Best Glamping near Bowie, TX

BELOW AVERAGE KOA IN sanger/NORTH TEXAS I have a brand new 2020 travel trailer& I stayed at this park for 12 months. Usually the rent and Utility bill was never ready on time especially after Kevin left. Kevin was wonderful but everything went down hill in the las 6 months. The new manager kicked out all of the full timers AKA"the back row group" and kept the favorites on the other side by her camper. She didn't even adhere to the 30 day notice required on KOA SANGER TEXAS website. THE Letter was dated 9-30-20 and I didn't receive until 10-5-2020. The park apparently is dealing with sewer and septic tank problems and had too many residents according to state or local codes. I would not recommend this place except for one or two nights, but why stay here when wal mart parking is free for RV'S IN Gainesville and Denton. Very overpriced/ Glad I left!!

Shortly after stepping into the park one is greeted by a quaint little pond with many of the RV units surrounding the water. Ducks and geese flock in the area and create a fun atmosphere to spend time in. Horses, donkeys, and other assortments of animals have are kept on the premises. It gives a true Texas countryside feel in the park.

We spent time here shortly after getting our own camper. It is also nice being close to town to have access to things as needed while still being far enough away to feel away from it all. Aesthetically, it is certainly one of the nicest RV sites I have been too.

We found Lake Ray Roberts as a nice swimming spot near Dallas to go cool down during the hot Texas summers and we LOVE it to go grill and hang out as a day long activity. So when my husband and I decide to start camping 🏕 we chose this park as our first trial, and we found it a bit inconvenient for Car camping since the spots are walk up and you gotta leave your car behind in a parking lot. Also, is very primitive style, so clean bathrooms and close-by water is not really part of the package. We loved the view from our spot and if you are up for a primitive experience within a park, then this is great. Just not for us and the type of camping we wanna do 😊

One of the more expensive Texas state parks. Standard electric at 25/night. Large bathrooms and lots of trash bins. Actual pay phones (who knew those still existed?) the trails are for DORBA (Dallas Off Road Bicycle Association) so maybe that explains the horrible lack of signage. Bicycle fix it station.

Great security. I was with my 3 year old after dark, maybe 8PM at the playground on the water. No lights so I used our lamplight. I noticed a truck in the parking lot with its lights on. We were there maybe 90 minutes and the truck kept moving. When we left, they left. I spotted it down the road and saw they were camp rangers. Bodes well that they were keeping tabs on the facilities even if it was just a mom and kid.

Very clean and moist spots are secluded. Lots of REALLY great primitive spots if that's your thing.

Campground Review:

To Check Out Lake Arrowhead State Park CLICK HERE

To See My Full VIDEO Review Of Lake Arrowhead State Park CLICK HERE

I have passed by the sign to Lake Arrowhead State Park probably hundreds of times and never stopped in. It was always intriguing, but like most places in your own backyard you tend to neglect sometimes the most obvious places to stop in for some rest and relaxation while trying to run off to the next big adventure up the road. But finally I had enough and just had to make a stop after seeing somethings online which swayed me to take the short exit off Highway 287 in North Texas.

Pulling into the park, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I have heard about this park mostly as a fishing destination, however what really brought me to the park were the Prairie Dogs. Yes, you heard me right… the Prairie Dogs. I am an animal lover, and anytime I get an opportunity to see so many cute free roaming animals, I simply cannot pass

I pulled in mid-day and was greeted by the Park Ranger who extended a map and trail map and gave me a brief understanding of the points of interest. Day use was only $4, something I felt would be totally worth the value for being able to have a day away. I mean, where else can you enjoy an entire day away for under $10?

The roads of the park are paved and wide enough for two lanes of traffic. I could easily see why boaters and RVers alike would enjoy coming out to the property based on how well maintained the roadways were. I first trolled through the campground itself to check out the three different options for camping.

I will say that of the camping options I would by far prefer the improved campsites at this campground. While primitive camping is great and I typically camp without amenities, I found that the primitive camping sites here had much higher grass and no fire rings or items which could be used for such. In this area of North Texas, the high grasses typically attract snakes, rattlesnakes specifically, so I couldn’t see myself trying to call this area home when other areas were just a few dollars more and were not only improved but also maintained at a higher standard. Price points varied from $10 for primitive camping to $22 with full hookups.

As I moved forward toward the lake a bit more the day use area was wide open with great lake views from all angles. The fishing pier and beach were along the same shoreline and because of recent rains the water levels were very high. This brought many of the critters right up to the grass including several breeds of waterfowl. And perhaps it was because of the recent rains, or perhaps it was because of the amount of in and out traffic leaving behind food, but this area was filled with Prairie Dog mounds and some very bold little furry friends.

I spent the better part of an hour grabbing some great photos of the infamous residents, the Black Tailed Prairie Dog, almost within petting distance. They were not fearful at all and instead were very curious and comical.

Leaving this area I moved on to the other side of the day use are which had a large boat ramp with plenty of parking for trailers, a basketball court, playground, picnic shelters and canoe and kayak rentals. This area seemed to be the busiest area in the park with several people out chatting after coming off the lake, some people having a late lunch under the shelters and even a family which looked like they had been swimming.

While this is not the most improved campground and facility I have seen at a Texas park and while I am sure they do have some room to work on modernizing, as a whole I would give the experience here five stars. The staff I encountered while at the park were all very friendly, the access to the lake was plentiful, the programs they offer were many and there were enough campsites to suit the needs of campers even on busy holiday weekends.

TIPS:

• Check out the Disc Golf course which runs alongside both the Onion Creek Trail and Dragonfly Trails.
• Get your supplies before you come out to the campground in neighboring communities Wichita Falls, Jolly or Henrietta. Though the entry station sells firewood there are no additional supplies sold on the grounds.
• Bring your camera and go to the beach! This area is the most populated by the Prairie Dogs and will make for some of the most lasting memories of the park. This area is a MUST SEE!!

Product Review:

To Check Out Mountain House Products CLICK HERE

To See My Full VIDEO Review Of The Product Including A Recipe CLICK HERE

As a part of a program I belong to in conjunction with the website The Dyrt, where I serve as a Ranger, sometimes I am sent items to test along my many travels. I recently received an exciting package from Mountain House, an amazing company which provides food selections for hikers, preppers, travelers and even military usage in simplistic freeze dried form.

Information & Specs:

• Name: Mountain House Beef Stew
• Retail Price:
• Servings: 2.5 Serving Pouch

Shipping Information:

From the time I corresponded with Mountain House and the Dyrt to the day I received the item there was less than a week’s wait. I have previously also received items from Mountain House through other companies which sell and distribute their items, again with little to no delay on receipt.

First Impressions:

The packaging for this product was slightly different than the item I had previously ordered, a Pro-Pack version of Mountain House which is designed and packed for higher altitudes and thus is sealed much more tightly. The directions on the packaging were clear and concise and it seemed as though it would be pretty simplistic to prepare.

Field Testing:

In previous experiences with freeze-dried meals I had been a little less than excited by their flavors, many seemed flat or chalky tasting. Being that I am a texture eater as well I don't like the off putting feel of something being soggy when I eat, so I was very eager to see how Mountain House held up to the challenge, especially when it came to stew, something which typically can go pretty soggy when preparing.

At my location I wanted to test how easy the pouch would be to prepare, how far it would stretch and also how I could potentially easily incorporate it into my camping in a variety of ways. The meal itself was very easy to prepare with very little requirements for doing so. Basically I only needed a small bit of water and something to heat it to make it work, this I found to be key when I do more minimalist camping or backpacking. I prepared the meal in this way first to get an overall feel of the meal and gauge if I would respond well to the taste and texture. It was a success! After a total of less than 20 minutes to fully prepare the meal from start to finish, I was very pleased by the flavors, the perfect texture of the meat and potatoes and how the carrots and peas seemed to just melt in my mouth.

Though I often travel alone, making 2.5 servings more than enough to send me to bed in a food coma for the evening, upon occasion I do have additional people traveling with me. This made me think, what if I needed to stretch this meal a bit further because there were two people starving after a busy day? How would I do that? I put a lot of thought into options and concluded that there would be several ways you could do so.

If continuing to be on a minimalist prep you could simply take tortillas and with the added starch find a way to make the contents stretch. But what about having my full camp set up at my disposal, how then could I stretch my meal to accommodate another person? My conclusion was to prepare a delicious meat pie by adding just two ingredients (puff pastry and mushrooms). With this idea, you could of course add any items you want and make your pies as large or as small as you would like. I would also suggest peppers or onions if you really want to expand the contents without taking away from the flavors. These are all items which compliment the flavors of the pouch well.

I prepared with a single puff pastry 4 small pies and still had enough left over in the pouch that I could have made a solo meal out of that alone. By far Mountain House is one of the most diverse and flavorful providers of freeze-dried meals. No wonder around 70% of all freeze-dried meals sold in the US are Mountain House.

Rating:

If I were rating this item I would have no questions in giving it a 5 of 5. I feel like the content of this items package standing alone is enough to speak for itself as the robust flavors bring you that little sense of home while in the wilderness. It is designed for the every day camper to have something which is easy to prepare but has the ability to transform into much more than a pre-packaged meal. This item is perfect well beyond the bounds of camping however, I am most excited about adding this item to my supplies for emergencies as well in case of power outages during cold winter months of bad weather which can often leave me without power living in the country.

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Midland USA

I have seen this place a million times living in the community nearby and never thought to check to see if they all tent campers. I was shocked to find out they do accommodate them so I passed through and checked out the grounds and wanted to let people know it exists!

There are two entries at the front of the property each easily accessed from the highway. Though they are gravel they are easy to navigate but do hold a little water in the rain. As you drive into the camp there are 4 main rows of camping, mostly in use by RVs however they do also accommodate tent campers. These sites can be picked up nightly or for more long term use so many people at this park have called this their home for a bit. Despite obvious signs of the long term dwellers, the grounds are clean and well maintained and don't look cluttered like some long term campgrounds will begin to look.

The site offers nice restrooms with showers, a bbq for general use, a rec room perfect for having your breakfast or dinner or perhaps a game of cards with friends and has connections for RVs up to 50 amp as well as a dump station.

For the tent camper sites are wide enough to be comfortable to move around and have scattered picnic tables. The tent camping sites are located on a grassy area next to the pond so they are not squished between big rigs and have a bit more privacy.

This site might not look as elaborate as some, but it more than makes up for the few things you do not have by its friendly staff and on site mechanic.

TIPS:

• Call in advance if looking for an RV site, they do have several spaces available but during certain times of the year they do fill up as they are centrally located to many things.

• Check out the LBJ Grasslands which are nearby when visiting this location, a great get away for some outdoor activities.