Need to get away from it all? Then come down to Texas and enjoy the Texas State Park system. If you live in Texas, well there’s absolutely no excuse not to be camping here. The parks are spread out so whatever activities you like, you will find a park nearby.

Also, save yourself some money and get the State Park Pass. The Texas State Parks Pass is good for one year and includes:

  • Unlimited free entry to 89 state parks for you and your guests (pass holder must be present to get free entry).
  • Discounts on camping, you pay half price for the second night, when you stay two or more consecutive nights in the same campsite. You also get park store purchases and equipment rental discounts.
  • Other special offers.

A Texas State Parks Pass costs $70 and is issued to one person but you can purchase a second pass for someone who lives at the same address as you for $25. We have never felt the need to do this, as we travel together. We purchase this pass every year and think it is one of the best deals around.

Now, we have been through a lot of state, county, chain, and private campgrounds in our 35+ years of travel trailer ownership. I can say without reservation that Texas has the nicest state parks for camping. Sure, you have heard me talk about how the forests are not maintained as well as they could be, beyond that though, they really are great parks. Just keep an eye on the trees over your camper!

I would say I have a few favorites, and if you dig into the blog posts, I’m sure you will find them. Just so you have a list of the full hook up sites, here they are:

  1. Abilene
  2. Atlanta
  3. Bastrop
  4. Blanco
  5. Caddo Lake
  6. Cedar Hill
  7. Cleburne
  8. Daingerfield
  9. Davis Mountains
  10. Eisenhower
  11. Falcon
  12. Fort Richardson
  13. Goliad
  14. Huntsville
  15. Kickapoo Caverns
  16. Lake Brownwood
  17. Lake Casa Blanca
  18. Lake Corpus Christi
  19. Lake Livingston
  20. Lake Tawakoni
  21. Lake Whitney
  22. Lockhart
  23. Meridian
  24. Mission Tejas
  25. Mother Neff
  26. Stephen F. Austin
  27. Palmetto
  28. Tyler

I’ve highlighted the ones that we have stayed at. However, keep in mind there are many other Texas State Parks that have water and electric with a dump station. We have stayed at many of those too. An example of this would be Palo Duro Canyon State Park. This is a must visit if you haven’t been there. Click here to read more about Palo Duro Canyon. In fact, there are even some Texas state parks that you can boon dock at. The lack of full hook-ups hasn’t prevented us from staying at other Texas State Parks. Click here for a complete list of the Texas State Parks with campsites.

We can usually get about five days into our stay before I need to worry about the dumping, and then it is usually only the grey tanks that are getting full. That’s why if we are staying longer, we haul the “poop wagon” with us. Trust me, it is an easy way to dump your tanks and if my grandson Trent can do it…so can you!

Trip to Wisconsin
Dumping 101 with Trent – Come on Trent pull that handle!

So as things warm up in Texas, this is the best time to go camping. Don’t wait to hit the state parks when the weather is 100+ degrees. Do it now and enjoy the cool evenings and warm days. We are heading to Tyler State Park in a few weeks, just to get the trailer out and moving again and get a little spring break for Eva. She loves Tyler State Park, but then all my puppies did.

Our wonderful girl Kendra with Trent at Tyler State Park in 2019