Best Tent Camping near Eden, TX

General: Approximately 140 sites (plus 12 cabins) spread out all around Hords Creek Lake in two areas: Lakeside Park and Flat Rock Park. According to the map, two of the four gatehouses are closed – not sure if this is a permanent closure (and don’t know if these campsites are also closed). There was no attendant at the gate when we arrived.

Site Quality: Paved/gravel driveways, some are pull-through, some have sewer hookups, and some have 50 amp electric. A bonus for us that we did not know when we reserved is that several sites have screened-in shelters with electricity and a generous-sized concrete picnic table. There are many trees throughout the campground and although we didn’t need the shade when we were there, I imagine it would be nice during the hot summer. There is also a fire ring but there was a strict fire ban when we were there (In fact, there was a large wildfire about 8 miles from the campground and we had been warned to stay ready to evacuate if the wind changed direction).

Bathhouse: There seem to be more than adequate bathhouses located throughout, however, the one closest to our site was small and somewhat inadequate: one shower, one sink, and two toilets. If the campground was completely full, this may pose a problem. There was no hot water, even in the shower and the shower door did not have a latch for privacy. Also, no hooks or shelves, or soap dispensers. Make sure you bring a towel if you do not want to use the air dryer. 

Activities/Amenities: There are several boat ramps, fishing docks, and swimming areas at different points of the lake. There was a nice, covered playground in the Lakeside Park campground. It is a bit of a hike to the dumpsters. 

This was an overnight stay for us as we continued to travel through Texas, but we appreciated some of the amenities offered at this campground

We have enjoyed staying at San Angelo State Park because of the natural things it offers. We stayed in the Red Arroyo campground. The sites are large and well-spaced apart. You don't have much privacy due to the lack of trees since this is where the prairie and desert come together, but the distance between sites helps. Also, having a picnic table and covered shelter at each site is a nice touch. 

One thing we noticed is that when the wind gets going here it really blows hard, so be prepared to take care of anything that might need to be held down. Several times it was bad enough that we had to close our roof vent. 

The night sky is decent because it's so wide open, unfortunately, it's not as dark as we had hoped because of the lights from nearby San Angelo. You also tend to hear some road noise -- it's not bad, just louder than we expected considering how this place seems like it would be in the middle of nowhere from most of the pictures. Given the expansive horizon, though, you're in for some really cool sunrises and sunsets right from your campsite. 

The hiking, biking, and equestrian trails here offer a lot of variety and with 50 miles of them, it's tough to get bored. Note that the North and South units have separate trail systems and there's no road within the park to reach the two units. You have to drive out on the main road and it's too far to bike or walk. 

In addition to trails, make sure you check out the wildlife blind set up near the Red Arroyo loop, plus on Saturday and Wednesday mornings, the rangers do supplemental feeding of the bison and longhorn cattle herds, bringing them right up to the fence for visitors to see. It's a nice treat! As you hike, you're likely to see plenty of wildlife, too. We have seen deer, owls, birds, and javelinas so far. 

Cell service was pretty good for Verizon and T-Mobile. (2-3 bars consistently) 

The only real complaint (other than tiring of the wind after a while) was that the bathrooms are really old. They are kept clean and the showers were hot with good, modern showerheads. But in Red Arroyo, there is only one shower for women and one for men for the whole campground. And there also are very limited toilets in the main bathhouse and the secondary bathhouse has at least one defunct toilet in the men's room. The whole park could use a bathroom/shower house overhaul. It hasn't been very busy with campers here but we could see that a busy season could wreak havoc on bathroom availability. 

Note that if you're coming for O.C. Fisher Lake, that is a reservoir that is emptying out and never likely to come back. A ranger told us the lake is at about 6-8% of its glory days. The place is filled with boat ramps to nowhere and when hiking you can find several abandoned campground loops. 

All-in-all a good place to stay but go in with your eyes open.

We found this place by accident. It's a city park that has rodeos or something. So they have a lot of "agritourism" stuff around. There are two rings of RVs spots. They have full hookups and cost $30 a night. Free and amazing wifi. Laundry is 1.50 to wash and 1.50 to dry. Showers. They claim $5 for non-camper showers and $25 for non-camping dumping. It's all a pay box though so…. 

We stayed in the tent only section. We were very impressed. This section is in the far back of the park, closest to the nature trail. It's a large area to accommodate a lot of tents but there are only 3 electricity poles. All tent sites are only$10/night even if you use electricity. The bathrooms have 3 stalls and a couple showers. Very spacious considering. We camped during the winter and were the only tent campers. They have a baseball field and other things through the back end of the park so you do have some local kid traffic. But it was mostly quiet. Lots and lots of deer. 

The camp host is in the first ring across from the laundry so you are the furthest away in the tent sites. That being said, they came by a couple times to check on us while we were unpacking and hanging out outside the tent. Seemed very nice. 

There is a rundown playground in the main park and there is a newer playground in the middle of the baseball fields. We were here for a week with a 3 year old and we stayed mostly on the property. 

Security wise- there are streetlights on everywhere. I don't know if they are on all night(it's possible…we go to bed at 9pm) so you won't have a true"camping" experience of star gazing but you can peek out your tent if needed. Just make sure you have darkrest or something so the lights don't keep you up. 

Cleanliness- it was not busy at all so I can't attest to how it is when it is busy but I don't think I saw a single piece of trash anywhere. Each bathroom stall had clean trashcans with empty bags. And there are lots of trash cans throughout the park and people seemed to use them.

Sheriff Visit - I wasn't offended at all by this but it's worth noting that someone called the police because they were concerned about us. I'm guessing they saw my 3 year old and thought we might be homeless?? Anyway, a very nice Sheriff came by our tent and asked us if we needed help. It was I can only imagine a very typical welfare visit. He asked questions about heat so I pointed out the electricity poles. So if nothing else, you have some nosey people that might be worried enough to call the cops to check on you if you use the tent sites.

Our RV GPS wanted to take us farther east on I-10 to exit 455, but we followed the campground’s (CG) website’s westbound instructions that matched Waze and Google Maps. From Exit 451 to the CG was an easy drive. We were met as we entered the (CG) by the owner, Brenda. We had asked for a satellite-friendly site and she had us going to back-in site 9, but thought we might like a pull through site better. She led the way in her golf cart to look at each of the sites. We stuck with our original plan and took back-in site 9 with FHUs. When we were checking out sites, we were met by the farm’s goats, which was really cool. We had no issues with the utilities and the water pressure was good. Although Brenda had identified a water leak at our site, Robert quickly ensured it wouldn't affect our stay. We got 3 bars on Verizon, and though trees are scattered about in the CG, we had no issues putting out our Starlink. Campsites are nicely spaced apart with a picnic table and fire pit. The only discount they give is military due to their son currently serving. Later after we got set up, Robert and Brenda came by to deliver the farm fresh eggs that we ordered at check-in. At the CG’s quaint little store, you can start a tab for items such as eggs, jams/jellies, ice, and firewood. The store also has hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts, soaps, and laundry items. They do not have a laundry but we found a nice one in Junction. They have a very clean shower house. The owners are super accommodating and sincerely care how your stay goes. At the end of your stay, they bill you for any remaining balance for your site and for any items you purchased from the store. There was plenty of space to walk our dogs around the property of this large pecan farm along the river. This was one of the best private CGs we’ve stayed.

This is camping the way we like it -- rustic, beautiful and inexpensive.  And, there was no one there in January, despite the state parks being packed!  We had the place completely to ourselves, with the exception of a few fisherman.

For $5 a night you can camp at any one of the dozens of sites scattered around the lakeshore.  Lots of space in between sites and most with beautiful sunrise/sunset views. Each campsite has a picnic shelter above the table for shade, and rain, a grill and fire ring, plus your very own trashcan – never saw all that before in such an inexpensive park but there you have it!   No hook-ups in the park, so bring your solar panel for some electricity if you need it.

The lake is used mostly by local anglers, but I can imagine it gets pretty busy during the summer months when the lake level is at its highest. The only bathrooms were centrally located near the diner/ campstore/ RV Park/ gas station near the boat launch.  So, if you are out in the campground, you'll want to bring your own method. The folks were great there and let us use the wifi for a few hours. 

There’s not much in the way of trails in the immediate area of the lake, except the dirt roads. A word about the dirt, it is mostly clay which when saturated with rain water will form the most exceptionally sticky mud to coat the underside of your vehicle. It comes off, but wow, only with some strong encouragement and a high pressure hose. 

The closest towns with grocery stores and other services are Balanger and Menard, but you can get a few things including drinking water, ice, and drinks at the camp store.

This is the north part of San Angelo State Park. I camped here the last weekend of January. Other than being quite windy during the day, the weather was gorgeous. Chilly at night with temperatures in the thirties but the days were sixties and seventies and sunny. I didn't get to do much exploring because I went to San Angelo to pick up something on Monday morning and thought I would use this trip to test out some gear. The parking sites are great for either a tent or small RV. This was ideal for my setup which is a rooftop tent on my SUV. There were some nice large trees over many of the campsites and there were clean concrete picnic tables with a sun or rain cover above that.