Best Glamping near Mineola, 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.

PROS 

Senior discount saved $20 

Each site has unobstructed lake view 

Site 67 level concrete pad surrounded by sandy soil with afternoon only shade 

Climate controlled toilet/shower facility 

Clean toilet/shower facility which are cleaned every weekday morning 

2 sand lot volleyball courts 

Small pier shared by every two campsites 

Metal picnic table, pedestal BBQ grill and concrete fire ring with no cooking grate. 

Fairly quiet during daytime weekdays except for neighboring campers 3 sites away who had their INSIDE television blaring that we could hear every word. This went on for 7 hours daily. 

Local police did regular daylight drive thrus 

Hundreds of squirrels 

Could hear whippoorwills after sunset 

Had a float plane land and then take off right in front of our campsite (see video)

Park had WIFI but didn’t use due to having 4 bars TMOBILE 

CONS 

Minimal pay/stay 3 nights

$5 fee to make on line reservations 

Had to email copy of Texas Drivers License to Water District in advance of making reservation in order to get Senior discount 

No security gate closed overnight 

No camp host 

Campers let their dogs run thru campsites and poop everywhere 

Big problem with day users and boaters walking thru campsites, even after dark, picnicking and partying late into evening in campsites where there were no campers/tenters, then leaving at all hours of the night 

LOTS of middle of the night boat noise 

Street lights throughout campground which hinders dark sky viewing 

No privacy from any other campsite 

Site picnic table anchored so not moveable

The South Sulphur campground is about half an hour north of Interstate 30. It’s under a 2 hour drive from the DFW area so, I find it’s a nice weekend getaway. I camped here on a Sunday to Monday and it was very quiet. I was one of only 5 campers in the Deer Haven section (aside from the 3 camp hosts). I’m giving the park 5 stars but this is based on my experience of having camped here when there were few campers around. I image this place could be loud and busy on a weekend.

There are many shaded lakeside sites in the Deer Haven section. I stayed at site 68. The site was on a cul de sac so there was no campground to the one side. However, the site located on the other side was close. This would be a great spot for 2 camping families to share. The concrete pad at site 68 was level and shaded by a beautiful, mature oak tree. I could walk from the pad to the lake. It would be a great site to put out a kayak, but unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate on my stay. So I didn’t get to kayak. I did see deer who ventured in from the wooded area next to the campsite.  Deer Haven lived up to its name!

Electric and water hookups were good as were the restroom/shower facilities, which seemed climate controlled because it felt cooler and less humid inside than outside. This usually isn’t the case in these buildings.

A big storm blew in around dinner time. The wind was fierce and blowing out of the north across the almost 20,000 acre lake! I actually called the ranger to find out if I needed to evacuate. The ranger was very responsive and reassuring. Luckily, there were no tornados warnings, so I weathered out the storm and woke to a beautiful crisp morning.

This park is huge and there is much to do. Cabins, shelters, primitive walk in sites, equine sites, a beach, several boat ramps, hiking trails, playgrounds and a fishing pier. I didn’t get to see a fraction of it, but I’ll be returning. 

I stopped in the town of Sulphur Springs on my way back to DFW. The town has a nice historic town square and makes for an interesting side stop.

We brought our Springdale Mini by Keystone to The Boulders for our first ever camping trip and could not have had a better experience. The grounds were clean and well maintained. Concrete sites made setup and leveling super easy. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful - when we mentioned it was our first trip, they guided us into our site and gave us tips on setup. The waterfront views were beautiful and the amenities were wonderful. They had a variety of rentals available - golf carts, kayaks, and pontoon boats. They offer boat ramp and docks and a fishing barge. The bait shop has a variety of supplies and snacks. The bathrooms were very clean. They also have a nice playground. The picnic tables at the sites looked new and all sites had a fire pit with a grill top. Overall, a great trip!

Other info: 30&50 amp hookups Water hookup Dump site only ($15 for honey wagon) Pet allowed Firewood available for purchase Cabins available for your camperless friends

I've been coming to this park since I was 12 or 13 years old and we would tent camp. The only things to do is fish and go swimming and the play ground is kind of sad. I came camping in 2009 when I got back from Iraq and it was very well maintained then either, just leaves piled up so high mosquitos and various other pests loved it. We brought our camper out this weekend after reading reviews and hearing about how updated it is and how great it is but it's still the same park it's always been. There was literally a camper across from us being stabilized with cinder blocks... we have a three year old and took him to the park to burn some energy and were quite disappointed (as well as our son). The equipment was the same equipment from when I was a kid and there's really not much more than swings, a slide, merry go round, and a see-saw type thing. We paid over $90 for three nights and ended up leaving a day before because there was just nothing to do. There was also someone walking around our camper the first night and I'm still not sure who it was 😲. We had a tree in the worst part of our site, we couldn't let our awning out hardly. If we moved up a little bit we couldn't use out outdoor kitchen, if we a lot we'd be lucky to use our connections. We ended up in one of the only spots that didn't have some kind of asphalt and it had been raining for two days, that was a load of fun also because the mud was thick and there were two mini lakes around us. The campsites at the state park we're further away then here and I would have preferred some distance to our "neighbors". The gentleman who led us to our site was polite at least and they did spray for ants around our camper. However, I doubt we'll go back unless they make some better changes.

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

If you’re looking for somewhere off the grid that is truly primitive, then this is not the place for you. If you don’t mind other people nearby, then you may enjoy your time here. Great docks for fishing. Beautiful water views, if you camp next to the water. Tent camping sites with electrical hookups are piled next to each other pretty close, so if you’re getting a tent electrical site you had better not mind getting friendly with your neighbors. Also, when it rains some of the tent electrical camp sites fill with water. However, if this happens the front office is more than willing to work with you and give you a refund or switch your site. There is a lot of wildlife roaming around - lots of deer! The primitive camp sites by the docks that overlook the water are beautiful. There is a concrete slab, picnic table, and fire pit at each primitive site. If you want to throw up a hammock, some of the primitive sites have trees that are the perfect distance apart for that - but be aware some of these trees are covered in poison ivy! The primitive sites are all close by to other types of campers, so it is never quiet and you can hear people at all hours of the day/night for the most part. Where we stayed by the water, we were next to an RV site. The other primitive camping sites also seem to be near RV sites and electrical tent sites, according to the map. If you camp near the water, it is very windy, especially at night, so make sure to bring plenty of blankets! Are you ever really on your own here: no. Are there beautiful views: yes. Is it truly primitive: no. Will you be taken care of: yes. All sites are open, with no big trees or shrubs to give privacy. You can see your neighbors and they can see you, even at the primitive sites. It would be a good place to bring a family or children for sure. I will say, the customer service at the main office is outstanding. They have anything you could think of for sale there, which is a huge plus. It is highly likely that you won’t need to drive into town for anything. Workers drive around with trash bags every day to ensure everyone is disposing of trash properly, and will give you free trash bags if you don’t have any, which is nice. All in all it depends on what you’re looking for, whether you choose to come to this camping location or not. We enjoy going here just to get away from the house and enjoy the beauty of the lake/nature for a bit. Although, I do wish there was more privacy. Everything is too close together, in my opinion.