1) Big Bend National Park
If you are visiting Big Bend National Park, you have to spend some time exploring Santa Elena Canyon. Take the 1.4-mile round trip hike to see the rock formations and watch wildlife like rabbits, coyotes, and squirrels. When camping overnight, you will want to plan one night to hike out on the Rio Grande Village Nature Trail, where you can hike out to a spot that overlooks the Rio Grande and watch a beautiful sunset! Several campgrounds are within the park, including the Rio Grande Village Campground. This campground has 93 sites, including sites with full hookups for RVs and tent sites. There is a camp store onsite as well as restrooms and hot showers. Definitely one of the 5 best places to camp in Texas this summer!
2) Padre Island National Seashore: Bird Island Basin Campground
What do you think about waking up and stepping out of your tent onto the sands of the beach at Padre Island National Seashore? There are 5 campgrounds to choose from, but one of the best is the Bird Island Basin Campground. This is the place to go windsurfing! Windsurfing Magazine has rated this beach as the best flat water sailing site in the continental USA! You can rent windsurfing boards and kayaks right at the park. Enjoy a night by the fire before waking up to the beautiful sandy beach!
3) Caddo Lake State Park
Caddo Lake State Park has some of the best fishing in the whole state of Texas! Here you can fish for largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, chain pickerel, white bass, yellow bass, and sunfish. On the border with Louisiana, this 26,800 acres lake is a mix of wetlands and swamps and home to the paddlefish and, yes, alligators. But it is unlikely an alligator will visit your campsite. The campground has 8 sites equipped with full hookups for RVs, 18 electric only, and 20 sites with water. Can you imagine a relaxing afternoon of kayaking along the huge cypress trees and then heading back to your campsite to cook some hot dogs over the fire (or maybe one of the epic bass you caught earlier!)? A beautiful place in Texas to get back with nature!
4) Dinosaur Valley State Park
Imagine putting your foot right over the footprint of a dinosaur that lived millions of years ago! You can do that in Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, TX. Along the riverbed of the Paluxy River in Dinosaur Valley State Park, you can see the footprints of what paleontologists identified as Acrocanthosaurus, a smaller cousin of the T-Rex. The other prints belong to a Sauroposeidon proteles, a 70-foot-long clawless dino. You can download the GPS coordinates of various areas in the park of the best places to spot them. The park also has hiking trails, mountain bike trails, horseback riding, swimming, and fishing. The campground has 44 RV/Tent sites with full hookups and nice cement patios. If you want an adventure, you can wade through the river to the other side, where you can hike to a series of secluded primitive campsites.
5) Cedar Hill State Park
If you want the best of city life and country life, Cedar Hill State Park is the place to stay. It is right along the shores of the large Joe Pool Lake so you can swim at the beach and fish for black bass, crappie, and catfish. The park has two fishing jetties you can fish off or take out your boat. The 7,500-acre lake has lots of room for boating and paddling. There are miles of hiking trails around the lake and the DOBRA trail for biking or hiking. The park is so close to the downtown area you can enjoy the Dallas World Aquarium, take in a Rangers game, try one of the fabulous restaurants and then head back to your campsite for the night. One of the 5 best places to camp in Texas this summer!
