The best EQUESTRIAN camping near
O'Quinn , TEXAS

We stayed equestrian site 4 which is a fairly private site. Moon was nearly full and the coyotes were howling all night long. All in all it was a nice small state park with great views of Lake Somerville.

This is the second time we have stayed here. This time was from Christmas Eve until the Sunday after. This place doesn’t disappoint. There are nice hiking trails. The lake views are beautiful. All the campsites appear to be very well kept. My husband went fishing for a bit. He didn’t catch anything, but he witnessed another gentleman catch a 20” fish, so we know there are fish in the lake. We stayed in campsite 28, which is a great space…unless it’s windy. Had great internet service, which is unusual for us in a state park.

Well spaced spots.  Fairly level pads with table, fire ring, 30/50 amp electrical, water.  We didn't see any covered tables, but all usable spots had concrete pads for tables.  Like a lot of east-Texas camping areas, LSSP was also devastated by Hurricane Harvey and is still recovering, but don't let that stop you, but instead level-set your expectations.  Sites are well dispersed, but some appear to be no longer in use.  In July 2020, there were very few folks in the park, partly, I'm sure due to Covid-19 and well, its July in Texas!  Typically, and as expected, gnats were really bad at night, but mosquitos were tolerable.  Just be prepared and you'll be fine.  Great kayaking and very little motorized boat traffic, but likely due to current situation.  Trails are numerous, but not well marked.  We didn't see a lot of hog damage on the trails, so maybe the staff has been working on that.  Good amount of wildlife  Equestrian area looked like it was restored and  back-in-business.   Will be returning.  While the Birch Creek and Nails Creek sections are visible across the lake from each other, there is a long drive (15 minutes in a vehicle around the lake) to get between them, so plan your time accordingly.

We stayed in the Old Hickory loop. Each site had trees surrounding it and they are decently spaced out. The park has trails within it, as well as the Trailway for long hikes and mountain biking. The day use area is nice for swimming in the lake.

Lots of shaded coverage, amazing trails, amazing views.

We arrived around 11:30 pm to the park and was stopped by a very helpful officer that explained to us the park was closed, but helped us get a spot anyways and directions. Got to the spot and it was more than I expected for a camp site (electricity, fire ring pit, table, Barbque pit, and trash cans with bags). We set up tent quickly, made a fire, and had a great time with the kids!

We camped at the horse spot. These camping spots are mostly spacious and private - plenty of shade trees. We walked some trails, but they were mostly flattened/destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. Hopefully by now they have been rebuilt and are just as beautiful as I imagined them. If I were still local to the area, I would definitely go back, and definitely recommend others to go as well.

We loved our campsite. We were lucky to get one that already had a shelter over the table. There was plenty of room between campsites, we couldn’t even see our neighbors. We had a small trail right behind our site that went down to the water. I was so pleased that they stayed open during the “Shelter in Place”, so we could actually get some fresh air.

Trails were great! We went on several long hikes. Lake was great…but pretty chilly most of the time we were there.

Bathrooms were nicely maintained

We stayed at site 77 and I really liked the privacy of most campsites. This spot had easy access to the bathrooms and to the trail to the lake. My husband and friend attempted to fish on the lakeshore but were unsuccessful. The trail system is apparently expansive, but had been closed while were there due to some flooding. We did explore the Wilderness Run and Sunset trails, both of which we enjoyed. The greenery is very odd here - stark contrast between bald (dead?) trees and bright green grasses and shrubs. Either way, we had a great time camping here over a weekend.

Sommerville has been wrought with flooding and hogs…both running a 'could be' beautiful landscape. Many of the rails were unusable and those available were ruined with hog wallers. Hope the State can get it up and beautiful again soon.