Best Tent Camping near Brenham, TX

Had a great night camping at Lake Somerville SP-Nails Creek. It was really quite with only 2 other sites occupied. Lots of coyotes and owls calling throughout the night. The site was not too far from the bathroom and had great privacy. Didn’t use the horse corral, but each site has 1-2.

Tested out our klymit static v2 sleeping pads and LOVED them. It was a bit cold as hadn’t thought to bring an extra blanket and slept without the rain fly—but not too bad.

Tried the Backpackers Pantry Pad Thai and Mountain Home Biscuits and Gravy and all were terrific.

• Water

• 20/30/50 amp

• Sewer

• Extended Cable TV

• Grill

• Picnic Table (each one hand-painted with different design)

• Site Pad: Gravel, level

👍🏻 Pros:

• Pull-thru sites closest to the Colorado River

👎🏻 Cons:• No direct access to get into the river. It drops off too much.

• The back portion of the site got a lot of afternoon sun

📝 Park Notes:

• Dump Station

• Wifi

• Propane sold onsite per pound. Site pickup/dropoff

• Swimming Pool

• Community Center with Laundry facility(1 washer/ 1 dryer), kitchen, showers/bathroom with kitchen, games, TV, shower

• Pets on leash, big dog park

• Each site had it's own trash can

🐦 Wildlife:

• Birds

• Deer

• Squirrels

For more info and a video see https://www.denisevajdak.com/2021/10/colorado-landing-rv-park.html

Type of Park: COE 

Check In: 3p Check Out: 2p 

Site#144- Back-In

💲28 per night

• Water

• 20/30/50 amp- pedestal looks pretty new

• Grill- good condition

• Fire Ring with flip over grate

• Metal mesh picnic table with cover, far enough away so awnings came out fully

• Site Pad: Level, crushed granite. Slopes up at the roadside.

👍🏻 Pros:

• On the shore of the lake facing west

• Trees for some shade• Covered picnic table

• Close to restrooms/showers

• Plenty of room between sites

• This site is aligned perfectly. Sit at the picnic table and watch the sun go down between the trees

• Extra parking area across from site(mostly unused and starting to grow up)

👎🏻 Cons:

• No sewer hookups

• Site slopes off steep on edge of site. Watch small children

• Some of the trees around the site have been cut down. They still show on Google maps though.

• Watch for ants

📝 Park Notes:

• Gates closed and locked from 10p to 6p- can get out, but not back in

• 2 Dump Stations- the one closest to the entry gate has you facing into the park

• Restrooms/ Showers

• Playground

• 3 miles of Nature Trails

• Boat ramp is closed- under reconstruction

• Group shelter for rent

• Lots of dumpsters throughout the park

• Sites on the east side of this loop are closer together

• 60s-90s loop was pretty full

• There are Munzees and a Geocache here

🐦 Wildlife:

• Birds: Cardinals, Mockingbirds, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets

• Quite a few deer

We had a really nice relaxing stay at Stephen F Austin State Park near San Filepe, Texas. Great little state park easily accessed from I-10. The 38 RV sites are all asphalt pad pull throughs with 30/15 amp electric, water and sewer complete with concrete pad for table, fire pit, lantern and all well spaced for plenty of privacy...big rig friendly. They have an additional 39 tent only sites with water and 25 primitive. Screened shelters are reservable for tent camping with 20 amp electric and water plus one rustic cabin with amenities. There is a$5 daily entrance fee in addition to camping fees. The bathhouse facilities are brand new. It's a small park but they do have five miles of trails for hiking/biking with views of the Brazos River. We enjoyed the wildlife; deer strolling in the campground every morning and evening, birds, rabbits, frogs, turtles, a bobcat and numerous owls. They have a Nature Center; however it was not open during our visit. The park office has a small store with sundries and park souvenirs. The nearby San Felipe de Austin State His­toric Site tells the story of early settlers to Texas and is worth a visit. We made a run to the nearby town of Sealy to do a much needed laundry stop...small community with grocery, dining and fuel to meet most needs. GPS 29.811982-96.108059 l(979) 885-3613 l Park Road 38 San Felipe, TX 77473

I like this park because it's close to home. It's got a good space between sites and is broken into 3 or 4 areas so you're not just piled in like sardines. You can being 4-wheeled vehicles that have a steering wheel. No sewer hookups, but there is a dump station. Unfortunately, subsequent major floods have caused them to lose much of the tree cover. It's great when camping in groups though, which we do quite often. All sites have views of the lake. They have a really good fireworks display on 4th of July. 

Type of Park: Private-owned 

Check In: 4p Check Out: 3p 

Site#79- Back-In

$35 per night($105 total) 

Water 20/30/50 amp 

Picnic Table with concrete pad 

Grass site. No rock or concrete base

👍🏻 Pros: No trees to avoid 

On the end of the line so no one is on the"front" side of the camper 

Good area for camping in groups 

Close to good swimming areas and store 

Close to boat ramp

👎🏻 Cons: Split-level site- table is down a slight hill from parking area. No shade 

Across from the cabins on stilts, lake view is a little blocked 

Cabins are being refurbished and the equipment and materials are stacked near the site(and some construction noise) 

No grill or fire ring at this site

📝 Park Notes: Gates closed and locked from midnight to 6 am on weekends. 

Closed at 10 pm on week days. 

Can bring golf carts, ATV's(machines with steering wheels, not handle bars) 

Dump Station- a little hard to get to for big rigs. Also hard to leave the park from there. You may have to go back into the park to turn around. 

Park Store- has fishing bait and supplies, too 

Cabins are under re-construction There is a Places Munzee here

Boat Ramp

🐦 Wildlife: Birds: Cormorants(Water Turkeys), barn swallows, scissor-tail

For more info, see https://www.denisevajdak.com/2021/04/camping-on-easter-weekend.html

• Water

• 20/30/50 amp

• Grill on a swivel so you can turn it in high winds

• Fire Ring with flip-over grate

• Metal mesh Picnic Table. Table is in full sun in early-mid afternoon, but not for long. A canopy would help.

• Site Pad: Crushed Granite and level. Very long site with extra room after the pad site

👍🏻 Pros:

• Nice view of the water toward Welch Park and the dam

• You can get a good view of the sunset and sunrise

• Close to the restrooms/shower

• Wide view of the lake as it curves around the campground

• Shade, but open areas so breeze can come through

👎🏻 Cons:• No sewer hookups at site

📝 Park Notes:

• Gates closed and locked from 10p to 6a(can get out, but not back in)

• Dump Station

• Restrooms/ Bath House(but had LOTS of tiny dead bugs piled up)

• Most of this campground has a barrier wall, so only limited spots where you can access the water. One place in this loop and a bigger area(but busy) section on the other side of the main loop.

• There are Munzees and Geocaches here and in the area

• You can use your America the Beautiful Access Passes here. They sell them at the main entrance booth, but they were out of the Annual Passes.

🐦 Wildlife:

• Birds: Cardinals(not afraid to hang out on my site), Mockingbirds, Herons, Cranes, Shore birds, LBJ's(little brown jobbers), Chickadees

• Deer

More info on good/bad sites and a video  at https://www.denisevajdak.com/2021/08/camping-at-yegua-creek-park.html

• Water

• 20/30 amp(had 50 amp outlet, but only 20& 30 breakers)

• Grill

• Fire Ring with adjustable height grate

• Picnic Table

• Site Pad: asphalt. Site was just long enough for my 24' camper and my truck and not much room between.

👍🏻 Pros:

• Near the water with a trail to get there

• Green space between the site and neighbors

• Good kayaking area

👎🏻 Cons:

• The spot is tight getting in. My 10' high camper had low hanging branches on it(but they were soft, not stiff). Lots of vines/shrubs across from the site, so no extra room there. 

📝 Park Notes:

• Park does not have a gate, so it doesn't close

• Dump Station for each camping loop

• Restrooms/ Bath House

• Boat ramp

• Fishing jetty (pier is closed)

• This campground is better for winter camping. Great buffer from wind and neighbors. Only a handful of sites have direct access to the water.

• Lots of trails

• There are Munzees and Geocaches here

• Group pavilion/kitchen available

• 2 group shelters available

🐦 Wildlife:• Birds: Shore birds, egrets, herons, cardinals, mockingbirds

• Deer

• Raccoons(I saw their tracks, but not the critters)

More info an video at https://www.denisevajdak.com/2021/08/my-birthday-weekend-2021.html

Site 23 was better (stayed in this one twice). Wider, nice view of lake. Not very long, but easier to get into.

I recently went on a camping trip solo (minus the hubby) with my old-man dog here. We tent camped at site #177. This is a beautiful park on a beautiful lake! Here are some of the pros: friendly couple at check-in/entrance shack, friendly rangers driving around checking on folks, deer everywhere(!), beautiful lake view, well-maintained grounds, good shade trees, trash dumpsters within walking distance, electricity/water hookups worked great, picnic table/fire ring/grill, gorgeous sunsets(!), very quiet at night, cute and clean little beach/swim area to hang out in. The cons for me were: getting to the water from my site was not as direct as it looked on the map, circular bricks with holes on the shore were not dog friendly (not human leg friendly either), bathrooms/showers were closed in our area/circle due to Covid-19. I would ABSOLUTELY return to this park!! 

I really appreciated the hospitality shown here! They recognized that I was a lone female (but a very confident/independent one) with an old man-dog and, respectfully, went out of their way to make sure that we were okay!