Best RV Parks & Resorts near Fairfield, TX

We spent a month here. We came in to attend the NRVTA and were bummed when the adjoining park was booked. So we chose Lake Athens, and what a treat! Location is wonderful. Right on a huge, nice lake. Very safe. Large field where we let our dogs off leash. Walking distance to the fishery. There is a restaurant on site with FABULOUS food. People are relaxed... not rude, or loud, don't complain about friendly dogs off leash etc. Sites are gravel but level. We have a 44ft triple axl fifth wheel, had plenty of room (we had an end site but the middle row Sites do appear tight). The permanent residents here are nice. Clean laundry facilities, allowed all our packages/Mail. There is a community fire pit near the play ground. Small area in the back with walking trails. Can't wait to return honestly. Didnt use their wifi as we have our own. We switch from Verizon to ATT, and at times signals were weak. Other times just fine. Hit or miss depending on utilization I suppose.

The new owners are going all out to make this a family friendly RV park/campground/marina. Only having it for 14 months, you can see the improvements made. There is a store on site for all your needs, that includes wine from the owners own winery. There a a grill also on sight. The campground is gravel pad sites that are mostly level (try site3). They have cabins if you don’t have a RV. Very friendly and eager to make your stay wonderful.

Our visit was a week before Christmas and the decorations were up and beautiful. Give them a try, as we give them a recommendation.

Reserved on-line 184 days prior to arrival. 

Pros Site in large oak tree grove, so heavily shaded 

Campground night sky friendly with good dark sky viewing NO STREET LIGHTS in campground., but toilet facilities had exterior lighting 

Crushed granite surrounding site and bordered with landscaping timbers 

Metal roof shelter over concrete slab where picnic table is located 

Metal picnic table 

Cooking grill on metal fire ring 

Campground mostly quiet except for Hwy 31 traffic noise 

Friendly camp host 

Security gate closed nightly 

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

Campsite discount with America the Beautiful Pass 

Cons 

Entrance gate not manned upon arrival at 2pm Tuesday so had to go back around after unhitched 

Our site 14 was not marked. Most sites have site number on site picnic table. Even those are tough to see in the daylight and impossible to see in darkness. Absolutely no roadside site number posts 

Campsite 14 entrance driveway was 90 degree angle to park road with a steep ditch on opposite side of road. T

rees close on both sides tight to site 14 driveway. Made back in challenging, but not impossible. 

Campsite 14 entrance/driveway 10% grade from park road 

Campsite 14 not level side to side 

Site fire ring was up against landscaping timber preventing space for chairs 

Landscaping timbers trip hazard at fire ring

Fire ring should be relocated to side or back of site to facilitate safe movement around it Fire ring was completely filled with ash upon arrival No privacy from other campsites Shower/toilet facility near playground had padlock on mens entrance, so males were using the womens restroom. This facility in extremely poor condition and desperately needs renovation. 

No campsite lantern pole 

No park Wifi 2

 bars AT&T 

Never saw any park rangers or park security driving through campground 

Wildlife sightings of grey squirrels and two dozen buzzards that constantly circled over campground

Pros 

Discount with National Park pass 

Shady

Quiet 

Dark sky friendly

Nice metal roof cover over concrete picnic table 

Saw park ranger drive thru during daylight 

2 bars T-MOBILE 

Successful streaming with T-MOBILE hotspot device 

Cons 

So day #2 without any TP in men’s restroom.  Went to front gate to report it and was told they would call it into the Army Corps of Engineers as gate volunteers have no stock of TP on hand.  Never saw any TP before leaving on third day

Toilet facility #1 women’s had raw sewage throughout deep enough to cover your foot. Site 11 has electrical hook up at rear on the door side of the camper 

Site 11 water connection is centered at the rear of the parking pad. 

Site 11 unlevel. 

Numerous piles of charcoal ash throughout site 11 campsite not in the fire pit. 

Concrete picnic table needs degreased as surface has lots of large greasy stain 

Site numbers are painted on the concrete picnic table so extremely difficult to see in the dark. 

No WIFI

We have camped at Salmon Lake many times. It is a favorite of the kiddos. The original owner was a house mover, so there are all kinds of old "western town" type setups..old jail, old barber shop, tons of old cars etc. It is fun just to walk around and look at them all. On some visits there is a train ride that runs, but not always. Some of the buildings are cabin rentals. We have never rented a cabin, only done RV camping, but the cabins look so neat!!

There is a playground by the lake and The lake is gorgeous and the kids like to swim in it. It has a giant slide for them and a swimming dock in the middle. It is like a step back in time to the simpler days, very no frills camping. We have brought dirt bikes and small atv before. Owners are ok if you bring them, just be respectful and don't tear anything up. The owners are great hosts and super nice.

All the spots are different (there are 100s of spots...they don't reserve spots. you just get there and then go pick one.)  There is a wooded section of sites behind the lake, but have never camped in that area. We usually pick a spot in the field near the big fire pit or tree. Most sites do not have fire pits or tables, but we usually find one near a fire pit or table with no problems. Be sure to check the sites before you unhook...some have full hookups, some have sketchy looking electric, but we just check everything before unhooking and use a surge protector.  We always look for full hookup sites and have never had a problem finding one way away from other campers. 10/10 one of our favorite campsites and a seriously underrated spot. We always say it feels like going back to a summer camp in the 70s-80s (in the best kind of way!!)