Best Glamping near Shepherd, TX

Lake Livingston State Park is one of our regular visits. During the school year it is hard to head out on a Friday, drive 2-3 hours and then setup in the dark for a weekend camping trip. Lake Livingston is just over an hour from our house and has lots to offer. They recently rebuilt one of the camping loops to where now this is one of the few state parks in Texas that have Full Hookups. Not all loops have Full Hookups but a couple do.

Like most state parks in Texas the sites here are large and offer a lot of shade. Each site will have a table and a fire ring. There are tons of hiking trails and geocaches throughout the park. It is also close to shops in town so that if you forget something you are only about 15 minutes from a Walmart. There is a shop on site that has most of the essentials.

We have stayed here several times with family, some in tents and some in pop up trailers. The bathrooms are old, Texas is supposed to be getting new bathrooms in all state park facilities but had not gotten to this one as of our last visit. Park is larger, best to do with bikes if possible. Limited lake access but good fishing spots abound. Tower to climb, trails to hike, firewood to burn...

This has got to be one of the best campgrounds! We stay here every time we pass through Texas. The campground is huge and offers so many great amenities. People are always super friendly. We have made the most connections of any stay at this campground because of it. I always want to get one of the paved sites at the front because they look so nice! But they are usually taken. It’s so great having an Amazon hub locker right next to the campground as well! You can take your kayak right on to the lake from the access area on the campground. Bathrooms are nice and clean. And the pool / hot tub are open until 11pm which is rare for Thousand Trails!

Lake Livingston State Park is a fantastic state park for water activities. The fishing, boating, canoeing, kayaking and paddle boarding is all fantastic.

Campsites: The sites were all well maintained with the best spots being in Piney Shores & Red Oak. We were in spot #69. It had a great view but lacked in flat playing space for young children and hammock trees.

Trails: There were a few trails in the park, none of which were all that long. The main Trinity Trace Trail was flat dirt, good for young bikers. Though trails are short, they connect so you could do a few trails for a longer run/hike if you so desired.

Bathrooms: Each campground loop has one bathroom and shower. They can be a bit of a walk if you don’t have a close site. They appear to be older but maintained and cleaned well enough.

Park Specific Activities: Getting on the water was awesome, it’s the largest lake in Texas, so lots to explore. Fishing was fantastic. We caught bass, perch and catfish and lots of them! Getting in the lake left some to be desired. The bottom has many large rocks, tree stumps and is very mossy. Swimming can be fun but a little dangerous and slippery. The duck pond and frog pond are nothing to get excited about. We saw no birds in the bird blind and the frog pond is so small you almost can’t see it. We did hear a frog though.

Other: Connected to the park store they had a small educational space for young kids with a functioning beehive. The kids (ages 2-6) loved it. The park store is not open Mondays and Tuesdays. Kayak, canoe and paddle board rentals were only Thursday to Sunday 8:30-3:30. $10-20/rental. The pool was not functioning when we went in August 2018. They have a small amphitheater and near by a room available for rent which can have 50 guests. It was air conditioned and had nice hardwood floors.

In Summary: We would absolutely recommend it for water activities and relaxation. It’s a beautiful spot! We wouldn’t recommend it for just birding or hiking but the park as a whole is great.

We loved this campground. Stayed one night on our way to Houston. Then We stayed one more night on our way back home. Site 18 was pretty level and had full hook ups. The campground overall was really very quiet and peaceful. Was approx 2 miles off highway 59. Had a great playground area for kids and we loved walking down to the lake. The lady running the office was super kind and very helpful. If we ever get back to this area again we will be sure to stay for more than one night.

We had a wedding to attend in the area and Woodsy Hollow worked out well. Nice and quite with a small lake. It seems on the left side of the campground is for long term sites so make sure you pick a site on the right side as you drive in. Check-in was quick and easy and the lady checking us in was super nice.

ATT service was good.

If you like quiet, fishing, and trees this campground is for you. Full hookups, friendly staff, laundry, and showers.

This place is magical. My family and I have been coming here for the past 5 years, and it never gets old. There are so many great things about this place. The hiking is amazing- the views are breathtaking. One of the most popular things to do here though is to fish. One of the reasons is because Lake Livingston is one of the largest lakes in the State. This park is just an hour away from Houston, which is great. We have made a long weekend out of staying here, and then traveling to Houston to do some site-seeing and eating, and then head back home. You can do so many different water activities because the lake is so big. We bring our boat and fish, tube, and water ski. We have a blast. I also love bringing my stand up paddle board and do a ride in the early in the morning. There are so many beautiful birds to see in the morning on the water, I love it. There is also store nearby that you can rent kayaks and canoes to take on the water, not sure how much they are to rent, though. I look forward to coming here every year, and it seems like I experience something new every time! Again, this place is pure magic.

Beautiful site overlooking the lake. My only wish would have been cleaner bathrooms.

Tent site we stayed at was great.  Well shaded and not too close to other camper sites

This camp ground pretty much checks every box for us. There’s full hook ups for a low price. The sites are spaced apart with lots of trees. The trails are wide and well kept. The lake is huge. There’s even “self service” kayak rentals. And a swing set and slide built well enough for adults! We were here in February and it was maybe half full or less. Very quiet. Dog friendly. Mild weather. Really nice place!

There is a “board walk trail” that is quite literally a board walk through the forest. It’s just a 1 mile loop and has a few benches and attractions, and this would be an excellent handicap option. It was a beautiful walk, even in the winter.

The campground is heavily wooded and the campsites are well spaced. We stayed only night but would definitely consider staying here again.

Nice spot north of Houston surrounded by trees. Lots of them. It was nice and quiet and very dark at night. Swimming at the lake was way better than Lake Conroe! Recommend having a life jacket when swimming. Highly recommend camping here.

You can have a horseback ride and steak dinner at the park for a reasonable fee and meet some interesting people. Swim in the lake, hike the trails, and kayak. The screen shelters here are more like little cabins and are right on the lake. Watch out for the mosquitoes.

The spots are a good distance from each other and have lots of trees

All the RV pads are nice concrete pads, with ample space between sites. Piney Shores is the best loop with full hookups and nice view of the lake.

Clean, plenty of spaces, tents and RV’s. Nice fire pit. Nice lake view and water fun!

Nice park with some nice, short, well maintained trails. Not much to do in town, a few shops.

We camped for 3 nights in March in our camper. This state park is small but very clean with trails, water activities, and more. Sites had very nice concrete pads. We stayed at site 117 in Pin Oak loop. The site was large and backed to woods. There were some low spots that held water. Our kids loved riding the trails and our loop with other kids. Didn’t have any luck fishing due to winds but enjoyed hikes and trail riding. Trailheads start in this loop. We would camp here again.

Love this state park. Well maintained, lots of room, several rv sites on the water. We will return.

We really enjoyed this park with multiple trails and places for the kids to play

Really wonderful trails, historic tower, decent playground and its under construction for some really cool things coming soon! Be careful about lake access from the newest camping loop, private property gets in the way...

We arrived 151 days after making our on-line reservations for the very busy Memorial Day weekend in Piney Shore Loop campground. This was our fourth camping adventure at Lake Livingston State Park in the Piney Shore Loop. 

Pros EXTREMELY quiet during the Memorial Day weekend. Even tho not backed up to 

lake, nice view of lake from Site#55. Double concrete pad as it is an accessible campsite. Very level concrete pad; no need to do any type of leveling. Nice early morning shade onto Site#55 Very good privacy from neighbor Site#54 and Site behind#48 Park ranger drive-thru about every four hours Restroom/showers good working condition, clean, ample hand soap and toilet paper. Recently paved park roads very nice upgrade Mosquitoes were drawn to those who strung lots of lights throughout their site, so many did not use those lights which resulted in good dark conditions for night sky viewing. 1-2 bars AT&T cell service. Lowes, Walmart and small HEB close by n the town of Livingston Cons. Campers requiring mobility assistance may find this campsite very challenging, even tho it does have a double wide concrete pad. Site#55 labeled as accessible but is very accessible unfriendly as it is not close to campground toilet shower facilities, fire ring is up a gravel hill on driver side of camper. Piney Shore Loop sewer hook up required 20 feet of stinky slinky. No privacy from Site#56. No privacy from the campground road. Picnic table in mud hole nearly the size of the table and very unleveled with one end higher than the other end. Unable to move picnic table as it is chained to concrete pylon. Picnic table not wheelchair accessible. No afternoon-to-evening shade what-so-ever. Site#56 campers permitted their dog to run without a leash. No park WIFI

Fairly spaced out, nice and relaxed. Southern hospitality really played out when some neighbors gave us their extra firewood. Mosquitoes were terrible due to the rain, among the worst I’ve seen as far as mosquitoes go. Well maintained restrooms as well.

This was a great park for family camping. The campsites were fairly large and all the campsites together weren’t very noisy with everyone being around. The restrooms and showers were clean there is only two showers on each side male and female there is no family shower or a parent shower/restroom. The park is spread out so do explore they do have an archery range so definitely check out the events they have going out on before you go and be sure to register. The fishing pier is really nice and clean they do not have any fishing pole holders however their marina store is very nice they do have some things and activities for kids they do have bait and they do have a few necessities that you would need for camping as well. The only downside for when we were there the mosquitoes for some reason were really bad at campsite however when we were closer to water they were fine and spray didn’t help.

We camped for 3 nights in March in our travel trailer. The site was large and had a nice concrete pad. We were at site 117 in Pin Oak Loop. Our site was very large and lots of trees but did have some low spots that held water. The bathrooms were decent. The trails were clean and accessed easy from our campsite. The kids loved riding bikes on trails as well as around our loop. Didn’t have much luck fishing due to winds. Small park but very clean with lots of nature.