Rusk Depot Campground

First & foremost, This park is not well-maintained, and the camping sites are right off of the highway. The splash pad does not work, and the bath house was terribly dirty and freaked of sewage. The group sites are basically a big parking lot- zero grass space between site numbers, although there is shared grass areas along the rows. We moved site numbers within the group sites so that our kids would not be playing right beside the highway (there is a gate, however it’s still concerning), and to slightly distance ourselves from the traffic noise. Beware there is also a large wedding venue directly across the highway & our kids were woken to the sounds of fireworks at night on the weekend. There were large fire ant mounds all along the concrete, and we had to purchase fire ant killer ourselves, as well as deal with some broken glass & the trash can for our site that wasn’t emptied before our stay. I spoke with the staff member working in the office and all she could say was “i will let management know.”

As far as the good: we had 6 kids and 4 adults staying, so despite the concerns and annoyances, we still were able to relax enough and enjoy our break from the daily grind. The kids played outside all day- making walking sticks, fishing a lot, catching bugs (spotted some really neat moths, too), and making up games.

The best: the nearly-daily trains coming right through the campground for various reasons (loading new cars or taking passengers on a local trip). My son is an avid train-lover and this was the main reason we booked our stay here.

Took a chance on this campground because many reviews on various websites  were bad and many were old...Used to be a TX state park but was "decommissioned" evidently. It is not the most maintained campground, but it is a small loop with pull-in sites w/ full hookups. The bathroom didnt seem maintained much, but we have a camper, so don't have need for the bathrooms. The texas state RR train engine car came through one time in the afternoon to turn around to pull the train back to palestine...that's pretty unique and a cool thing at a campsite IMO.

our group loved this place--albeit a very different experience if you are used to well-maintained KOAs etc, but for those that are self contained and just want to hang out/camp, it's a cool place. Had a nice walk around the historic train depot and the little pond behind it. we camped in october and It was very "fall vibes" with all the super tall pine trees and we thought it was a hidden gem and appropriately priced for what you get (ie: it's not priced like a KOA, so don't expect similar amenities--but there are good things about that too--it's not packed with people!!). Not sure I'd make a super long destination out of it if you're  too far away, but We will be back since it's close to camp here!

This is an X-Texas State Park that really needs some overdue TLC.

After making reservations over the phone 163 days prior to arriving and prepaying the entire amount, we were told at check-in there was no record of our reservation. Once we got through that confusion we were had to ask for directions to the campground. No map provided. Even with a reservation campsite are selected once you arrive and drive through the campsite. FHU loop roadway was difficult to maneuver due to the roadway being covered with pine needles which blended it into the non-roadway. We saw most people driving thru campsites thinking it was the road as the FHU loop were mostly pull-thru sites. Limited sites for RVs longer than 30 feet. Most sites were designed for 20 feet or smaller. Not a slide-out friendly campground as most sites were very compact. Minimal vegetation between sites. At our site the wooden picnic table was partially rotted. Parking pad broken up by roots so very uneven surface. The firepit ring was mostly rusted away and was completely filled with ash so our fire was on the pi ash. Sulphuric smelling water. Highway noise. On our last night, the 30 amp breaker kept tripping without a full load. Happened twice within an hour so we scaled back our amp use under 20 just to have some heat during the night. Campground WiFi was probably one of the best we’ve experienced.

Highway noise even in our campsite the furthest from the highway.  Of course, lots of train whistles during depot operations.