Best Glamping near Eastland, TX

Was pretty busy when we went for spring break. Lots of people live nearby so the lake is constantly filled with watercraft, swimmers and people cliff diving near the shore. Decided we didn't feel like kayaking with such a big crowd.

Lots of amenities and places to buy stuff. Very much a glamping crowd.

Although I don't fish according to our neighbors it is a good fishing spot. Saw lots of people cleaning fish at the designated fish cleaning spots.

Hiking trail near the primitive campsites afforded some birdwatching opportunities, although mostly we saw wild turkeys.

We had plenty of space to spread out and relax. Rented a pontoon and saw Hell's gates worth the stop. Spent most of the time swimming and fishing from shore. This is one of the clearer lakes in Texas.

We stayed here January 26 -31, 2021 on the first stop of a 3 month escape from Northern Wisconsin winter. I’m guessing it’s great when it’s warm and you have a boat. It was always windy. Concessions store closed for remodeling. Construction on cabin near our site. Nice bathrooms, shower water not super hot. Nice trails and tons of birds. A bunch of guys cleaning their catfish at a cleaning station near our site. Left a ton of carcasses that the rangers cleaned up. If you plan to use Texas state parks, get the pass as it will save you lots of money!

I would rate this park 3.5 out of 5 stars. The park has a variety of facilities which earns it a 4 star rating. But the quality of the facilities only earns it a 3 star rating. So it averages out to 3.5 in my opinion.

Lake Brownwood State Park is pretty much located in the center of Texas. However, it is a bit of a drive from many of the major cities like Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas. It is fairly convenient to reach from Abilene and San Angelo. If you need to pick up camping supplies there are grocery stores and sporting good stores in the nearby town of Brownwood.

The main attraction of the park is that it is situated on the shores of Lake Brownwood. There are ample opportunities to take advantage of lakeside activities like swimming, boating and fishing. There are a variety of camping options with tent sites, cabana sites and RV sites. At most of the sites there are nice oak trees that provide shade and can support a hammock. Note that Texas State Parks require 2 inch suspension straps when hanging a hammock. There are boat ramps, fishing piers and a loop hiking trail. The hiking trail is a loop trail, fairly level, but I would say moderately interesting. The real attraction of this park is the lake.

Some of the facilities such as the restrooms and the cabanas are a bit dated and could benefit from an update. The staff was very friendly when I visited. And the other campers were respectful.

I would like to say that I visited the park during a weekday when the park had few visitors. However, I've heard that on the weekend the park fills up quickly and can be quite busy.

This park was definitely out in the middle of nowhere, with a long peaceful drive full of wildlife. We made it to the park entrance, check in was quick. We arrived on a week day and they ranger informed us the camp store was closed until weekend and no firewood. Closest store with firewood was 30min away. They lake was beautiful. We were right beside the restroom and shower facilities which was great! We came to stay for one night, we had a roof top tent so the site we had was nice and would make a perfect side for a RV but for us it could’ve been wider for our ladder but we were close to the restroom which we wanted. The restrooms were clean, could use a little update, and water was warm but not hot. Lots of wildlife around! I would stay again but I don’t think it’s the best place to go for a winter camping trip. Thank you Texas state parks!

Reserved 159 days prior 

Pros

No reservation fee charged for marking online reservation 

50% discount with National Park Pass 

Roadways easy to maneuver without any low-hanging branches 

Quiet except for middle of the night party animal noise and distant trains 

Good dark sky viewing as there are NO street lights in campground 

Concrete treads where RV wheels land were level requiring no additional leveling efforts 

Metal cover over concrete picnic table 

Entrance gate closed10pm-6am so exit only without any reentry until 6am

Saw 1 squirrel and 5 deer 

Nice Golf Course next to campground 

Nice fishing piers 

Plenty TP in toilet/shower rooms 

Very nice large group picnic pavilions 

3 bars 3G Verizon 

Cons

Site consist of sandy gravel which high winds created a dust storm making a gritty mess of everything inside and out

Site water hookup below ground 

Campsite had unusual amount of trash and cigarette butts 

Campfire ring full of ash and trash upon arrival and there has been a county burn ban for the last 6 months

Campground toilet/shower facility lit up at night like a Christmas tree 

County Burn ban, which we discovered ourselves and confirmed by calling park prior to arriving with campfire wood

Upon check-in, friendly woman at gate told us one thing then a man at the gate contradicted the woman regarding charcoal fires

Quiet hours not enforced. 4 toilets for 24 campsites for possible 8 people per campsite PLUS boaters and fishermen. Phew! 

Half of park closed during winter so 37 campsites only open April-September

The park 3 dumpsters were overflowing; 1 was over flowing upon our Thursday afternoon arrival and the other 2 were overflowing Sunday morning so we had to pack out our trash

No number sign on our site

No patrolling host or ranger. 

No privacy from one campsite to another

No playground, basketball or tennis courts 

No campsite BBQ grill 

No hiking trails 

No soap or hand towels in toilet facility 

No trash cans in or outside toilet facility so people threw trash on floor 

No WIFI

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Eat at Granny Clark’s in Dublin TX. Blue plate special and buffet. Brookshires Grocery and Tractor Supply in Comanche Stephenville 30 miles from campground has Walmart, H‑E‑B, CVS, Walgreens, but no Lowes or Home Depot.

Beautiful park, staff were extremely welcoming and friendly. Lots of activities (there was a Scorpion hunt our first night - where they meet and use a black light to seek out the little monsters - but my son informed me that was a hard pass. All the same, a cool activity that I would have enjoyed had I been alone (or with less of a fuddy duddy).

Only complaint is the width of the campsite. I don’t know that all were as narrow as ours, but site 20 is a really tight squeeze. Went off the side a couple of times trying to get in. With that narrow width, I was forced to park in overflow parking because with the length of my rig I wasn’t able to fit both truck and trailer on concrete and remain out of the road.

Nice trails for hiking and the Canadian Geese were a true gem for me - something nice about waking up to hear them in the morning (sounds odd, but I found it relaxing. Besides, the are absolutely gorgeous.

Trails are well maintained and very nice, we mostly did the Lakeview Trail, but it was a great hike, not too strenuous but with great views of the lake.

As a kid we would come out here several times a year. We would boat, float, cliff jump, cookout, and enjoy each other's company. Twenty years later we are still enjoying these traditions.

If you like primitive, tent sites, cabins, or RV sites, there are plenty of options.

You should check out Hell's Gate while you are here.

There are also a few hike and bike trails, but this is mainly a park for boating and fishing.

It was nice and peaceful there. They had an awesome store close by where they use the honor system at night for ice and firewood. The campsites close to the water were a little small and Rocky but we had a nice grassy one across the street.

The campgrounds at PK look well kept and cleaned up. The trails are nice. They have plenty of shaded areas as much as they do have open and sunny areas. Summer I was alil weary of the sunny areas because of the overgrowth of vegetation on the trail for the worry of a rattlesnake encounter. Other than that there are nice wide trails and great outlooks of the lake for just sitting back to rest with a view or snapping a few photos. You can see far on some spots. Overall it was a good experience. Might look into camping there once warmer weather hits us again.

This is one of my favorite parks to kayak or canoe at! You can rent them right there at the dock. You can rent jet skis, as well! You can’t get to the famous Hells Gate from the park, but if you take the loop through a private community called Sportsman’s World, you will run right into a view of it.

I have visited here many times and now that some time has passed since the golden alge epidemic that the area has returned to it's natural beauty.

We have been camping here for about 35 years.  Started out tent camping and now prefer a RV.  Love this park.  Many of the campsites are directly on the water, the wind coming off the water will keep you cool in the summer.  We camp here year round.  We camp to relax and this is great place for this.

 First impression- 112 is located perfectly right across from the bathrooms, and has a semi “easy to access” water’s edge. Not ideal for kayak releasing, but there was a small cubby hole in the rock where the water comes in that we discovered once the other half arrived. 
 Only about a 35-45 minute drive to Hells Gate, which seems to be a hot spot for parties. Boats all tied together, bands playing, beer drinking, good time spot. That was where we met Carol, who allowed us to access her property to unload the kayaks, and proceeded to have an incredible time, being the only two people on kayaks in a multi million dollar neighborhood. 
 Stopped at Boondocks Bar and Grill, and met the lady responsible for the pea salad... an unsung hero of the culinary world. 
 Once back at the campsite, we had the privilege of meeting the state representative/ rule enforcer that happened to be on duty that night. He gave us a lesson on how to properly consume alcohol while on the campsite, even though no one was being harmed by the methods chosen to do so before he arrived. 
 Someone from the group thought it would be a good idea to leave out the chips and queso, previously ordered at Boondock’s, for the raccoons. It would have been adorable to be able to feed them by hand, the chips, that we had learned they absolutely loved, not too long before. Once they arrived, we would surprise them from out of nowhere, and shower them with love and affection, in hopes they would take to us as family, and allow us to hand feed them. We were very surprised to find, not only were they not raccoons, they were skunks, but also, skunks also enjoy the salty taste of a tortilla chip or two as well. I regret to inform you, that we were not able to hand feed them like we hoped, but all in all, the skunks were an exciting addition to the adventure. 
 Overall, I would say it was a trip that was

better than expected, in a very peaceful environment.

This is a nice little park for swimming doing a little tubing, not a hiking park, there’s a trail that’s about a mile and change long. It’s a big lake so if you have a boat you will truly enjoy it. I did not. So swimming and tubing is all I did in the water.The 2011 fire it’s not evident anymore, so it’s a great time to go. June 27 to July 3. 2020

We have only used day passes for hiking here since covid19 restrictions took place. Very impressive trails and nice bathrooms. Easy lake access with boat ramp.

We so enjoyed our stay here! Right on the water and the campgrounds are spaced out enough that you are not right on top of each other. There is a convenience store on site that has most anything you need. There is also a Men’s and Women’s bathrooms with two shower stalls (in the women’s at least) - but no family bathroom setup. Everything was pretty basic, as you would expect at a state park.

We arrived around midnight. There was a warm breeze blowing. Big ants strolled nearby but are easily avoidable. The place is right on a lake. The restroom is close by. It was a great experience! Would stay again. We did not see any possums but did see a large female dear grazing.

Lovely campsite, beautiful scenery. Our campgrounds were right by the lake so that was convenient.

Tent sites are walk-in to the other side of the end of the lake, and can be pretty rickety with loose rocks getting there. Was good practice for backpacking, since parking is closeby, but not very convenient. P008 is probably the only site suitable for hammock camping. Everything else is flat and exposed, next to the shore.

We were woken up by loud boats trolling the shore and men shouting around midnight both nights we were there, and could hear conversations from the RV area.

What can I say? PK State Park is beautiful with full hookups right on the lake. All the facilities you need are here and in good shape. Highly recommend!

Beautiful park with great trails and stunning views of the lake. Lots of trees and grassy areas. Bathrooms are clean but older for sure. Site was in the smaller side for RVs and not the most level.

Perfect site right on the water. Nice shade. Nice swimming area.