Best Glamping near Cordell Hull Lake

Pace Bend is one of my most favorite places to camp in Texas.

Not far from the old (and new!) Backyard (a great place to see live music in the live oak capital of Texas), Pace Bend is a quick drive away. A perfect spot to pitch a bunch of tents, jump off cliffs, swim and barbeque. Maybe 45 minutes from downtown Austin (without traffic).

I won't lie the cliff diving kinda freaks me out. Be careful is all I'm saying!

There are several primitive campsites throughout the park with picnic tables, grills and toilets. Additionally there are 20 RV hook-up type sites that offer running water, electricity, restrooms and showers.

This park is a short drive to all of Waco attractions including the famous Silos. We stayed Friday and Saturday nights. 

Pros:

• Very friendly gate attendant

• Extremely quiet park except for arriving/departing aircraft at Waco Regional Airport

• Great view of the lake as trees/shrubs are minimal

• Clean campsite

• Very clean campfire pit

• Most sites had a nice distance from neighbor sites

• Crushed granite surrounds the site’s asphalt parking pad so no muddy mess after rain

• Pedestal BBQ grill, fire pit with grilling grate and aluminum picnic table at each site

• Some sites had aluminum roof pavilion over picnic table

• Some sites had lantern pole

• Park roadways in good condition

• Entrance gate locked at 10pm

• Plenty of TP in women’s restroom

• 4 bar signal AT&T 

Cons:

• Filthy women’s restroom. Human feces on floor. Two of the three stalls locked for days. One remaining stall the door would not close and latch. Sign posted on door that restrooms were cleaned Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, but the human feces were on the floor Friday night, Saturday all day and Sunday morning. Exterior door would not close completely.

• No water to sinks in women’s restroom

• No soap dispenser and no hand dryer in women’s restroom

• Men’s restroom door locked Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning

• Exterior door to one shower room was unable to be closed

• Extremely low water pressure to campsite

• No site privacy due to minimal trees/brush throughout the park

• Low hanging tree branches over roadway and campsite pad

• Our campsite pedestal BBQ grill was extremely corroded

• No wildlife sightings- not even a squirrel

• NOT A DARK SKY FRIENDLY CAMPGROUND! Boat launch lights across the cove lit up most of the campground. Large lights on the toilet/shower building that made it nearly as bright as daylight!

We had a 3 night stay here and it was our first experience with a COE campground. It is located on Belton Lake. It is a gated entrance and the gates locked at 11:00pm. Our site was situated at the end of the loop and it was very spacious. It had water/electric with a dump station. It had a picnic table and fire pit. It also has a laundry room near the entrance. There is a playground, restrooms, and showers. There is also a boat dock. It is a very well kept campground. I did not use the bath house, so I cannot give a review on how it looked. The laundry room was spacious and the machines were in working order. It was a perfect campground. My review would have been 5 stars but there is no swimming area.

Pros 

Not charged a fee to make my own on-line reservation 

Friendly gate attendant 

Level asphalt site surrounded by crushed granite 

Grass neatly mowed throughout campground 

Large aluminum picnic table that is moveable from site concrete pad

BBQ grill, metal fire pit and lantern pole 

Night sky friendly. No street lights 

Spacious-space between each site but no privacy due to lack of vegetation 

Very quiet Sunday thru Wednesday nights except for Waco airport aircraft approach and Space X rocket testing 

Entrance gate locked 10pm-6am. Exit only permitted 

Clean toilets and showers 

Plenty of TP in restrooms 

Trash can in toilet/shower facility 

Sufficient trash dumpsters throughout park 

Deer sightings at Park entrance only 

2 LTE Verizon bars signal 

Cons 

Exterior restroom doors desperately need repaired. Have to move rock away from door to gain access. 

Sewer connection at rear of parking pad. Bring the looooong stinky slinky! 

Waco airport aircraft departing/arriving as early as 6am and as late as 11pm. One night we counted aircraft performing touch and go manuvers 42 times. Approach was directly over our campsite. 

No patrolling host or ranger 

No soap or hand towels in toilet facility 

No playground, basketball or tennis or volleyball courts 

No lake swimming area 

No park WIFI 

No hiking trails

This may be our new favorite of the COE's we have experienced. It's location close to Georgetown, Texas and all it has to offer, the shaded shelter over the table and the spectacular views... It's another amazing week of perfect lakefront living. The Cedar Breaks Park COE campground sits on the Lake Georgetown reservoir formed on the San Gabriel River. Our site is ideal for both sunrise and sunset color displays with stunning rocky cliff shoreline views. Super sweet spot with asphalt pad, 50/30/15 amp electric, water, fire pit, grill and a covered picnic table shelter with a path down to the perfect swimming hole...and 58 others. The 26 mile San Gabriel River Trail is accessible from the park and fishing for the anglers in your group. The nearby town of Georgetown has a historic downtown filled with shops, eateries, and fun stuff...plus the area has wineries, breweries, museums and entertainment. Austin is just 25 miles. The America the Beautiful pass makes the per night price a true bargain! Easy access from I-35 GPS 30° 40' 5.2680"-97° 44' 15.2412" l 2100 CEDAR BREAKS RD GEORGETOWN, TX 78633 l 512-930-5253

This is a review of the established campsites at Russell Park along the San Gabriel River Trail. Reservations for campsites can be made through (877) 444-6777 or www.recreation.gov.

These are drive up campsites where you may park your car next to your assigned site. The campsites have a sun awning, picnic table, campfire pit/grill. Russell Park has 27 tent-only sites with no utilities. Check-in time for reservations is 3 pm and check-out time is 2pm. There is a designated swimming area within the campground. 

One of the advantages of this park is that it sits along the San Gabriel River Trail. The trail circles Lake Georgetown and is 26.2 miles. It passes through forests, grasslands, over some small hills and across a few tributaries. I'd say that 40% of the trail has some tree coverage, but 60% is exposed. In the summer be aware that the combination of the temperature and the exposure makes this trail uncomfortable to hike. Take precautions, drink lots of water and stay in the shade all that you can. While you are walking within site of Lake Georgetown, it is not always convenient to access the water. So carry plenty of water. 

The trail is getting more and more popular with backpackers, so it is likely that you may see others on the trail. On weekends you may encounter scout troops practicing. During the weekdays you may not see a single person. Dogs are allowed on the trail, but it is nice to keep them on lease.

The sites are large which means you aren't right on top of your neighbors. Lots of shade. Each site has its own shelter with picnic table, grill and fire pit. Electric and water but no sewer. The sites along the outside of the loop have lake views and are level. The sites along the inside are scary unlevel! Some of the big rigs were backed in and jacked up 4 feet or so in front. Saw a lady break her ankle stepping out of her camper. Be prepared to level your camper! I suggest odd numbers 19-35 and even numbers 36-42 as the most level sites with the best lake views.

The park has hiking trails, boating and swimming access, but none of these are accessed right at the camp area.

Restrooms are very basic with no hot water. They were clean but a little creepy for showers. I used the toilets there during the day and my camper shower and toilet at night.