Best Equestrian Camping near Lampasas, TX

Shaffer Bend Rec. Area has a beautiful setting in the Texas Hill Country right off of Lake Travis. At the gate entrance you have wonderful landscape views. All of the camp sites are situated next to or a short walk to the water.

The camps are clean. Most are equipped with a picnic table and fire ring. In the large camp area, some have BBQ pits with a couple big communal grill/smoker. The same area has a horse pen as well if you're an equestrian enthusiast on top of a camper. It is a primitive campground. The large camp area has a couple port-a-poties. At the gate entrance there are men's and women's rooms with running water. That's about 3 miles from the camp sites. So, be prepared to dig holes, bring your own portable toilets, or hold it.

Considering you're on the lake, the water access is surprisingly limited. There are a few areas along the water you can walk in, but there's not a dock or boat access. I recommend sandals or water shoes since there's a fair amount of plant life along the shore. The same areas you can walk in would be good for kayaks though. The camp sites are situated along a narrow section of the lake. So, there would be plenty to explore.

the campsite is good for equestrians. if you're a kayaker you can put in here and travel down and take out elsewhere. the lower Colorado River Authority has plenty of places along the Colorado to facilitate this. we stayed here for 4 days before Memorial Day weekend and it was hot. there are no showers or bath houses. there are Porta-Johns located throughout the campground. Texas in summer can be unforgiving. Lake Travis is home to boaters and Jet skiers. there are fish if you're into that.

Love this place! 30/50 electric, water and sewer. Has a clubhouse with a fully stocked kitchen free to use. Showers and laundry. All this plus you can board your pets and horses!! All pull through sites.

Relaxing and clean. Very windy, so no bugs! Dogs love running along water’s edge and jumping in. Horses ok too from the looks of it. Sites 1-13 closer together and more in site if each other but still ok. Great hiking and walking. Small RV plus tent for us.

Krause Springs: Temporarily closed till February 16, 2024. Historic Texas camping& swimming site nestled in Spicewood, 30 miles from Austin. Ehall pass

Only there for one short night but it was delightful to sit in the water of lake Travis and watch the stars on a warm texas summer night. I’m guessing it gets crowded during the day but I had enjoyed my evening there.

Spent the day at Krause jumping off rocks, sitting under the cool waterfall, and flying through the air on their giant rope swing.  This is a great place for families and friends.  The staff was welcoming and they offer a wide array of tent and RV campsites.  Cool, spring-fed water refreshed everyone on our group on a hot summer day in Texas

This beautiful RV park in Texas Hill country was booked years in advance for the eclipse. But on our suggestion the very accommodating proprietors opened up a pasture in back to dry camping. The facilities are comfortable and clean. Worked out well.

We towed with an electric vehicle, on the last day they let us move to an empty site with hookups and charge from the 50 amp outlet, which opened up a better route home.

One of my all-time favorites. I happily drive over three hours to camp here... Dogs are not allowed, but service dogs are. Just call them in advance and let them know. It is CASH ONLY. Also, be careful how far you venture. It’s easy to accidentally trespass on someone else’s unfenced property (is just across from the spring).

Bring a floatie! It’s a great place for a Texas summer camp.

Pace Bend is one of the few reliable parks in Central Texas and near Austin that will always have an available campsite, while all of the other prks require a reservation months in advance. You can even show up late and find a site.

Although, these sites are primitive, so not all of them have picnic tables or grills.

Also, there is great mountain biking trails, cliff jumping and swimming.

This is a great little place on Lake Travis. Going in the spring time is the best because of all the wildflowers. Trails are easy. Campsites are clean with a fire pit and a grill. There is easy access to the lake to go swim or paddle. Be mindful that Lake Travis is not a constant level lake and this is a narrow and shallow part of the lake. There is a chance of low water levels. Also it’s Texas and there is wildlife. We saw about a 5 ft rattlesnake. Overall a great place!

Booked this place last minute based on previous reviews. This place is not what I would call a quiet getaway. Sites are somewhat large, some without any trees or shade which is torture most of the year in Texas heat. Be warned that if you stay at sites 1-12 you are right next to the boat ramp where people will be loading/unloading at all hours of the night. Its 5 am currently and I have been bombarded with diesel engines and bright lights directly into my campsite since 3 am. Picture below of the view from my tent as they unload another boat.
The prices are $10 more than some surrounding area spots that offer much more than this place. Look elsewhere if you desire a place to relax and enjoy nature.

Great stay. The site we had was walking distance to the sandy beach of lake Travis. Great fishing and the sand carrier up so it’s a soft bedding for the evening. Lots of tree cover to help combat the sun. There is a table, a fire ring, and a grill at each site. Walking trails are nice for a stroll not too difficult and not much elevation change. Only negative is the amount of stickers everywhere. Got one right between the toes and a venue near the park plays music if there is an event. The echo of the rock face by the lake didn’t help it. That’s not the parks fault though.

We set up at site 15 it has an awesome view of the river/lake and it’s walking distance down to the waters edge. Great spot to fish for some bass or take a dip in the water. Looks like you can also have a fire out in the sand as we found some charred wood out there, there is ample spacing at the site with a fire ring, and a table provided and plenty of shade. The trees are great to set up a Hamic, which we did, which gave you an awesome view of the water and the sunrise in the mornings. They have good trails not too difficult, the only negative items I can mention are the various amounts of stickers everywhere we got plenty on our ankles and our hands other than that there was an issue with loud music from a venue outside of the park that would echo through the valley not much could be done about their music, but the on-site personnel contacted the local authorities to have a talk with them and the music wasn’t a problem after the first night. I’m definitely coming back here in the summer since the water is so close and so cool. Do we great to cool down on those hot days. 

Shaffer Bend Recreation Area is a great destination for nature lovers, close to Lake Travis and great outdoor activities. Relaxing on the beach or enjoying the sunrise from the 15th location is an experience not to be missed. Don't forget to de-stress with a io games after a day of exploring!

Muleshoe Bend has well-spaced out campsites right next to the water- super serene! There's lots of shade at the campsites and each site has a picnic table.

It's worth mentioning the campground doesn't have running water or electric hook-up at the campsites, and only one flushing toilet at the entry, but there are lots of port-a-potties spread out and not too far from any given campsite. The port-a-potties are pristine. Seriously, as someone who's pretty adverse to port-a-potties I don't know that I've seen better maintained ones ever, so don't let this fact dissuade you!

There are some nice trails for mountain biking or hiking.

And the hosts are seriously some of the nicest people I've ever met.

Overall I recommend!

Pro-tip, avoid spot 8, 9 or 17 < those spots don't have shade.

4 stars for not having flushing toilets or water at the campsites, but otherwise, perfect.

If you're able camp here in the middle of the week for almost an interrupted solitude. Because there isn't much to do out there you may well be the only person. On the weekends when the weather is nice it will fill up for the most part. My favorite sites 27 for the privacy, followed by 24 because it's off the road and not close to other sites. The sites in the teens can be really close together, and some sites have better shade trees than others. In the month of April the bluebonnets are incredible and every time I've been there there have been tons of deer, probably the name sake of this place. Take a kayak with you for a nice calm paddle. There are a couple of pit toilets scattered throughout the campground but no showers. Most sites come with a fire pit but you'll need to bring your own firewood.

This is an LCRA park on Lake Travis with primitive sites. Mainly tent camping. There's a trail system that weaves around in a big circle mainly used by mountain bikes but perfectly good for hiking too. Others have commented about the bluebonnets, but really, now that the lake is up, the area where the flowers were is now covered by water. Fish on!

This was only about an hour from Austin. There was only one campsite available and thankfully it was not on the 1-12 strip which apparently is really loud. Our stay was pretty quite and there’s a decent amount of space between camp grounds. It was $25/night and included a charcoal grill, a fire pit, and a picnic table. My campsite was pretty shaded and the outhouse wasn’t too far of a walk. They have an outdoor shower at the entrance as well as a filtered water/ice machine.

We booked Muleshoe excited about the views. We were very disappointed. There were stickers/burs everywhere so our dogs were very uncomfortable. I couldn’t tell from the pictures, but Muleshoe is very out in the open so you’re really exposed to the wind and have zero privacy. Totally fine if you’re cool with that, but it made it another negative for us. There was a large family/group next to us who was obnoxious and loud until 10:30 so we couldn’t enjoy camping peacefully as you would hope.

PS if you need a plug, check the closet in between the bathrooms at the front gate. That was the one positive about this place(batteries died on my air pump)…if the door isn’t locked.

I have not camped out here, but have made a few day trips. There are a few miles of hike and bike trails, but I HIGHLY suggest coming out here during Bluebonnet season. It is Absolutely beautiful!!!