Best Cabin Camping near Shiner, TX

We had a fantastic time at Son’s Geronimo! Their glamping cabins are super nice and had everything we needed including AC, WiFi, full kitchen, fire pits, hammocks etc. We have a family of 6 and the setup was perfect: 2 queen beds and 2 twin beds. The property itself pretty large and has a lot of creek frontage. We kayaked, paddle paddle boarded, swam, fished and more! They also have lots of amenities: 2 pools, 2 hot tubs, volleyball court, basketball court, game room, horseshoe pits and more. We will definitely be back!

It's sad what happened here to the trees in the fire and the lake when the dam burst, but this park is resilient. Please support it by visiting. You can now also walk the old closed golf course. There are little log cabins for rent. I used to live nearby.

Bastrop State Park, even recovering from the 2011 Bastrop complex fire, is a jewel in the state. Wonderful Depression-era buildings and history, hiking, biking, and camping, including very good cabins and facilities for events, reunions, weddings, etc. Connects to Buecher State Park near Smithville. A great stop between Central Texas and the Piney Woods.

We came here on a day trip and were very pleased with the park. It didn’t really feel like Texas as we walked through the almost tropical looking forest. We enjoyed the lake and rented a paddle boat. We decided next trip we would rent a canoe and head up the river. The park offers camping and cabin for overnight stays.

Cabin staff are available as well as tent campgrounds. Trails are pretty. Beware of snakes, the poisonous kind we saw almost everyday.

Been going here for a few years never really packed . Good for kayaking. There’s a lake and flowing river. Believe San Marcos river. One cabin available for rent

Buesher State park is a great spot to take the family and relax! There is lots to do and it is a pretty good sized Texas park. They have tent, group, and RV sites, along with cabins and screened shelters alongside the lake. You cannot swim in in the lake, but they do have boat and tackle rentals at the park. It makes for a great place to fish with the family.

The park is very shaded with lots of pine trees, but a fire did wipe out a lot of the trees on the Northern side of the park towards Bastrop. So many of the longer trails are not as shaded or are still in the process of repair. I went on a trail that was about 5 miles long and it was very nice. It was moderately challenging, a little muddy, but so much to see. Beautiful wildflowers of ever color were growing and I saw about eight white tail deer. Also a great place to birdwatch and take photography.

The facilities are old, but well maintained and there is a store on site that sales snacks, wood, and souvenirs. The have a nice playground on site for the kids and the campsites are very spacious.

Also if you have the time there is a 12 mile scenic road that connects Buesher State Park with Bastrop State Park that will take you about thirty minutes. It is a twisty, hilly road that has some really great views of fields of wildflowers and tall pines. You can also see where the fire took out part of the forest and is beginning to regrow. Also Bastrop state park is a great place to visit for some challenging hikes!

Bastrop would be a great place for youth groups or family reunions. It has a little for everyone and is conveniently located about thirty minutes from Lockhart where you can get, in my opinion, some of the best BBQ in Texas. This state park has tent, group, RV, group cabin w/ barracks, cabins (some are wheelchair accessible), and a dining hall (also wheelchair accessible).

There is a swimming pool that is run by the local YMCA that is open during the summer, plus a huge playground that has disability swing set, which makes this park a 5 STAR for me. Some of the building were burned down in a fire six years ago and have since been replaced, so the bathroom and other facilities are brand spankin new!

There are some great fishing spots along with some of my favorite hiking trails. My favorite trail is the scenic overlook trail which starts at the top of the lookout and travels 2 miles down through wildflowers and over streams. It is a shorter trail, but it is a more challenging one. Some of the longer trails have been closed since the fire and flood, but you can connect a few of the others to make for one good one. Everything is so colorful here.

The walk-in tent sites are some of my favorites. The have a wonderful look and feel to them. Very scenic and off on their own away from noise from other campers. Also don’t forget to take the 12 mile scenic drive over to Buesher State park, it is well worth it!

Buescher State Park is about 40 miles outside of Austin and a short drive from Bastrop Texas. The park is great for campers who like to fish. The 25 acre park lake offers some great shoreline and kayak or canoe fishing. You can rent a canoe or bring your own. You can use the boat launch or enter the lake from the Lakeview Campsite. The campsite have flat concrete pads for campers and RVs. The sites have good tree cover and a nice level of privacy which can be rare at state sites. They have all the facilities you need from group recreation facilities to new cabins on the lake. The campground was less than half full in June. They have a tackle loaner site and a small camp store.

We stopped here for an overnight stop on our road trip. The staff was very helpful when we called to reserve a spot earlier in the day. The park is clean with level spots. It looks like there are a lot of people who stay for extended periods. We got a neat treat at check-in with recommendations for more treats in town. The office also has a cute shop with the basics, if you need them, and some gifts. There are also a couple of cabins available if you don't have a camper.

Pros:

• Quick check-in

• 176-acre park with 40 campsites on the south shore of Lake Bastrop.

• Level site concrete pad surrounded by crushed granite.

• Aluminum picnic table, lantern pole, BBQ grill and fire pit with cooking grill.

• Cleaned BBQ grill and fire pit upon arrival.

• Very private as the site was surrounded by heavy brush.

• Even though Spring Break and the campground was packed, it was quiet.

• Firewood is available for purchase from Park.

Cons:

• LCRA $6 on-line reservation fee.

• Long waits for toilet/shower. All are family type facilities with the toilet, sink and shower as one unit behind a lock door, so one showering person ties up a toilet. There are 8“units” for 40 campsites PLUS cabins.

• Toilets/showers could of used more frequent cleaning as they are heavily used.

We loved everything about Son’s River Ranch! The staff is great, the place was very clean and we had a blast! Our glamping cabin was nice, it was well worth the money to not to have to set up a tent and do all that work. Plus the AC kept us very cold and comfortable at night and the kitchenette had everything we needed to cook and make meals. We rented a cabana for the day too and it was fun to hang out and relax by the river and BBQ. The next day we tubed and kayaked. They have a wristband you can buy for the day that is good for unlimited kayaking and tubing, we did both! The trip took about 2 hours by tube and an hour by kayak. They have shuttles to bring you back up to River Ranch when you are done. I highly recommend this place!

The weather and the calendar aligned and there happened to be an open spot, so I took it, loaded up and headed out. 

Length of Stay: 2 Nights

Type of Park: State 

Check In: 2p Check Out: 12p

💲 Cost per night$25+$5 entry fee per person per day 
Discounts: Texas Parks Pass Total Cost$25

📝 Site#24 Notes:

Pull Thru
Water
Max amp: 50 
Sewer
Grill
Fire Ring w/Grate
Hook for hanging lantern or other items
Picnic Table: concrete Site Pad: level, asphalt, long enough for truck and trailer and extra space

👍🏻 Pros:
• Full hookups
• Overlooking hillside
• No one was camping on one side of me
• A little shade in the afternoon
• A couple tall Loblolly Pines still stand at this site

👎🏻 Cons:
• Because so many of the trees are missing, you hear more of the road noise from Highway 21 and 95
• No privacy between spots
• Spot is barely off main road

📝 Park Notes:
• Restrooms
• Showers
• Dump Station
• Munzees and Geocaches in the Park
• Trails- some are pretty challenging, steep
• Pool
• Pavilion
• Cabins
• Structures built by CCC(Civilian Conservation Corps)
• When you enter Bastrop or Buescher, You can drive or bike between the parks(11 miles@ 30 mph max), but I would not tow/drive an RV.

🐦 Wildlife:
• Birds: Woodpeckers, Cardinals, Bluejays, Mockingbirds, Misc small birds

💜 Highlights of this trip:
• Drove around this park and to Buescher State Park
• Made a run through Buc-ee's
•🍕 Neighbors Kitchen& Yard- I definitely recommend the Pepperoni Rolls and the Prickly Pear Margarita! Great view overlooking the Colorado River. Live music sometimes.
• Camping alone
• Glad I went when I did. The very next day, a "controlled" burn got out of control and burned over 800 acres!

More info at my blog: https://www.denisevajdak.com/2022/01/mlk-weekend-camping.html

Absolutely recommend this park! It’s a very well kept, peaceful getaway from reality. I have been camping here for years. My favorite no doubt. There are so many trails to walk! Playgrounds for the children, and the river is a short walk from you’re camp.

This is a great park for families. There is all kinds of activities like biking, hiking, swimming, fishing, a playground, kayak/paddle board rentals, etc. The campground is small for RVs, only about 19 sites and there’s a few with full sewer hookups, the rest with water/electric. The sites on the outer loop are spaced out a bit more then the sites on the inner loop. We had some noisy neighbors with loud music but otherwise I would guess it’s a pretty tame park.. highly recommend and we’ll be back!

Enjoyed a two night stay during COVID era. Many parks closed, believe this state park had restrictions on how many campers could stay overnight. We reserved 2 night online, and arrived just as the friendly ranger was closing for the day. Good location; easy to find off of freeway. Wooded RV sites with paved pads. Several areas were closed. Dam area under construction. Overall, a very relaxing, pleasant experience. Very quiet. Boat rentals appeared to be closed, and small lake looked a tad stagnant and overgrown with aquatic plants. Wouldn’t plan on fishing in “stocked lake.” No collecting firewood; charcoal fires only within ring. Comical amount of paperwork stuck by rangers/park hosts to our van the first morning.

The tent camping spots in this somewhat small state were spacious. They had both a grill and a fire pit, picnic table, water spigot, and a "lantern hook" (a giant pipe thing like for a basketball hoop, but with a little hook sticking out of it. Each site is supposed to accommodate 2 cars, but about half of them only had parking for 1. Fortunately we got there early and were able to switch. Try to be nice to the camp hosts, they're volunteers and when I got grumpy at the one who told us we couldn't park with our wheels hanging off the pad, I thought she might cry.

The website doesn't get updated easily, so ignore any reports of tubing. There are no tube rentals there and no convenient, nearby tubing put-ins/take-outs. Don't try to tube the Zedler Mill Paddling Trail. The water is super slow and full of logs and if you suck at tubing it could take you 10 hours.

We enjoyed the palmetto palms and boggy area. We couldn’t believe we were in Texas. There is a nice swimming area for children and a few good fishing spots. The best thing was that we had a Bucees about 2 miles away. We bought great BBQ sandwiches and the best fudge available here in Texas.

Texas State Park with 37 sites. Nestled in a wooden river area with lush vegetation. Several hiking trails that are easy on the joints.

The hiking here is alright. Good sights to see, but it isn't my top priority in Texas.

Palmetto is a neat micro climate in the middle of central Texas. There are palmetto plants everywhere. The camp sites are slightly covered and there are a few trails that trek through the swamp like terrain.