Best Tent Camping near Calliham, TX

Early spring 21 just went and had a blast. Fairly packed now that the state opened up fully. Over all though that time was perfect weather for kayaking and hiking the short trails that this park has. Tent camping is great and the spots are well payed out with plenty of space between them. Shower and bathroom facilities are in decent shape and do the job. Was impressed for havi g never heard of it prior to arrival. Online reservations available to make it easier.

Very nice, isolated area. All kinds of water birds. 5$ admission plus your fee for camping. The tent area has no shower, but the RV shower house isn't to far away. The just tent area is right on the small 75 acre lake which has gobs of birds! Kayaking would be a blast, but the boat ramp isn't really "operational" due to the water being low. Several short trails that you can link all together.On the RV side it's pretty spacious and there are several pavilion areas too. Only issue I had was the day use crowd drives through the camp ground.

We enjoyed very much our stay at Choke Canyon.

Nature is all around! We camped there and just some meters from our tent we got to see a bunch of deers, bunnies, wild turkeys and plenty of colorful birds!

The campground and all the facilities were clean! And the staff members very helpful.

With no doubt we will repeat the experience! 🙂

Stayed here for a weekend with my family. So nice to have AC in the cabin with shade on the little patio area. I’m convinced site 13 is the best. Only con was that others were using it to get down to the lake so we had a few people walk right up next to the cabin with their fishing gear. Bathrooms are a short walk away, as well as trash cans/dumpster. Woke up to a large group of javelinas at our site who were sniffing around. We set up a tent at the cabin area and were able to have lots of shade.

Overall, Choke Canyon SP is a nice park.  Large footprint in southeast Texas between San Antonio and Corpus Christi.  Good trails overall, however, could use better markings at trail intersections.  Choke Canyon Reservoir is large and the area we were at had very little motorized boat traffic, which made it great for kayaking.  That could be attributed to the low lake level and the overgrowth of hydrilla.  Saw a lot of wildlife, rabbits, deer, coyotes, alligators, many fish species, many birds and a sounder of hogs.  Sites are well kept and the boat ramp is large and long.  Could easily launch/recover up to 4 boats at once.  Lots of places to fish from the banks and jettys (but due to low lake levels, some are not accessible).  Will definitely return some day.

We stayed here 2/13/21 to 2/18/21 during the Texas Extreme Cold and Snow event!

We had originally planned to go to Junction after our time in Lockhart State Park, but wanted to get further South away from the snow and cold. We easily switched our reservation to here although it was supposed to be full. Due to the weather, very few people around. Sites are huge. Had water and power at our site and we were close to restroom. We were in #108 which was also a Handicap site. After a day or so the water froze up so the bathrooms were closed as they were flush toilets' with showers. Luckily we filled our tank so we had water to use. We lost power for about 12 hours total but then got it back. It was down to 15 degrees a couple nights and we got a little snow and ice but we survived being from Wisconsin LOL

Also just down from us was a Bird Sanctuary where they put out fruit and seed. The Bird watching all over the park was fantastic. Not sure what's going on in the area where the buildings and nature center are, pretty run down and seem almost vacated. Saw tons of deer and feral hogs and Javelin  and roadrunners etc. 

Didn't plan to come here but really glad we did!

We stopped for the night on the way into North Padre Island. It was a perfect stop after a long day of driving. The sites are large and well spaced. With 50 amp power and water at each site as well as a dump station at the entrance, it has all we need. And it was fun listening to an owl just after sunset.

Camped in non electric site, right by 75 acre reservoir. Good birdwatching, walking trails. Only ones camping here. Electric sites full up. Flush toilets, no showers, covered tables. $22 for 2 which include admission fees.

Check in is easy, staff was polite. The sites are oozy and easy to back into. There are trails to the water, but my experience is fishing is much better from a boat rather than from shore. There are some beautiful birds here including the Green Jay. A lot of people put out bird feeders. But if you don’t have one, no worries they have a great bird blind.

The sites are large with plenty of room for kiddos to run around. Sites typically have plenty of room to park a boat as well. Each electric site has a picnic table with covering and a fire pit grill. Some sites offer large trees for shade, but overall shade is sparse.

The bird sanctuary was extremely busy even though it was overcast and cold. Great sightings of cardinals, green jays, hawks, and sparrows. Duck season was in full swing from dawn to dusk in the neighboring areas. Water level is extremely low, trails are nice, wide and clean. Restrooms and showers were in great working order, clean, and fully stocked of TP.

The staff was very friendly and helpful. The camping grounds were very clean and easy to find. Bathrooms nearby were clean. Overall I had a pleasant experience.

We stayed in shelter #9 and it was perfect. the view of the lake from the site was awesome and there was a hiking trail right behind our spot. the restrooms and shower areas where close by and well-kept.

My first time camping and it was so much fun! I’m 68 so it doesn’t take much to entertain me. The park is very pretty, beautiful lake but the water was down by 16 feet🙁, that’s why the 4 stars. The wildlife is abundant as the park is a refuge. We saw wild turkey Tom with his harem of hens, numerous birds, rabbits and deer.

Lots of wild life at park. Deer rabbits ducks etc

We camped with 2 kids and a dog and had a great time. There was fishing and a lake some were swimming in. We searched for wildlife and made s’mores. It was a good time!

Very large spacious campsite . Restroom and shower located very close by. Camped site 60/61. Beautiful grounds. Lake walking distance . Had a wonderful time

Pros:

• Super friendly Park Headquarters personnel

l• Great aluminum floating fishing pier with a covered fish cleaning pavilion

• Site aluminum picnic table on concert pad under a tree

• Park entrance gate closed 10 pm to 7 am, but an access code was provided at check-in

• Toilet/shower clean, but just worn out and desperately needing renovation

• Great CCC-constructed pavilion

• 3 bars AT&T cell service

• Howling coyotes nightly 

Cons:

• Overused park that desperately needs some infrastructure improvements

• Unlevel side-to-side concert site parking pad was in poor condition and barely long enough for 28 ft trailer

• Septic system cleanout pipe smack in the middle of our campsite causing a tripping hazard

• Metal fire pit with cooking grate was overflowing with ash upon arrival

• No vegetation between sites= no privacy from neighbors

• Constant vehicle traffic through campground loop• Toilets were difficult to flush and clogged easily.

• Toilet/shower building interior walls crumbling exposing the structure

Lake Corpus Christie is a beautiful place where you can camp and enjoy water activities but if you enjoy hiking this is not the place. Unfortunately, it lacks hiking trails. There are plenty of spacious campsites next to the water where you can enjoy laying in a hammock, campfires, and grilling but lacks privacy. Catfish Cove offers water only sites but other areas offer water electricity, full hook-up sites, or enclosed shelters with AC. While we enjoyed camping here there is an over abundance of stickers that we had to continually pull out of the dogs paws.

Not too much hiking here, but you can also walk the roads. Beautiful CCC building. Saw turtles near it in the lake. The campground has a good view of the water and is near the fishing pier. Would camp again as an alternative to the beach.

Stayed in a cabin out here and although it was very busy, it still felt like you had a bit of privacy

State park offers a lot of space. Full hookup sites available. Mosquitos were brutal, so take lots of mosquito repellent. We loved that you can rent kayaks and paddle boards for the lake and you can even buy firewood there.

great RV park, lots of shade