Birch Creek Unit — Lake Somerville State Park

Great spot, all the txpw amenities, friendly as can be staff, clean restrooms, well maintained campsites and nature. 14+ miles of equestrian trails! GREAT birdwatching, several different species this time of year. Leaf cutter ants all over the trails! Active wildlife at night with coyote hunts making a good bit of commotion. I would have given 5 stars but the fishing pier is still out of commission from flood damage.

I’m reviewing the hike in site on the Lake Somerville trail way, entering at the Birch Creek Unit (northern side of the lake). It’s around a three mile hike to the campground area. The hike has a few nice views of the lake and a few nice fields here and there. Once you make it to the camping area, you’ll find an outhouse, some benches, a fire pit and even a little well. Footsteps and a few coyotes can be heard in the evening. The campsite is close to a little meandering river if you’re willing to do a little bit of bushwhacking , just be careful as it’s easy to get turned around. Plus there are probably some crocodiles around, who knows. Anyway, I’d recommend this trail/campground, I didn’t see anyone once I got a few miles in and really enjoyed being close to a little river, plus the wildlife.

• Water

• 20/30 amp(had 50 amp outlet, but only 20& 30 breakers)

• Grill

• Fire Ring with adjustable height grate

• Picnic Table

• Site Pad: asphalt. Site was just long enough for my 24' camper and my truck and not much room between.

👍🏻 Pros:

• Near the water with a trail to get there

• Green space between the site and neighbors

• Good kayaking area

👎🏻 Cons:

• The spot is tight getting in. My 10' high camper had low hanging branches on it(but they were soft, not stiff). Lots of vines/shrubs across from the site, so no extra room there. 

📝 Park Notes:

• Park does not have a gate, so it doesn't close

• Dump Station for each camping loop

• Restrooms/ Bath House

• Boat ramp

• Fishing jetty (pier is closed)

• This campground is better for winter camping. Great buffer from wind and neighbors. Only a handful of sites have direct access to the water.

• Lots of trails

• There are Munzees and Geocaches here

• Group pavilion/kitchen available

• 2 group shelters available

🐦 Wildlife:• Birds: Shore birds, egrets, herons, cardinals, mockingbirds

• Deer

• Raccoons(I saw their tracks, but not the critters)

More info an video at https://www.denisevajdak.com/2021/08/my-birthday-weekend-2021.html

Site 23 was better (stayed in this one twice). Wider, nice view of lake. Not very long, but easier to get into.

Well maintained and plenty of trails around the lake. Enjoyed two night here. Site 108

This was our first time here at lake Somerville birch creek. It was a great one. We stayed in old hickory loop. Lots of trees and plenty of shade. Short trip from Houston so we will definitely be going back!

This is the second time we have stayed here. This time was from Christmas Eve until the Sunday after. This place doesn’t disappoint. There are nice hiking trails. The lake views are beautiful. All the campsites appear to be very well kept. My husband went fishing for a bit. He didn’t catch anything, but he witnessed another gentleman catch a 20” fish, so we know there are fish in the lake. We stayed in campsite 28, which is a great space...unless it’s windy. Had great internet service, which is unusual for us in a state park.

Well spaced spots.  Fairly level pads with table, fire ring, 30/50 amp electrical, water.  We didn't see any covered tables, but all usable spots had concrete pads for tables.  Like a lot of east-Texas camping areas, LSSP was also devastated by Hurricane Harvey and is still recovering, but don't let that stop you, but instead level-set your expectations.  Sites are well dispersed, but some appear to be no longer in use.  In July 2020, there were very few folks in the park, partly, I'm sure due to Covid-19 and well, its July in Texas!  Typically, and as expected, gnats were really bad at night, but mosquitos were tolerable.  Just be prepared and you'll be fine.  Great kayaking and very little motorized boat traffic, but likely due to current situation.  Trails are numerous, but not well marked.  We didn't see a lot of hog damage on the trails, so maybe the staff has been working on that.  Good amount of wildlife  Equestrian area looked like it was restored and  back-in-business.   Will be returning.  While the Birch Creek and Nails Creek sections are visible across the lake from each other, there is a long drive (15 minutes in a vehicle around the lake) to get between them, so plan your time accordingly.

We stayed in the Old Hickory loop. Each site had trees surrounding it and they are decently spaced out. The park has trails within it, as well as the Trailway for long hikes and mountain biking. The day use area is nice for swimming in the lake.

Lots of shaded coverage, amazing trails, amazing views.

We camped at the horse spot. These camping spots are mostly spacious and private - plenty of shade trees. We walked some trails, but they were mostly flattened/destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. Hopefully by now they have been rebuilt and are just as beautiful as I imagined them. If I were still local to the area, I would definitely go back, and definitely recommend others to go as well.

We loved our campsite. We were lucky to get one that already had a shelter over the table. There was plenty of room between campsites, we couldn’t even see our neighbors. We had a small trail right behind our site that went down to the water. I was so pleased that they stayed open during the “Shelter in Place”, so we could actually get some fresh air.

Trails were great! We went on several long hikes. Lake was great...but pretty chilly most of the time we were there.

Bathrooms were nicely maintained

We stayed at site 77 and I really liked the privacy of most campsites. This spot had easy access to the bathrooms and to the trail to the lake. My husband and friend attempted to fish on the lakeshore but were unsuccessful. The trail system is apparently expansive, but had been closed while were there due to some flooding. We did explore the Wilderness Run and Sunset trails, both of which we enjoyed. The greenery is very odd here - stark contrast between bald (dead?) trees and bright green grasses and shrubs. Either way, we had a great time camping here over a weekend.

Sommerville has been wrought with flooding and hogs...both running a 'could be' beautiful landscape. Many of the rails were unusable and those available were ruined with hog wallers. Hope the State can get it up and beautiful again soon.

Nice quite little camp,ground with easy lake swimming area. Good time.

The lake is fairly warm, large amount of bass, huge gar, croppy, And catfish. when the water is right you can take a flat bottom boat up to any of the creeks. Overall a great campground with decent facilities. They do have horse stalls at many of the campsites so definitely bring your horse and trot around the lake !! They do have rv and tent sites with a lot of trails that are mowed down and well taken care of. Lots of picnic areas and covered areas S well!