent just one night at the campground and it was an easy drive in and park situation. But we found the numerous trucks along the highway a little disruptive of our sleep starting around 4 am, when they begin to hit the road. There are other campgrounds along the Amistad Reservoir that are not as impacted by the road, and they are definitely worth a look. 

The city of Del Rio, TX is a short drive away where you can get anything, including a Starbuck’s coffee – which has become, for us, the indicator of modern suburbia. Be sure to check out some of the amazing Mexican Food of this well-integrated, bi-lingual, boarder town.

My son and I tent camped at Spur 406 at Lake Amistad circa 2010 when the lake was high before the drought of 2011 and the low lake levels afterward. Simple campground with several sites. Great place near Highway 90 to camp. There wasn’t anyone else camping there that night. It’s on the opposite side of the lake from Del Rio and it gets very dark. There were lots of stars. We went wading in the lake at night where the old highway enters the lake and it’s easy to walk in the water or swim there farther out. The next day we caught a yellow scorpion in a jar and later released it. Good times. There was a simple bathroom. The sites have grills and maybe metal shade structures and picnic tables. There are no RV hook-ups but the road and sites might be conducive to RVs and trailers. The spur is a good 2-lane paved road but I don’t remember how big all the sites are. Per 2020 official website, camping fee was $6/night. Great place.