Best Equestrian Camping near Pearland, TX

The best part of this park is the observatory, which has special events and regular weekend hours pretty much all year. It’s absolutely worth staying up late for this! Hikes and wildlife are good too, lots of easy trails along water for the kids, cool ponds, great little observation tour to climb. There are standard RV/tent sites, screened shelters (for sleeping), and rustic cabins, horse sites, and youth group sites. The sites are pretty spread out and maybe half of them are very shady. Awesome little park outside Houston.

Brazos Bend is alligator headquarters! This is my son's favorite park, right up next to Dinosaur Valley State Park. So first i'll tell you that the facilities are nice and pretty new it looked like. There are tent, group, equestrian, and RV sites, plus cabins and screened shelters. They have a few hike and bike trails, but nothing very challenging or long, but everything else they have is what makes it the bomb!

There are six lakes, a creek, and the Brazos river in the park, so if you go during summer take bug spray, or bugs will eat you alive. Also tons of spiders...so yeah. You can fish at some of the lakes, and most of the lakes have a viewing pier where you can bird watch and look for big alligators.

OK, the Nature center is the coolest thing ever!!! They have snakes, spiders, and lots of fun stuff for kids. My son got to touch a king snake and a baby alligator, which was so cool. They also have lots of planned activities going on, so make sure you check the calendar or ask a park ranger if they have an event going on. We got so lucky that they had a group of alligator hatchlings that they brought out for all the kids to see and did a whole informative, interactive discussion. They brought out like 60 baby alligators in tubs and showed the kids how they feed them and how they would release them back into the wild. It was the most amazing thing! They made sure every kid got to touch one, and there were a lot of kids.

So yeah alligators are awesome, but on top of all of that, there is an observatory in the park. If you go on the weekends they have tours and shows at the observatory. There is an extra fee, but it is well worth it.

Bring a hat, sunscreen, good shoes, and bug spray is a must!

Campground Review

It's incredible that I was born and raised in Houston and have lived here the past four years but haven't made it out to Brazos Bend State Park until now! A quick, 45 minute drive southwest will get you out of the concrete jungle that is the sprawling Space City metropolis and into one of the lushest, greenest parts of Texas. Brazos Bend is a "Nature Lover's Paradise" - there is abundant wildlife. There is great fishing, ample bird watching, and lots and lots of alligators (!). Lots of trails for walking, running, biking, and horseback riding. The George Observatory is a pretty amazing feature of this park (but only open Saturdays).

We arrived at Brazos Bend on a Friday afternoon and were able to walk-in no problem. Walk-in rate is $12/day + the daily park entrance fee ($5 for adults, free for kids). I have a Texas State Parks Pass so we didn't have to pay the entrance fees (saved us $40 for two nights of camping!). Additionally there were several other great options including: Full-Site RV hook-up ($25/night), Standard Camping ($20/night, incl. water & electricity), and 14 Cabins ($80-200/night but have everything you could ever need or want).

We did a lot of nature walks, game playing, and swimming during our two days at Brazos Bend State Park. Summer is probably not the best time to visit any park in Texas - its hot and muggy and the mosquitos are out in full force. Bring your DEET. Seriously. Despite that though, we were very pleasantly surprised by the amenities (swimming pool, screened in picnic tables, fire pits, and tent pads!)

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - this past weekend at Brazos Bend I tested out the Kameng Mid eVent Waterproof Hiking Boot by Mishmi Takin.

These boots have got it all.

First, these boots are hella comfortable! I was blown away how comfortable they were right out of the box. Over the years, I've owned many pairs of hiking boots and they all required a significant break-in period. Not these!

Second, they're waterproof AND breathable. Not water resistant, like actually water proof.

Third, the look great. All 3 color schemes are fantastic I had a tough time choosing between green, grey and orange.

Fourth, so lightweight. These only weigh 1.5lbs so even though they are boots, they won't weigh you down.

5/5 Would Recommend.

We recently decided we wanted to spend more time outside and over the last year started accumulating camping supplies. When it was finally time to put them to use we chose Brazos Bend because it wasn't to far from the city and had a lot of hiking trails. This park is amazing! We saw around 15 alligators while hiking, and these are animals in the wild in their habitat (not like the gator farms where some dude is sticking his head in ones mouth). The have a nature center where park rangers give you info about the animals in the park and let you see snakes and baby alligators up close. The campsites have a fire pit, table and grill and for the most part lots of shade trees. All the hiking trails were accessible right from our site. Since we only camped overnight we didn't use any of the facilities but heard they were very clean. We ended up buying the texas state park pass and cannot wait to come back!

Before we stopped at the Brazos park we went from Pottsville Arkansas to the beaches in Texas .Started out in Houston and seen the San Jacinto Monument , The Washburn Tunnel, Aquaworld in down town Houston. Went over some Big bridges . Than we went to the beach in Galveston and spend the night in the back of my explorer what a night great view and the breeze was nice . The next day moved on to travel down the coast to the Port Aransas and crossed on the ferry heading to Mustang Island beach. Than passing Corpus Christi down to Padre Island . Can't remember the name of the beach we spend the night on . The next morning we headed out away from the coast and back towards home . This it where we stopped at the Brazos park and sleep in one of the screened rooms . The park was beautiful and the moss on the trees make you think you have gone back in time . But a last we have to go home!

We reserved our reservations a head of time, showed up, and the staff was very helpful and went easy. They keep the park and restrooms clean clean. We got to hike the 40 Acre Trail (about an hour hike) and the whole family loved it. Definitely will be back soon in the future for the other trails and activities.

I've been going to Brazos Bend since I was a kid. It's always fun to hike or bike around the trails and see all types of birds, alligators, and other wildlife. For us it is close by which is another added bonus.

I was visiting Houston with my husband (who is from there) and decided to make a quick escape from the city to nature.  We camped just one night, so despite the short visit, we really had a great time.  Our site was very spacious, and it was pretty quiet there.  There were large trees giving us plenty of shade.  I love the Spanish moss that hangs from the trees.

We also took a hike in the park around the lame, and saw a few alligators.  Such a fun hike, highly recommended!

If you want to see alligators in their natural habitat this is the park for you.  There wer so many. We even came across one on the trail eating a snake. The best part though is the observatory. There’s always plenty of stargazers up there that love to share their equipment, you can also pay for the big telescopes. We visited before Covid, so not sure how things are now. The shelter sites are nicer than most. The bathrooms were average.

This is the best place to escape from the big city and enjoy nature! There is so much to do. The hiking and bike paths are aplenty. We loved seeing the gators, especially when the babies were hatching (spot dozens of babies in the photos). The observatory is also incredible. There are so many friendly astronomy enthusiasts who are willing to share a peek through their telescope (pre-covid) and share their knowledge. Be sure to help keep light pollution down in that area so everyone can enjoy the stars (no flashlights or phones out). This is such a great park to enjoy and spend a weekend away from the city without traveling too far.

 We loved this place! Our campsite was on Burr Oak loop. Very spacious. Quite a walk to the bathroom though. Very clean bathrooms. 

The trails are awesome! So glad we had our bikes, it allowed us to cover a lot of ground. We did see over 10 alligators. Some on the side of the trail, some in the water....I lost count of how many we saw. Great for hikes. Awesome for bikes.

I like state parks and this is a good example why. The sites are well spaced, well maintained and relatively inexpensive. About $20. You can reserve online and the web site has photos of the site so you know it works for you.

Site have electric and water and the dump station is at the entrance of the campground. Easy to hit on your way out.

There are plenty of hiking trails and they have alligators.

If you're looking for a good campground close to Houston, this is your place.

Lots to do, hiking, biking, wildlife viewing. Great campground.

Overnight stay. Heavily wooded area. Lots of wildlife (deer hanging out in neighboring campsite). Grass was overgrown on site. Firewood we bought wouldn’t burn. Very buggy (swarming at your face). Had to drive to the shower house. There seemed to be a lot to see at this park and I’m sure it is lovely in the fall and winter. I would come back again in better weather.

Amazing spot for camping and hiking! Bathrooms were okay, overall everything was clean. They have numerous trails to enjoy. We saw bunch of gators, various birds, raccoons and other animals. Highly recommended!

Just purchased my 1st RV. This was a "test run" with my dogs and cat. It's a huge park. Well maintained. Traveled alone and felt 100% safe. Lots of trails close to the campsite (burr oak). Only reason I have it 4 stars is my AT&T service was virtually non existent.

Came here as a kid in 5th grade and fell in love! It hasn’t changed a bit! So much to see, the observatory it’s incredible! Alligators for miles! Photographers paradise!

Might as well make this a national park. Was amazing. Campground has huge level pads with big campsites. Well groomed and very clean. So many walking and biking trails. We saw around 30 alligators, 100s of birds and 2 beavers (I think). Was humid and around 85 degrees most of the time.

The birds singing in the meadow wake you gently in the morning. There's numerous trails to hike or bike. the observatory and nature centers a bonus to this well appointed state campground.

This would be a 5 star if there was sewer hookup 

PROS 

No fee to make my own on-line reservations

Park security gate closed overnight hours 

Good space between sites 

Grass mowed in each site 

Extra wide campground roadway 

Quiet during our weeknight stay 

Wooden and metal picnic table on concrete slab 

Pedestal BBQ grill 

Metal firering (no cooking grate) 

Clean, climate controlled toilet/shower facility. 

Ample supply of TP, and hand soap but hand dryer didn’t work and no paper towels. Campfire wood for sale via honor system in the campground 

Regular ranger patrol through campground

Lots of dumpsters throughout the campground

.85 miles round trip from site 114 to closest toilet/shower facility 

2 bars T-MOBILE 

CONS 

No discount for a one night stay 

Aggressive raccoons 

Site 114 not level 

No lantern pole in campsite 

Site picnic table is anchored to concrete slab and not moveable 

No WiFi

First. Data. Download enough to watch FIFA final. Upload not the greatest. Visible, Verizon 5G, T-Mobile 5G. All great down but low upload speeds. Too many trees for Starlink

Awesome friendly gate house staff. Big park with camping loop. Will be back

First. Data. Download enough to watch FIFA final. Upload not the greatest. Visible, Verizon 5G, T-Mobile 5G. All great down but low upload speeds. Too many trees for Starlink

Awesome friendly gate house staff. Big park with camping loop. Will be back

We had fun here with our 3 year old granddaughter. Campsite was nice & large, well spaced out. Bathrooms are clean, and the trails are awesome. Saw about 20 alligators on Elm Lake

We stayed in spot 112 in February 2024.  

• Sites are very nice, wide, and (mostly) level.  
• Campground is kept clean.  
• Bathroom is a bit outdated, but still clean.
• Trails are very nice and appear top be kept up regularly.  Just watch out for the alligators.
• Don't forget to reserve a spot at the observatory on Saturday nights...

This park is really back in there as from the office to the sites it's a good distance which is nice. Level sites and more than enough room between sites. If you like hiking, you can get it done here, just watch out for the gators.....

We stayed at spot 128 in the Burr Oak. It was very easy to back into, the site is super wide and full asphalt. Site was very level. Bathrooms were somewhat close, about 4 or 5 sites down with a shortcut through the woods. Not a lot of street lights throughout the campground made things nice and quiet at night. The site had good Verizon cell service, around 25-50 mbps. The Tmobile service was around the same. This place is very remote and the park itself is huge, we only stayed one night but it has a ton to offer! Overall the campground was clean, very quiet, with a ton of activities.

Staying here as a pass through for a few nights. VERY clean campground. Very happy with the tidiness and keep up of it. The staff were great at check in. Sites are far enough away that you have privacy. Nice bathrooms and playground area. My dogs have enjoyed walking the big loops. Have also seen lots of alligators, as advertised, which has been pretty cool! Only downfall is the mosquitos, which isn’t the campgrounds fault. Just with the heat and swamps/lakes they are particularly bad. Large clean sites with water and electricity. My starlink is a little spotty with the trees but am still able to work remote with no major issues.