Best Tent Camping near San Juan, TX

I really enjoyed my stay at this campsite with my family. We actually came here on our Spring Break when we were in high school. We decided to come here because it wasn't a very long drive from home, and we knew there was some good hiking nearby. Located in Pharr Texas, the park is surrounded my beautiful citrus groves. You literally feel like you are in a desert oasis. Our favorite part is that it is located very close to the Rio Grande Valley. There are so many great attractions and places to do outdoor activities. If you want to head to the water you can drive an hour away and hit the Gulf of Mexico. We did this the second day we stayed here and it was so much fun, i would highly recommend doing this!! My mom and I also went shopping nearby- there is a great mall and shopping area close. The RV park was good. Water and electrical hookups, and enough room between sites which we like. Clean restrooms and area.

Many of the campsites are right on the water, which is the Arroyo Colorado, a canal that runs east-west to the Laguna Madre, the bay between the south Texas shoreline and South Padre Island. I've visited the park many, many times over the years because of its proximity to the Laguna Madre. I fish from a kayak, and have tried fishing South Padre Island, Port Mansfield, and Boca Chica Beach with some success. But I always go back to Adolph Thomae County Park because I have better luck there. I don't have to worry about leaving my vehicle unattended, either.

What else? There is a website - http://www.cameroncountyparks.com/adolph-thomae-park - that has all the info you need if you plan to visit. There are even a few pictures. But if you want to get a much better look at the park, download and load Google Earth and type 'Adolph Thomae County Park' in the search bar. For some reason, the locator map on thedyrt is way off. The latitude for the park is  26°20'42.65"N and the longitude is  97°24'50.43"W. I've tried editing the location to no avail.

If you use Google Earth, you'll see that there are 2 lighted fishing piers that are free to park visitors. There are also 3 public restrooms - one at each of the piers and a third between the two large parking lots at the end of the road. There are also two boat ramps at the end of the park road.

It's 3 miles from the park to the Laguna Madre, so if you're bringing a kayak be prepared to paddle for about 45 minutes before getting to the bay. The park opens at 6:00 AM, and the fishermen with motorboats start lining up about 5:45 AM. If you want a parking spot near the water, get there early. I've found that the best parking lot to use is the next-to-last. The water is just a few steps from the parking lot, and the grade down to the water is not that steep. There are no streetlights in the next-to-last parking lot - at least not yet - , so bring a headlamp. It's a relatively new parking lot, so lights may be installed at some point.

Adult resort, lots of activities and super friendly residents!

Volley Random is a multiplayer volleyball game where players compete in fast-paced matches, aiming to score points by strategically hitting the ball over the net while dodging opponents' moves.

Spiritual awakening

No pool but lots of activities for campers including shuffleboard, horse shoes, cards five nights a week, pool table and country jam on Mondays. $30 per night and $15 per night with Passport America. Monthly and long term rates available. Live entertainment and special events. Large hall for meetings, get together etc.

Very nice place and the people are great. Mostly used by winter Texans, visiting from Wisconsin and Michigan. Very clean and well maintained.

The residents at this park/rv resort are friendly and come from all over the country, we spent the winter of 20/21 and 21/22 at Snow to Sun and enjoyed it, facilities I would rate 4-5 star, staff 3 star, sites 4 star, neighbors 5 star, activities 5 star.

Overpriced for what they offer. Small concrete pad that's not even aligned with the RV door. The hook ups are on the right side when the electric cable and tanks' valve is on the left so the sewer hose ended up underneath the RV. $40/night... Stayed 3 nights... waste if money.

Llano Grande was a nice park and we enjoyed our stay there, but it sounded lime there were some issues with pools being heated and communication on events. We dont really use ammenities, so didnt affect us, but could hear grumbling among guests. We had a nice pull thru site, level and plenty long and were close to the laundryroom/pool. Everyone had a golf cart and it was nice to see all the activity going on. There is a big canal behind the park with a levy you can walk on, a nice rec room, a shuffleboard area, horseshoe area, three pools, pickleball courts, a golf course and very nice people. I was bummed that it was so far from the beach. There is a bird viewing state park near, costco and walmart were fairly close and South Padre Island was about an hour away.

Pros: Staff is friendly but, lots of cliquey campers. Spent 10 wks this winter, while the park had plenty of activities, the area doesn't. Hit the museums and lotsa flea mkts within the first month. Been there, done that, won't go back.

Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort’s unique hub-and-spoke circle design allows ample space to maneuver even the biggest RVs.Full hookups 50amp, clubhouse,pool,pontoon boat,bicycles,kayaks. World birding center @ Bentsen State Park. National Butterly Center. Wood Shop. $49 - 69/night.

I stayed here for February and March while visiting my aunt, who snow birds at Fig Tree. While it’s marketed as a 55+ community, they do allow a small portion of spots to be booked by younger singles or couples (I don’t think they would allow families with children, however). They have a wide array of events weekly that can be fun to attend, and the residents and staff are kind and enjoyable. The park is clean but could use some upgrades/fixing up (a fence needs to be replaced, 1-2 washer/dryers are usually out of order, the gate was broken during my stay, etc), but they are actively working on improvements. Pets are welcome, it’s about 45 minutes from South Padre, and great for day trips into Mexico.

Don’t count on their WiFi working (it is also not secured), but I did have great service with Verizon and good service with AT&T.

Overall, I would definitely consider coming back next winter.

Interior roads are in need of repair. Outside loop new.

Stayed here for about a week in July 2023. Very nice pool, hot tub, showers and bathrooms.  Verizon was about 1 bar 4g