Best Tent Camping near Smithville, TX

Had a great night camping at Lake Somerville SP-Nails Creek. It was really quite with only 2 other sites occupied. Lots of coyotes and owls calling throughout the night. The site was not too far from the bathroom and had great privacy. Didn’t use the horse corral, but each site has 1-2.

Tested out our klymit static v2 sleeping pads and LOVED them. It was a bit cold as hadn’t thought to bring an extra blanket and slept without the rain fly—but not too bad.

Tried the Backpackers Pantry Pad Thai and Mountain Home Biscuits and Gravy and all were terrific.

Reserved 157 days prior to arrival. 

PRO 

Site 65 area on trailer door side extra large. 

Wide open view of Lake Bastrop. 

Small park with 10 campsites and one is for the camp host. 

Campsite had a picnic table that could be moved! 

Campsite had smoker grill, charcoal grill and grilling grate on fire ring. 

Campsite lantern post. 

Asphalt pad surrounded by crushed granite. I

ndividual room toilet, sink and shower. 

Trash barrels at every other campsite. 

Lots of birds. 

CON

$6 reservation fee for self-reserved via website. 

Campsites are being reutilized for GLAT units. 

Site 65 campsite asphalt pad slopes towards lake causing difficulties to level front to back. 

Absolutely NO shade site 65. 

No privacy from site-to-site. 

Site 65 sewer connection was inches from next site's picnic table! 

Not dark sky friendly. Nice view of power plant especially at night. Large strings of lights at 5 permanent Airstream sites burning overnight, even when unoccupied. Illuminated the entire campground! 

4 private toilet/shower rooms for 15 campsites and 10 GLAT units. There were lines of people waiting...

No camp host.

No wildlife sightings.

Some highway noise and approach pattern to Austin IAP.

No firewood for sale.

2 bar AT&T.

With summer rapidly approaching for Texas I wanted to cruise down to Austin before the heat waves made it a bit unbearable. In doing so I elected to check out McKinney Falls Park. I will say that going into my stay I had only seen a couple of videos about the park which were less than descriptive as to what to expect from the park. Typically I would pine over reviews in advance but this time I decided to instead let the park surprise me and report the full initial reaction.

I did not book in advance, something I would not advise you to do unless it is winter season at the park. When I arrived there were only 2 campsites left on a Thursday just after noon. Needless to say this park fills quickly when the weather is pleasant. These two sites were literally only available for a single night as the campground was fully booked for the weekend.

I can see why quickly from pulling into the park why it is so popular, the grounds are well maintained, the wildflowers are in bloom making for a wonderful retreat for some amazing hiking and a scenic area for family photos and being only 15 minutes from downtown Austin easily makes this the best retreat away from the city for those wanting a quick weekend get away.

When selecting a campsite I often times like to find an area near the restroom without being directly across from them, having access to this amenity can be useful however proximity to avoid cross traffic is key when using a large campground. This location has restrooms scattered through the various loops with a centralized shower house. Our site was site 69, it backed up to one of the restrooms on our loop and actually had a small private path to the facility which made it unique from other sites and very convenient.

While the spring has brought in recent rains, the site was a it more overgrown than I would have liked considering this area is noted for a variety of snakes, however the tent pad and picnic area itself was cleared so with hesitation we went ahead and set up our overnight home.

The tent pad was a right pebble base, this made sleeping in just a sleeping bag impossible. We had to pad the base with several layers due to the sharp texture of the rocks below. I noticed later when packing the tent we also ended with a small tear at the lip of the tent because of these rocks. I would advise on this surface potentially laying a tarp barrier before placing your tent fo this reason.

Sites were standardly equipped with a picnic table and fire ring. Our site had both water and electricity, which actually were quite handy considering we were having some charging issues with my in car charger. This particular site was located directly beside the camp host.

We used the site as a basecamp for exploring the city in the evening and the following morning before checking out of the park we took a drive to the showers and explored the park fully. The showers had pretty hard water and lower pressure than some but definitely got the job done for bringing us back to life from the muggy day, nearly 75% humidity.

We visited both the upper and lower falls areas as well as the wildflower field. I can easily see after visiting these just why the park stays so busy! The beauty is astounding, but more so the water offers a retreat for those looking to take a dip in the cool flowing pools. While both were down from normal account, we still saw many people diving in and enjoying the day. Others fished along the banks, hiked the many trails surrounding the waters and enjoyed picnics in the designated areas.

My friend wade into the water to see what it felt like and it was still a bit cool for her liking at this time of April, but give it a couple months and that cool temp would be more than welcomed!

All in All despite the few small areas for improvement I couldn't see this park being anything less than a 5! The quality of experience when we visited with not impaired by the numerous guests and though it could change later in the season, for early April when the wildflowers bloomed wild, the waters flowed cool and the camping was not in intolerable heat it was a win!

Tips:

• Book in advance any time other than Winter.

• Bring sunscreen there is little shade near the falls so you will want to protect yourself. In the brief time I was out there I got a little burned on my neck and shoulders.

• Bring drinks, we stopped in the Check In Station and there were only a handful of drinks and supplies. I would suggest bringing a water filter or bringing a cooler of drinks for your visit.

• Beware of snakes and spiders. On our stay we noticed an influx of spiders, while we personally did not see a snake some others were saying they had seen them basking near the banks and on some of the trails. Always be aware!!

• Remember do not pull vehicles into the grass, keep all cars in designated drive areas. Each campsite has a parking area for you to use, if you need additional parking there is more parking near restrooms.

• Water

• 20/30/50 amp

• Sewer

• Extended Cable TV

• Grill

• Picnic Table (each one hand-painted with different design)

• Site Pad: Gravel, level

👍🏻 Pros:

• Pull-thru sites closest to the Colorado River

👎🏻 Cons:• No direct access to get into the river. It drops off too much.

• The back portion of the site got a lot of afternoon sun

📝 Park Notes:

• Dump Station

• Wifi

• Propane sold onsite per pound. Site pickup/dropoff

• Swimming Pool

• Community Center with Laundry facility(1 washer/ 1 dryer), kitchen, showers/bathroom with kitchen, games, TV, shower

• Pets on leash, big dog park

• Each site had it's own trash can

🐦 Wildlife:

• Birds

• Deer

• Squirrels

For more info and a video see https://www.denisevajdak.com/2021/10/colorado-landing-rv-park.html

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

Type of Park: COE 

Check In: 3p Check Out: 2p 

Site#144- Back-In

💲28 per night

• Water

• 20/30/50 amp- pedestal looks pretty new

• Grill- good condition

• Fire Ring with flip over grate

• Metal mesh picnic table with cover, far enough away so awnings came out fully

• Site Pad: Level, crushed granite. Slopes up at the roadside.

👍🏻 Pros:

• On the shore of the lake facing west

• Trees for some shade• Covered picnic table

• Close to restrooms/showers

• Plenty of room between sites

• This site is aligned perfectly. Sit at the picnic table and watch the sun go down between the trees

• Extra parking area across from site(mostly unused and starting to grow up)

👎🏻 Cons:

• No sewer hookups

• Site slopes off steep on edge of site. Watch small children

• Some of the trees around the site have been cut down. They still show on Google maps though.

• Watch for ants

📝 Park Notes:

• Gates closed and locked from 10p to 6p- can get out, but not back in

• 2 Dump Stations- the one closest to the entry gate has you facing into the park

• Restrooms/ Showers

• Playground

• 3 miles of Nature Trails

• Boat ramp is closed- under reconstruction

• Group shelter for rent

• Lots of dumpsters throughout the park

• Sites on the east side of this loop are closer together

• 60s-90s loop was pretty full

• There are Munzees and a Geocache here

🐦 Wildlife:

• Birds: Cardinals, Mockingbirds, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets

• Quite a few deer

We spent 2 nights here in the tent sites a couple weeks ago. We loved it.

There are 8 tent-only sites at the north end of the park - there is a short trail by the restrooms that lead to them. Upsides are that they are removed from most of the park's bustle, so it's easier to relax and enjoy your time "in the woods". The restrooms and shower facility are a ~200-300 ft walk, depending on which site you choose. Each site has a grill, picnic table and fire ring. The sites are not particularly level, but we were able to get two tents on the site with minimal issues. The tent area also has a community grill and fire pit that would make it a great candidate for a group camping event.

There is a small floating dock where you can fish or launch a kayak (remember, you can't park close so you'll have to carry the boat in...good for kayaks, bad for canoes). There is ample room at the park's main launch to put in larger canoes or kayaks without carrying them as far.

The park amenities are fine - swimming area, fishing pier, and fairly clean showers/restrooms. Also, there is a Bucee's 5-10 minutes away for those last-minute needs/forgotten supplies!

All in all, a good weekend, and a good spot to camp!

This campground is located a short distance away from the city of Austin, Texas. The park is managed by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). At the entrance there is an office where you can pay your admission fee and it has a small store where you can pick up supplies. If you arrive late, there is an after hour station to pay your fee which accepts cash or a credit card.

This park has car and RV campsites. There are no primitive sites. There is a campground called the Lake Bastrop North Shore Park located 15 minutes away with primitive sites.

The campsites are all very similar. There is an area to park your car and it will fit a small or midsize RV. There are water and electrical hook-ups which make it very convenient. There are typically plenty of trees for shade. Each site has a picnic table for dining, a grill for outdoor cooking, a pole to hang food or trash and there is a fire ring for a campfire. Of course they also have pad sites where you can place a tent. The pad sites will fit anywhere from a two man tent up to an eight man tent. In addition to the campsites there are a number of small cabins which can hold up to four people. The cabins have some basic amenities and the restrooms are nearby. Most of the campsites and cabins are only a short walk to the lake shore where you can catch a sweet view of Lake Bastrop.

There is limited hiking with one trail that runs along the lakeshore for about 6 miles. The main attraction of this park is living the lake life. Near the campsites one can launch a canoe or kayak. But there is also a boat ramp and boat dock where you can launch larger sized watercraft. If you don’t have your own watercraft you can rent a canoe or kayak from the office and pick it up near the boat dock. It is possible to fish from a boat or the shore. There are a number of community spaces which are great for picnicking. There is a sand volleyball court. And there’s a special area of the lake that has been roped-off and is designated for swimming.

I think that the only possible downside about this park might be that there are always lots of families and energetic kids running around. If you’re seeking peace and quiet this might not be your place. If you are seeking some fun activities, this place is great.

I think that the Lake Bastrop South Shore Park is a 5 star campground for all of the facilities, amenities and considering that the staff are friendly.

I like this park because it's close to home. It's got a good space between sites and is broken into 3 or 4 areas so you're not just piled in like sardines. You can being 4-wheeled vehicles that have a steering wheel. No sewer hookups, but there is a dump station. Unfortunately, subsequent major floods have caused them to lose much of the tree cover. It's great when camping in groups though, which we do quite often. All sites have views of the lake. They have a really good fireworks display on 4th of July. 

Type of Park: Private-owned 

Check In: 4p Check Out: 3p 

Site#79- Back-In

$35 per night($105 total) 

Water 20/30/50 amp 

Picnic Table with concrete pad 

Grass site. No rock or concrete base

👍🏻 Pros: No trees to avoid 

On the end of the line so no one is on the"front" side of the camper 

Good area for camping in groups 

Close to good swimming areas and store 

Close to boat ramp

👎🏻 Cons: Split-level site- table is down a slight hill from parking area. No shade 

Across from the cabins on stilts, lake view is a little blocked 

Cabins are being refurbished and the equipment and materials are stacked near the site(and some construction noise) 

No grill or fire ring at this site

📝 Park Notes: Gates closed and locked from midnight to 6 am on weekends. 

Closed at 10 pm on week days. 

Can bring golf carts, ATV's(machines with steering wheels, not handle bars) 

Dump Station- a little hard to get to for big rigs. Also hard to leave the park from there. You may have to go back into the park to turn around. 

Park Store- has fishing bait and supplies, too 

Cabins are under re-construction There is a Places Munzee here

Boat Ramp

🐦 Wildlife: Birds: Cormorants(Water Turkeys), barn swallows, scissor-tail

For more info, see https://www.denisevajdak.com/2021/04/camping-on-easter-weekend.html