Thread: My camping experience in the Concan/ Frio River area

Well it is indeed unfortunate that your first experience with the area did not go well. I have never stayed at Neal's cabins, nor have I interacted in any way with them, so I do not know if your experience was not the norm. the same would go for ParkView. The new site you ended up at are trying to grow their business and they acted like it.
As for River Bend the only problem there was availability and price. Supply and demand I suppose. My wife camped there the first year it opened and was called Ritcheys river bend. the current owners bought it in 1970, just prior to my first trip in 1971. I tell you all that to say this, when the wife and I were crusing thru the area this April, not camping, we stopped at Riverbend. Gave a brief intro, advised it had been 20 plus years since we last camped there and asked if we could drive through for old time sakes. You bet, no problem was the response and we did so. Stopped back at the office after driving down into the camp ground, parking and walking along the river reliving memories. There is a tree near the river that was hit by lightning long ago and it has a hollow side to it. We have pictures of the wife as a young girl in front of that tree, our children as young kids there and now us at a not so young age at the same spot. A long story but they did not have to let us go down into there grounds, at no charge by the way. They could have said no, or asked for a fee and we would have understood completely. When we came back up we stopped and visited with one of the owners for quite some time.I guess my point is do not rush to judgement on everyone. My own opinion on the staff at Neals behavior would not be favorable. If they were booked, why not help newcomers with directions? That act of friendship would have probably earned your business the next time. As people turn more to "staycations", or travel less, areas like the Frio valley are going to have to work closer together to attract the limited discretionary dollars people are able and willing to spend. Competition and rivalry is good, but they probably should not be so short sighted. I apologize for rambling and getting somewhat off track. I like that area, even if I do not get down there much anymore but it is a good distance from Mansfield. Try the area again, some good people in a scenic valley worthy of another visit. And for the record we were always in a tent, but generally rented a screen shelter as well. We use a hybrid trailer now but would be glad to have your tent in the spot next to us. Our move from tents to pop ups to the hybrid had more to do with age and creature comforts than anything. In fact that is why we have a hybrid. Beds are like in a pop up, which is like a tent but off the ground, yet creature comforts are close at hand.

First off welcome to you stillinatent. Sometimes I wish I was (in a tent I mean) but we've gotten spoilt to our popup.

My first experience with the Frio River came at Neal's Lodges in a tent. This was back in '87 so quite a bit of flooding as occurred since then and the river has changed its course a bit. What few camping spots they had are pretty much all gone downriver now. You didn't miss much by not getting a tent spot there. Sure, the ones that are left are right on the river but only one is really worth having.

The cabins are rustic, some have been updated and its been years since we stayed in one. The folks have stayed pretty much the same. A few new faces but the owners are still around. We've stayed in the pop up there once. What's so funny about our trips to Neals...it has always flooded right after we go! That may be why we don't stay there anymore (not that we're superstitious but I hate to cause destruction whereever I go! )I feel like I'm at home when i'm there. Even now when we're in the area we always stop by and go walk along the river. They don't charge us for parking. I think thye recognize us and just hope we'll leave before the rain starts! Hmmm...maybe we need to go so it will rain on them a bit!

Anyways...I'm sorry you had a bad experience with Neal's.

And Parkview...we stay there in our popup, right between those 300k monstrosities. Hopefully they will continue to let popups in. I LOVE their place. The most relaxing time I've had along the Frio I've had at Parkview. Its good to know the the new place next to them has opened. They're kin to the owners of Parkview so it's all family there. Maybe Parkview will quit letting popups in but we can go to Nana's now.

Garner is great if you don't mind the crowds. Lost Maples is a great spot if you like hiking. Not much in the way of swimming, just some wading.

We got home late last nite and had a great time,water was low and it was **** bumping but it was still fun. They were getting a little rain as we left out ,a few days of easy rains would do wonders.The ntu pup did wonderful and was great at shower time for our 5 year old son.I still showered at the bath house.We had some good food with friends we haven't seen in years ,caught up and really enjoyed the company,Garner just lets you kick back and have fun.The only bad thing that happened is we had to leave to come home.Now the fun part Unloading .Best to everyone

srds :cool:
Have Fun

Stillinatent.... Sorry to hear about your experience in Frio Country.. It really is a great place to visit and hopefully you'll give it another chance.

I know it is not uncommon (and they have their reasons) for accommodations here to require a 3 night minimum and for RV parks to not allow tent camping. However, there are sites here that do allow tent camping and others have designated areas for them. I personally do not have problems with tents (I love tent camping) and don't think the owners of the park(s) do either necessarily, it's just what they are- (a RV Park) and whom they cater to. Their land is built for RV hookups, and those hookups can be very limited during peak seasons. That particular Park is pretty much booked all the time and if a cancellation, there will be another RV to fill it's place. Actually that's the case with a lot of accommodations here. Many places, including Parkview have reservations up to a year in advance. Once again, I am sorry about your experience and hopefully you'll make another trip up here. If you do, I suggest you ( & anyone considering coming here) to book in advance so you don't have to run around looking for a vacancy. It is hectic during the summer time (for both the parks and visitors) and knowing in advance of any rules, regulations etc is helpful- plus less stressful. You were actually lucky to find a place to be honest. Feel free to PM anytime if you ever need any help or suggestions in finding something.

Jerry & Diane (Owners of Nana's) are great people & we wish them the best with their new park & success. I am glad they could accommodate you. I think they have a great place and their private area on the lower bank is a very nice unique area. Their spot is also walking distance to Mager's Crossing which is currently one of the best public swimming spots in the area.

Take Care,

funrivers