Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Eldorado, TX

Stayed here last summer on our way to Sedona, one night stop.  Super friendly folks in the office, guided to spot following golf cart.  It was super hot when we arrived and were pleased to find the crystal clear pool to cool off in.  Doggies enjoyed the dog park.  Camp store had a 50 to 30 amp converter we needed for later in the trip.  Trail nearby and running up the hill gives you a great view of the surroundings.  Would definitely stay there again if we happen to be passing through!

It’s well kept, the spaces are far apart, and it’s exactly as advertised. The staff is friendly and helpful. Dog friendly too. And dogs are allowed on all of the trails. It’s still the desert, but there is a small lake.

As a general rule, we like to stay somewhere a month.  At Pecan Valley, we did so, of course not knowing what to expect exactly, as always.  We were very pleasantly pleased with our stay, and we will definitely be back.  I'll just bullet point out all the pros, followed by one single con.

Pros:

• Quiet.  I-10 is across the river branch the CG sits next to, but you really don't hear it unless you're listening for it.  You definitely can't see it!
• DEER!  Every day, about 6:30'ish the come across the main road, through the pecan orchard, behind the owner's house and equipment areas into a large field.  It was so awesome to keep a side window open and holler at the wife: "It's DEER-THIRTY!"  (There is also a large heard of Axis deer in the area.)  We saw as many as 30 at one time.
• Chickens.  Their "rules" state to keep your animals leashed, because the chickens are their pets!   They even let you know what is not okay to feed them.  We had some oatmeal that we bought that wasn't what we expected, but made great chicken feed. "Chick, chick, chick!" will bring them!  I named two of them "Big Elvis" and "Little Elvis" based on the size of the "hair" on their heads (even though they are likely hens.)  They are super curious, don't leave your bay doors open!  It's fun to watch them taking dirt baths!
• The river is right there!  We tried to walk most every day, sometimes up the entrance all the way to the main road, sometimes down past the many-chickens coop and "Goat on a Boat" area, down to the river.  When no one else was there, I liked skipping rocks.  
• Cute little gift shop.  Just write down in the book what you got and pay at the end.
• Owners:  Delivery of pecans (regular or candied), firewood, packages.  I'm telling you, the owners were so friendly and so awesome, maybe the best we've ever had in 4 years of full-timing.  We had gotten one bundle of firewood (just as inexpensive as anywhere, but MORE of it, and it's hardwood), but realized that we likely wanted more.  The owners were driving by on their golf cart, parking someone, and I just asked for a couple more bundles when they got a few minutes.  Sure enough...about 15 minutes later, they came by in the golf cart with more firewood!
• Drainage.  The second-to-last day of our stay (and also right before we arrived), there was a very rainy day. We had gotten back with groceries and it was a torrential downpour.  (I took off my tennis shoes in the truck and just muddy-sock-footed the groceries and put them inside.)  The rain slowed later, and it was almost back to normal.  It rained, again hard, during the night, but tapered off around 2am.  When we got up to pack up the rig in the morning, there weren't really any muddy spots.  We've been in campgrounds where it's just horrible.  Pecan Valley set up their spots correctly!

Cons:

• Tree Sap.  Now, this doesn't apply to every spot and, honestly, it's not that big of a deal.  Unlike pine sap, the sap from the pecan trees just washes off easily.  Every few days when we'd get in the truck, the windshield would look horrible, but a squirt of washer fluid and a couple of wiper wipes and it was perfectly fine.  That rainstorm our last day, it washed off the truck completely!

Town Notes:

• Lowe's Grocery store:  Not a bad little store for a small town.  Much better than I expected.
• Spurs Liquor store:  Right on the corner between town and FM 1674 (road to campground).  Cute little store, was pleasantly surprised.
• Junction Fuels:  If you need diesel, go here.  Don't be intimidated by the setup.  I just parked, went inside to ask "how it works", then got it handled that time and the rest.  You want the "CD" pump (Ultra-Low Sulphur Diesel), second unit with pumps 3 and 4.  Park at the pump, go to the blue box at the end, enter your pump number and put in your credit card and zip.  Maxes at $75, I had to run it twice.  Absolutely best price in town, way better than at the corner of I-10.  During our stay, most in town were like $4.69 whereas Junction Fuels was $3.99.  At one point, it had dropped to $3.97, but no else had dropped at all.  This means they are being reactive to market prices.  (I believe this is the right propane location, too, though we didn't need it during our stay.)

We stayed at this campground 5 nights.  Level Asphalt.  One Shade Tree on our site that helped a bit with the summer heat.  Husband was hoping to fish in the lake but it is pretty dried up.  Plenty of roads and trails to run and bike.  Drove into town and had dinner at Zero Ale House.  Biggest Cons:  Flies!  And  ALOT of Cockleburs!  My dogs couldn't walk anywhere without getting them on them!

We stopped here to use their dump (for $10) since the free one at the rest stop down the road was closed.

And it kind of even isn't worth stopping to dump. Wouldn't stop here again, would rather go to a Love's or Pilot.

The place is just so dilapidated and run down and sad. Looks like it used to have some cool amenities but now it's just a barren dust storm waste land.

The soles of our shoes were covered in goat heads with each step we took so don't let the dogs out here.

2 stars instead of 1 because in spite of how run down it is, it wasn't horribly loud despite being right off the freeway, and it did function (I'm assuming the power works because we saw some RVs plugged in), and the owners were nice.

You go in to the motel to pay.

We stopped here on our way to the Texas AVID Expo. While all the close by RV parks were full; filled with oil field workers The Caverns was available.

Although it was off the highway a bit the nice grassy area with trees made it worthwhile. We forgot our mosquito spray and the woman in the shop loaned us hers for the evening.

There were lots of deer in the field and the upper area to watch. Cell phone service was limited .

Stayed only one night on my way to another site! Big camping spots with Fit Pit and Grill (separate). Picnic Table with coverage and great unobstructed views! Quiet even though you are relatively close to the housing and traffic intersections!

Lost power because of a huge rainstorm but it’s was totally worth the sights and sounds of a West Texas Thunderstorm!

Stopped here on my way through Texas. It was clean and the showers had hot water. The lake has fish in it if you have a boat. I kayaked the entire thing and it took a few hours. There aren't many trees to hammock camp from so bring a tent or RV. Hosts were nice. Good place for an overnight stay.

The Caverns of Sonora is a nice little spot hiding in the Texas Hill Country about 5 miles west of Sonora.

the drive in through the hills is a nice change from the interstate. There are several RV sites with water and electric and about 20 tent sites. Sites are nicely shaded. There are peacocks and deer roaming the grounds.

there is a gift shop/store and a modern shower/bathroom.

we only stopped one night, so we didn’t tour the caverns.

sunrise was beautiful over the hills.

This was a campsite with a nice view, except for the power line running through it. Went right after Texas’s big freeze so it was absolutely empty. Great paved picnic area and fire ring were nice accommodations. Located near a driveway down to the river. This site might not have been super private if more people were at the park, but there were certainly way less private sites at this campground.

We stayed here for 4 nights in early May 2019. We stayed in the Red Arroyo Campground at the South entrance of the park. The best thing about this park is the amount of space between spots. Plenty of space between you and your neighbors. The park is beautiful and very quiet. When we were there the wildflowers were in full bloom. Spots are water and electric only, but there is a dump onsite. We had spot #13 and it was steep, but we were able to tuck our 30ft trailer at the bottom where it leveled out. No levelers required. The park has many trails for hiking and biking. Some of the trails were a bit muddy, but they had recently had rain. Cell phone service was good. We were able to get internet through the hotspot. Overall, it was a nice stay and we would stay here again. $20 price reflects camping fee only. Day use fee is $4 per person if you do not have a Texas State Park Pass.

Extremely easy access from I-10. What was once a mobile home park is now a RV park. Full hookups, Desiree was wonderful. Starlink works great. We did have late night/early morning visitors. A herd of axis deer make the grounds their home. If you are passing through Sonora or visiting the Caverns of Sonora, it’s a great place to stop for the night. $35.00

The RV Park isn't a park so much as it is just part of a neighborhood.  We made a reservation by phone the morning we were going to pass through Sonora on a trip east on I-10.  The park manager met us on a street corner in the neighborhood a few blocks off the main street, and guided us in his truck to two FHU spots in an empty lot between two houses.  The hookups worked fine, and the rate was inexpensive.

Stayed for one night on 3/26/22. Owner met us on the road and guided us in. Great covered spot in a quiet neighborhood. No dump station, but has water and electric. Will definitely stay there again.

The primitive camp sites were only $15 (and change) but be careful with the picnic tables. They are old, wobbly and deteriorating due to age.

The free hot shower was great but they could take the cleaning up just a notch.

Again, not bad for the price - and plenty of primitive camping spots available

This is an affordable campground within the grounds of Caverns of Sonora.  Someone suggested this as a must see and it was very unique.  The campground is basically a parking lot and we were one of two campers.  They don't take reservations and it was raining and cold.  The staff is amazing - it's always great to meet interesting people who care about their work and love sharing their unique property.

There is a cavern tour which takes you down into the dark cavern.  If you have claustrophobia, don't go.  We were okay but you walk through darkness the the guide turns on lights which illuminate these unique caverns.  It's pretty cool but I started to wonder if the air had a lot of CO2 because my husband and I felt slightly queasy - similar to altitude sickness.  I can imagine it's hard to get air way down under the earth.  

The town in Sonora is small and has a few places to buy groceries but it is really pitch dark at night and we took a wrong turn and found ourselves on a dark road.  If you like geology and/or caves, it's great to visit and stay.