Best Cabin Camping near Matagorda, TX

Reserved 68 nights prior to arriving. Campground had 78% occupancy during our 3 night stay. 

PROS Able to clearly hear the ocean roar from all campground 59 FHU sites 

Campsite concrete pad level and in good condition 

Park roadways good condition with no speed bumps and easy to maneuver 

Lantern pole at some sites 

Some sites have two sewer connections 

Picnic table located on oversized concrete pad 

Combo lock on toilet/shower entrance doors 

Toilet/shower facility very nice

Laundromat on site with 3 washers and 3 dryers.$4.25 

Wood campfire allowed in off-ground fire pit with screen cover you provide and placed away from any grass 

Fairly good dark sky viewing as campground street lights are limited 

2 large wooden Colorado River fishing piers which are lighted from dusk to dawn 

Putt-putt golf$10 

Bagged ice machine across road from Park 

2 bars VERIZON signal 

CONS 

Toilet/shower door combination changed during our stay and was not notified and had no access until we tracked down park personnel 

Dog poop in the mens handicap stall Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday so obviously no one monitoring toilet facility

$6 reservation fee for self made on-line reservation 

10 campsites were reutilized to build elevated beach cabanas 

Park quiet hours not enforced 

No park officials or host cruising patrolling campground

No entrance gate locked overnight. Lots of fishermen cruising through campground

No shade what so ever. Some sites had a pergola over their concrete picnic table; Our site had no table covering. Brisk ocean"breezes", made it impossible to deploy our trailer awning

No privacy from any other campsite

Sites fairly close to each other

No campsite campfire pits

No on-site firewood sales

Concrete picnic table unmovable No ocean"view" from any of the campsites

No camp store in Park. Closest H‑E‑B, Walmart and Tractor Supply in Bay City. No grocery stores in Matagorda but there is a Dollar General store. Park WIFI poor; could only connect at toilet/shower facility

No playground, basketball or tennis courts

No pool or splash pad

Reserved 89 days prior to arriving. 

PRO 

Extremely nice park registration staff.

Registration info was available outside of gatehouse upon arrival.

Security gate that closes during overnight hours.

Quiet except for Hwy 111 traffic noise.

Campsites along lake with wide open view of lake. VERY NICE.

Nice space between campsites with brush between some sites for privacy

Clean and well stocked toilet/shower facility.

Dark sky friendly.

Brand new Nature Center!

Campsite with picnic table, lantern pole and fire ring.

Campsite 125 partially shade

$35/night camping fee

CON

$3.50 transaction fee Former Texas State Park so most campsites are short in length.

We saw numerous 25ft and bigger rigs struggling to back into sites and then the front of their rig was right on roadway.

Campsite 125 uneven side-to-side.

Alligators in lake!

2 bars AT&T.

No Park WiFi.

Very well-maintained and pet-friendly RV park with various amenities such as a pool, fishing pier, and dog park. Sites are very close together with little room to set up outside between RVs. Very little room to park vehicle once RV is in place and limited space to back in. Enjoyed the peaceful sunrises and sunsets and the constant breeze was a plus to keep the humidity and heat down. Take plenty of anti-mosquito repellent, as around mid-morning and late afternoon, the mosquitoes come out in force. A good location for those wishing to fish, but not sightseeing. The town has very few amenities and only a couple of restaurants and small stores.

Pros:

• Quick and friendly check-in

.• Large parking area that is rig-friendly for check-in.

• Knowledgeable park personnel

• Nature center with interactive exhibits and gift shop

• Well maintained. Daily we saw the camp hosts working diligently, even hosing down and scrubbing bird poop from campsites.

• Saturday morning 1.5 hour guided Gulf beach walk($5/pp) by Paige and Whitley. Paige knew her“stuff” as she was pelted continuously with questions and she never missed a beat!

• Complimentary early Saturday morning coffee and pastries.

• Along the Colorado River but you can hear ocean roar where the river meets the Gulf of Mexico.

• Level concrete parking pad surrounded by grass. Back-ins and drive-thrus.

• Two sewer hook-up outlets.

• Large concrete picnic table.

• Very nice and clean toilets/shower building in an elevated building accessible by a ramp. Must have code to enter.

• Laundry facility in toilet/shower building with code entry.

• Nice Colorado River fishing piers with fish cleaning tables with freshwater spigot and a super pier over the beach/ocean.

• Primo sunsets

• Bay City, 20-minute drive, for the closest Walmart, HEB and other retailers and restaurants.

Cons:

• LCRA $6 on-line reservation fee.

• Absolutely no trees or vegetation between sites which equals NO SHADE and NO PRIVACY.

• Ocean“breeze” made it impossible to deploy trailer awning.

• No fire pits, but if you bring your own with a screen cover, you may have a fire, if you bring wood as no wood is sold at this park.

• NOT A DARK SKY FRIENDLY CAMPGROUND due to way too many street lights throughout the campground, along the river bank and on the fishing piers.  This would be a 5 star campground if there was more darkness!

• Complimentary LCRA WIFI was weak and unreliable.

• When the ocean"breeze" died down and the humidity was up, we were attacked by swarms of mosquitos which required us to heavily apply repellent in mid-February

• Not much in the town of Matagorda, basically a fishing village, and of those businesses, not many operating in mid-February.

This park is located inside the Matagorda Nature Preserve and located directly on the ICW with a beautiful view from pretty much every camp site. The sites have electric and water hookups and their is a restroom located directly in the middle of the ground. Their is a self-service ice machine right across the street and that a plus because their is virtually nowhere to buy ice on the island and the closest convenient store is about 15 minutes away. It’s 27$ a night to camp and they allow tents and RVs which is pretty cool. I set my tent up in the grass and enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the water. The public beach access is about 5 miles away and it’s a pretty nice beach but you need 4 wheel drive to access. Showers are a little outdated and their is absolutely no shade at all but other than that it’s a beautiful little spot.

My family and I really enjoyed this park. Every lot has a concrete slab as well as a picnic table area! They don’t have a grille area that we saw but there are some at the pavilion, we brought our own. Close to the beach which made it easy to take a break to allow my toddler to take a nap. My only complaint is that the showers could use some updating and cleaning. I refused to allow the kids or myself in the camper with all the sand on us so we showered in the park showers. Due to all the salt in the air all the bathroom locks are corroded and the women’s wouldn’t work so they had the bathroom door propped open for anyone to come in which made me uncomfortable while showering. If you book early enough you can reserve a lot right on the water wish is awesome! We will camp there again! (:

Sites are very spacious, each has its own picnic table on a concrete pad. Lots of privacy, most sites are separated by 15' widths of trees and shrubs which act as a privacy wall. There is a little climbing playground for little ones. Fishing piers and a nature center currently being built and it is going to be huge! We've been here three days and have seen 4 armadillos, 5 squirrels, 7 deer and 1 raccoon. The neighbor said she has camped here 6 times and only seen 1 teeny tiny gator. Only thing missing for my likes is a swimming pool. You can't get into this water, pretty murky and lily pads