Best Cabin Camping near Jacksonville, TX

It being August in Texas, we rented a limited use cabin with air conditioning. It also has a mini frig and a microwave inside. It has a queen size bed for which campers need to bring their own pillows and bed linens. The frig was super cold, and the AC worked well. There was a wood table with four chairs. The table was really sticky, so I recommend bringing something you can use as a table cloth. There are only six of these cabins, and they have a four bathroom building at the end of the cul de sac. No tents or pets are allowed at the cabin sites. Each has fire pit and water outside cabin

The park has a very small lake with canoe, kayak, paddle board, row boat, and paddle boat rentals. Life vests are provided with rental. It was fun! There is a good sized swimming area too. There are a number of trails of varying difficulty, some for hiking only, some for home and bike. Ranger programs offered.

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!!)

I visited the Shortleaf camping area in the Tyler State Park for the weekend to participate in a 50k trail race. Each campsite in this area has a sheltered cabin, picnic table, fire pit and 2 parking spots. Tent camping is also permitted on the site but I used my iKamper Roof Top Tent as my primary place to sleep. The sheltered cabin has screens on the windows to keep the bugs out and electricity. I used this area primarily for storage of the food & gear that I used during the weekend. My campsite was located at the bottom of a hill and had a path to the restrooms and showers. These facilities were very clean and had 2 shower stalls and 3 toilet stalls along with 2 sinks. This location had access to the lake via a short hike. This type of camp site is the best of both worlds, you can camp via tent/car and still have a cabin like experience via the sheltered cabin. 

In September it is still pretty warm in Tyler, humidity was 100% when I visited without rain. I'll visit again in October when the cooler temps arrive and undoubtable have an even better experience.

PROS 

Texas State Park Pass discount saving $49 

Reserved 151 days prior to arriving 

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

Big Pine site #308 very shady site 

Extra wide asphalt parking pad 

Concrete slab that locked down the wooden picnic table 

Metal fire pit with cooking grate which was cleared of ash upon our arrival 

2 hook lantern pole 

Dark sky friendly 

Trash dumpsters near the toilet/shower building 

Tyler Rose Garden features over 30,000 bushes and is open free to the public from sunrise to sunset…very beautiful and serene 

CONS 

Had to sweep for nearly an hour to clean debris from site 

No entrance gate locked overnight 

Never saw any rangers patrolling campground during our entire stay 

Dogs on leashes not enforced 

Unable to move picnic table 

Big Pine site #308 way out of being level but manageable 

Big Pine site #308 close to campground road 

Big Pine site #308 tight fit for 28 ft 

Only pine firewood for sale in Park 

No WiFi 

1 bar Verizon 5G

There are many options to camp at this state park. There’s RV sites, tent sites (both primitive and “cushy”), cabins, cottages and screened shelters. my past experience with screened shelters were always dusty, dank, spider-filled shacks that I would only store my cooler and belongings in (tightly sealed) but these at Martin Creek were IMMACULATE to say the least! They seem cob-webby from the outside but once inside, the concrete floor is smoother up the edges of the walls about 2.5’, reducing entry of insects via cracks in the joints of floor and wall. The park employees vacuum these areas, as observed when I passed others that had recently vacated. The rafters in these shelters were spaced out far enough for me to hang my hammock. 4 people slept inside without air mattresses or camp pads and slept wonderfully (flat surfaces are good for our spines sometimes) not a big in sight. There is an electrical outlet inside as well as a light, and there is an outlet outside as well. Small lock on inside, watr spigot and doIble lantern hook nearby as well as a wooden/metal picnic table (good condition). I slept in Shelter #6 and it was a few yards away from the water’s edge. Great views of a small lilly-pad laced bay and we caught 7 catfish using normal nightcrawlers as bait. Fried them up for lunch the next day and they tasted like heaven! But, everything tastes better when you’re camping. We had also set up 4 tents around the area (not disturbing local flora/fauna) and we slept to the deafening croaks of frogs. Only 1 raccoon came upon our camp area to a spot where someone had thrown a corn cob, otherwise, we take all the necessary steps to avoid crossing paths with those relentless nighttime furry bandits. Shelters 7-9 are also located in great areas of the lake nearby, there is the power plants across the lake and for some reason, we like to believe that it was the reason we had ZERO mosquitoes! Many house flies and the non-biting ants were everywhere but not to the point of insanity... they list this ant as an issue on their website I do believe. I’d take this shelter over a hotel stay ANY TIME!

Reserved on-line 153 days prior to arrival. 

Pros 

Area 2 campground night sky friendly with good dark sky viewing

Site 211 has fantastic views of the lake

Mid afternoon Sunday check in at entrance station very busy but processed quickly Utility hookups in good condition 

Sites with grass neatly maintained 

Campground mostly quiet except for Interstate 20 traffic noise 

Showers were individual entry on opposite side of the building from the toilets 

Campsite and entrance fee discount with Texas State Park Pass 

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

EXXON station directly outside of State Park sold oak firewood 25 pieces for $20 

Cons 

Raccoons very aggressive and tried to take food that we were eating from our hands!!! Area 2 Lakeview sites require leveling side-to-side 

Area 2 campsite parking pads are narrow with trees and large boulders close to parking pad. 

ery narrow roadway in Area 2 with limited space to maneuver into backin sites. 

One pull-thru site was so tight to the roadway, their trailer was partially on the road! Area 2 campground sites have no privacy from any other camp sites 

Site 211 table, fire pit with cooking grate and lantern pole are located opposite side of the trailer door 

Area 2 restroom/shower building serves 58 campsites and it shows it! Restroom facility badly needing some TLC, cleaning and maintenance Women’s restroom had 3 toilets and 2 sinks; men’s had 2 toilets and 1 urinal 

Firewood for sale in Area 2 was only pine wood