Best Glamping near Cleveland, TX

Lake Livingston State Park is one of our regular visits. During the school year it is hard to head out on a Friday, drive 2-3 hours and then setup in the dark for a weekend camping trip. Lake Livingston is just over an hour from our house and has lots to offer. They recently rebuilt one of the camping loops to where now this is one of the few state parks in Texas that have Full Hookups. Not all loops have Full Hookups but a couple do.

Like most state parks in Texas the sites here are large and offer a lot of shade. Each site will have a table and a fire ring. There are tons of hiking trails and geocaches throughout the park. It is also close to shops in town so that if you forget something you are only about 15 minutes from a Walmart. There is a shop on site that has most of the essentials.

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...

Arrived here just before a big thunderstorm rolled in.

But it was super cool to watch as the lights of Houston illuminated the sky across the bay.

Can camp for up to 3 nights maximum with $10 permit from the courthouse down the street.

No utilities, but large open camping area near fishing pier.

Cool Texas history here too!

This has got to be one of the best campgrounds! We stay here every time we pass through Texas. The campground is huge and offers so many great amenities. People are always super friendly. We have made the most connections of any stay at this campground because of it. I always want to get one of the paved sites at the front because they look so nice! But they are usually taken. It’s so great having an Amazon hub locker right next to the campground as well! You can take your kayak right on to the lake from the access area on the campground. Bathrooms are nice and clean. And the pool / hot tub are open until 11pm which is rare for Thousand Trails!

Lake Livingston State Park is a fantastic state park for water activities. The fishing, boating, canoeing, kayaking and paddle boarding is all fantastic.

Campsites: The sites were all well maintained with the best spots being in Piney Shores & Red Oak. We were in spot #69. It had a great view but lacked in flat playing space for young children and hammock trees.

Trails: There were a few trails in the park, none of which were all that long. The main Trinity Trace Trail was flat dirt, good for young bikers. Though trails are short, they connect so you could do a few trails for a longer run/hike if you so desired.

Bathrooms: Each campground loop has one bathroom and shower. They can be a bit of a walk if you don’t have a close site. They appear to be older but maintained and cleaned well enough.

Park Specific Activities: Getting on the water was awesome, it’s the largest lake in Texas, so lots to explore. Fishing was fantastic. We caught bass, perch and catfish and lots of them! Getting in the lake left some to be desired. The bottom has many large rocks, tree stumps and is very mossy. Swimming can be fun but a little dangerous and slippery. The duck pond and frog pond are nothing to get excited about. We saw no birds in the bird blind and the frog pond is so small you almost can’t see it. We did hear a frog though.

Other: Connected to the park store they had a small educational space for young kids with a functioning beehive. The kids (ages 2-6) loved it. The park store is not open Mondays and Tuesdays. Kayak, canoe and paddle board rentals were only Thursday to Sunday 8:30-3:30. $10-20/rental. The pool was not functioning when we went in August 2018. They have a small amphitheater and near by a room available for rent which can have 50 guests. It was air conditioned and had nice hardwood floors.

In Summary: We would absolutely recommend it for water activities and relaxation. It’s a beautiful spot! We wouldn’t recommend it for just birding or hiking but the park as a whole is great.

We loved this campground. Stayed one night on our way to Houston. Then We stayed one more night on our way back home. Site 18 was pretty level and had full hook ups. The campground overall was really very quiet and peaceful. Was approx 2 miles off highway 59. Had a great playground area for kids and we loved walking down to the lake. The lady running the office was super kind and very helpful. If we ever get back to this area again we will be sure to stay for more than one night.

If you like quiet, fishing, and trees this campground is for you. Full hookups, friendly staff, laundry, and showers.

We had a wedding to attend in the area and Woodsy Hollow worked out well. Nice and quite with a small lake. It seems on the left side of the campground is for long term sites so make sure you pick a site on the right side as you drive in. Check-in was quick and easy and the lady checking us in was super nice.

ATT service was good.

I have been here so many times with my family and we all really enjoy camping here. The staff is very friendly and the grounds are very well taken care of.

You can have a horseback ride and steak dinner at the park for a reasonable fee and meet some interesting people. Swim in the lake, hike the trails, and kayak. The screen shelters here are more like little cabins and are right on the lake. Watch out for the mosquitoes.

We have stayed here 2 different times. The east section is a little older and smaller sites but was still able to find one for our 42’ coach. The “YAPUN” section is where we stayed last and was new and very nice, all the sites had concrete pads to park on and are fairly level. 30/50 amp service, water and sewer connections. They also have a central dump station. Lots of walking trails.

This state park has beautiful views of the lake and is very clean and maintained. We had a great visit and they had friendly staff!

This campground has nice, well maintained sites surrounded by pine forest. RV sites have electric and water hookups and some also have sewer connections. There’s also a central dump station. Most sites are shady and the waterfront sites have wonderful lake views. No parking is allowed on the grass, but there is overflow parking in most areas. The park has several restrooms with flush toilets and showers There are three boat ramps, a fish cleaning station and a park store that sells the basics including ice and worms for bait. The rangers also offer special programs and exhibits in the store. There’s a separate swimming area, but no swimming beach. Alcohol is allowed but must not be visible and the 20 mph speed limit is maintained by state police. There are also nice hiking trails and paved roads. Horseback riding is no longer available in this park.

This place is magical. My family and I have been coming here for the past 5 years, and it never gets old. There are so many great things about this place. The hiking is amazing- the views are breathtaking. One of the most popular things to do here though is to fish. One of the reasons is because Lake Livingston is one of the largest lakes in the State. This park is just an hour away from Houston, which is great. We have made a long weekend out of staying here, and then traveling to Houston to do some site-seeing and eating, and then head back home. You can do so many different water activities because the lake is so big. We bring our boat and fish, tube, and water ski. We have a blast. I also love bringing my stand up paddle board and do a ride in the early in the morning. There are so many beautiful birds to see in the morning on the water, I love it. There is also store nearby that you can rent kayaks and canoes to take on the water, not sure how much they are to rent, though. I look forward to coming here every year, and it seems like I experience something new every time! Again, this place is pure magic.

Beautiful site overlooking the lake. My only wish would have been cleaner bathrooms.

We love this State Park close to home and a Beautiful Park with great views of the lake

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

Nice spot north of Houston surrounded by trees. Lots of them. It was nice and quiet and very dark at night. Swimming at the lake was way better than Lake Conroe! Recommend having a life jacket when swimming. Highly recommend camping here.

Very clean park with friendly staff.  Construction was going on but that will only improve the park when finished.  Trails are a little close to the roads but you can still see some wildlife.  Lake is beautiful and you have lots of recreation options.

We love this state park and it's one of our favorites! This was our third time camping here in the Piney Shores Loop. We arrived on Memorial Day for four nights with reservations made 54 days prior. We weren’t loving Piney Shores#52 back-in campsite much due to: Steep drop-off of the concert pad and the narrow roadway making backing in challenging, but not impossible for our 27ft trailer.  Any larger rigs might not be able to swing it.

The dirt area around the picnic table, fire pit and lantern pole was a huge MUD hole! What a mess due to daily rains. 

No concrete pad under the picnic table, so your feet were in the MUD hole! HINT– Park Maintenance needs to apply some medium size gravel around the table and fire pit. 

Picnic table (chained to the ground) and fire pit were right next to each other. WHO DESIGNS THESES CAMPSITES?? 

Power interruptions, albeit short. Very glad we had our power surge protector. 

We loved: 

Very level concrete pad requiring no additional leveling efforts. 

Huge campsite along the lakefront with access to launch kayak/canoe or even swim(which we didn’t). 

Gorgeous sunsets over the lake. It was wonderful to sit at the fire facing the lake and watch the sunsets. 

The squirrels that ate from our fingertips! It was also really amusing to find the squirrels VERY friendly. They just hoped up onto our laps and took peanuts in the shell from our fingertips! 

Super quiet as only 6 full hook up campsites were occupied due to COVID operating restrictions.

Can't wait to get back

This camp ground pretty much checks every box for us. There’s full hook ups for a low price. The sites are spaced apart with lots of trees. The trails are wide and well kept. The lake is huge. There’s even “self service” kayak rentals. And a swing set and slide built well enough for adults! We were here in February and it was maybe half full or less. Very quiet. Dog friendly. Mild weather. Really nice place!

There is a “board walk trail” that is quite literally a board walk through the forest. It’s just a 1 mile loop and has a few benches and attractions, and this would be an excellent handicap option. It was a beautiful walk, even in the winter.

The campground is heavily wooded and the campsites are well spaced. We stayed only night but would definitely consider staying here again.

We camped for 3 nights in March in our camper. This state park is small but very clean with trails, water activities, and more. Sites had very nice concrete pads. We stayed at site 117 in Pin Oak loop. The site was large and backed to woods. There were some low spots that held water. Our kids loved riding the trails and our loop with other kids. Didn’t have any luck fishing due to winds but enjoyed hikes and trail riding. Trailheads start in this loop. We would camp here again.