Primitive Camping - Wild Texas Forums: Parks, Travel & Recreation

binary0rbit · 12-11-2007, 02:52 PM

Hey Guys,

Long time lurker thought I would post. I'm looking for a primitive camping area in the central texas area. The most important thing to me is isolation.

I was sorely disappointed in the "Primitive Camping" area at Colorado State Park, we hiked in a mile and a half, great water location for pumping water, but right across the river is a main street with street lights and some guy had a metal building covered in flood lights that kept opening and closing his garage all night. Then in the morning when we were making breakfast some old cowboy looking guy was looking down on us from the mountain top on the otherside (no biggie) but then breaks out seven guys all using weed wackers all morning! :mad:

We went to Lost Maples about a month ago, man the park was packed! I hiked to the most remote location "Site H" which was a pretty steep climb with a fully loaded backpack, but I guess because of the nature of the canyon we could hear people hollering and laughing and stuff all night. Although this was probably one of the prettiest parks I've been in it was jammed with people. :thumbsdown:

I did like the primitive area at Perdenales State Park, we went in the middle of the week in the middle of summer. We didn't see another soul almost the whole trip (on that side of the park). We caught a lucky break with the heat, it had just rained so we didn't get scorched but the water was dried up. We ended up packing in water which is frightening to me sometimes. The night was clear and the stars were amazing. :yes:

I don't mind bad weather and hiking pretty far over rough terrain as long as I am rewarded with some solitude at the end. I'm eyeballing Bastrop State Park, does anyone know about the primitive area over there? It looks like a main road cuts the area in half. I'd hate to hear road noise in the "wilderness", and I was wondering about the water sources? I have a great purifier I've used on many trips but would hate to be too far from water. Thanks for any advise in advance!! :thumbsup:

B0

Turn Key · 12-11-2007, 07:43 PM

Welcome aboard, ""binaryOrbit"! Hope you can find what your looking for here!

My first thought about your question was Pedernales State Park. I'm not really interested in primitive camping (see avator

) but I do like to hike the parks we visit. Pedernales has the best hike-in/primitive camping that I've seen. A lot of it has to do with the fact that the park is so remote to begin with. Great place if you like dark skies at night and quiet (except on mild weekends). I can't think of another park that has what your looking for but there may be some out there.

Hope you can find what you need. Again, welcome to Wild Texas and,

Happy Camping!

Troop198 · 12-11-2007, 08:39 PM

Lots of hike in spots around the state parks see link
TPWD: Campsites

The hike into Fairfield SP is around 3 miles (scroll to facilities and also pull up a park map)
TPWD: Fairfield Lake State Park

Bonus at Fairfield is if you like to fish its a warm water lake. I am more familar with the north and east parks then Bastrop and those in central texas as we take the boy scouts into many in that end of the state.

Motorman355 · 12-11-2007, 08:47 PM

Check into Hill Country State Natural Area (Bandera area). Shannon has an excellent Wild Texas page on the park.

http://www.wildtexas.com/parks/hcsna.php

Half way down the page are links to two HCSNA backpacking reports Shannon wrote.

DayTripper · 12-12-2007, 04:35 AM

I don't know about Bastrop SP. Have you looked at Hill Country SNA? And if you don't mind traveling a bit further west, you might check out Devil's River SNA between Sonora and Del Rio. I'm sure either of these State Natural Areas will give you the sense of isolation you are seeking.

I've hiked Hill Country. Spent a day on the trails out there and did not meet a single person. I didn't even see anyone -- not even that morning at the Headquarters -- until I drove out that afternoon and spotted some folks on horseback in the distance. I've not been to Devil's River, but it is on my list.

As my moniker implies, I don't backpack, just day hike. I usually carry in my water. Since I don't have to carry tent, sleeping bag, cooking gear, etc., a gallon of water is no bother.

toejam · 12-12-2007, 07:29 AM

I'm looking for that too and I'm afraid it doesn't exist this side of Big Bend. All the public places are small and not isolated. If you find a friendly guy who owns several thousand acres and is willing to let us go back there and have a quiet camp fire, let me know.

binary0rbit · 12-12-2007, 11:16 AM

Wow! I'm really impressed with all the quick feedback I got from you guys. Reading over my original post I probably sound kinda grumpy but anyone who knows me would say I'm really laid back. :cool:

Anyways, I'll look into the areas suggested. I fear I may have to go outside of Texas to get what I'm looking for. My folks live in El Paso so I might hit up New Mexico or something.

ToeJam: Your idea was suggested to me by my camping buddy. We pass a lot of fenced in land on the way to some of these parks and we've wondered if there was some logical way to get a hold of the owners and ask if we could spend the night or something. But we were afraid of getting a shotgun shell into the air over our heads too. :no:

If I do find something I'll keep you posted! Thanks again guys!

B0

Turn Key · 12-12-2007, 08:35 PM

Quote:

...I might hit up New Mexico or something.

I am by no means any kind of expert on the subject but I have had one opportunity to camp in the Jemez Mountains in north New Mexico. I was up there a number of years ago with my younger brother and some of his friends. I found it very remote and enjoyable for a few days. My brother stated that there was much more land available in New Mexico for this type of hiking and camping then we find here in Texas. Knowing that such a high percentage of Texas land is held privately, this does not surprise me. Here's a site about the Jemez Mountains that you may find of interest:

The Jemez Mountains, New Mexico

Happy Camping!

toejam · 12-12-2007, 10:09 PM

New Mexico is wonderful! For places that thaw out early, check out the Gila Wilderness, Aldo Leopold Wilderness, and White Mountain Wilderness.

happyhiker40 · 12-14-2007, 10:14 AM

Go to east Texas and check out the LST. There is plenty of solitude out there.

binary0rbit · 12-17-2007, 10:02 AM

Hello all!

Just wanted to update everyone on how the weekend went. Ended up going to check out Bastrop State Park. It was really nice! The weather was perfect, albeit a little on the cold side (28 or so in the morning on Sunday - frost on everything). I was initally discouraged due to a couple of things - first and foremost is the *road* that runs through the center of the primative area. For some reason I thought this was for rangers to access the primitive area but due to the amount of sheer traffic this has to be a public road. (If I'm wrong on this someone correct me). But it just seems kinda lame to have a one mile hike in from the parking area to have to actually wait for a few trucks to pass by so you can get by. Not to mention a couple of dirt bikes that were tearing up and down this road. Can people park on this road and access the primitive area? Secondly the "power line" that runs down the last fourth of the area. I had like an idea of wooden posts with a few lines stung pole to pole. WRONG. This is one of those HUGE metal towers with about 50 meters of clearence wide and miles long. Like I thought my hair was going to stand up if I got too close. I'm hoping that this was put there before it was a park. I can't imagine any reason that a state park would allow such a bald face ugly scar run straight through it like that. :mad:

Anyways - (I hate sounding like a grump) I did the entire Lost Pines trail in about four hours with my nine year old son and a buddy. The hike was fantastic and the weather was just right. Chilly but not cold. My main concern was the water in the park. It was pretty muddy but it could of been due to heavy rains in the area. My water pump did great, but I think my ceramic purifier might need a replacement filter. I didn't get to explore much else in the park. I ended up setting up camp too close to that road I mentioned earlier and I could see headlights twinking in the distance most of the night. But I'll return to this park for sure and find something further back. There was plenty of water during most of the hike, but I was nervous to hike all the way into the back and be out of luck.

Thanks again for the recommendations guys! :thumbsup:

B0

rockhill · 12-17-2007, 11:29 AM

You do not sound like a grump to me, just telling it like you saw it. We camped at Bastrop back in the spring, camper not primitive. It is a nice park but it is hard to "get away" from noise/traffic/lights.
Good honest feedback is what helps others to be informed and know what to expect.

ploddinTod · 12-17-2007, 03:59 PM

I agree with Happhiker40. If you really want primitive, hike on the Lone Star Trail. Set up camp anywhere just off the trail. But be sure to use Leave No Trace ethics. Winter and spring are the best times for water availability.
Oh, I can smell those pines right now. :thumbsup:

Dogger · 12-18-2007, 04:54 PM

Secret spots for some quiet camping..
( just a tip.. in central texas you often have to Carry a ton of water as there are dry camp sites in many locations..)

-Hill country St. natural area is fun.. wilderness camp is a short hike..and I would pack water.

-How bout..North shore of the goodwater trail..( walnut springs camp).
Water from the lake..South shore is the best hike to Sawyer camp but there may be a group there. The good news is there are a lot of spots in the area.

or.. Site number 7 at Dinosaur St. Park..Dry but secluded.

While not known for solitude I have had good luck at the moss lake primitive camping at Enchanted rock SNA.

- its not a very long walk but Grelle LCRA park has few visitors..
and Pace bend while not a backpacking destination and not known for solitude has so many places to camp its pretty easy to find a very secluded spot in the interior.. but the interior is dry..

--The LST is a great choice.. just remember there is no primitive camping until Feb 1 due to hunting.. camping is restricted to established camp grounds during this season. ( water can be an issue here due to Tannin in the streams and the intermittant nature of the streams. )

I will just kick one or two more here for you to think about..
Brazos bend.. ( careful..NA alligators abound..)
4-C trail. bit of a drive from austin..
And my Favorite for solitude in all of Texas is Guadalupe Mountains national park. with a little effort in this place you will be so far away it gets freaky..

have fun.. and leave NO trace...

Dogger

smackmeister · 08-14-2008, 07:58 PM

My buddies and I have been doing primitive camping for a while and one of the main things we look for is solitude. So far, we have been to Hill Country SNA (twice), Lost Maples, Big Bend, Pedernales, Bastrop, Lake Somerville, Colorado Bend and (while not in Texas) Sequoia National Park. Unfortunately, it seems the farther away from Austin, the better the parks get.

Hill Country was great for seclusion and offers decent scenery. If you time it right, Lost Maples is awesome and probably the best all around park near Austin... but as many have stated, it gets busy especially in the fall when everyone flocks to see the turning of the leaves. Colorado Bend is beautiful (especially the falls) but the camping sites are lacking. I didn't care for Bastrop or Lake Somerville much since they were a little flat for my liking. Big Bend is amazing but only worthwhile if you plan to spend a few days there. Sequoia was the most amazing place I have been but it's in California, so a bit of a trek to get there.

I have all of my adventures on my website for anyone who cares to check it out: mark burmeister dot com | camping trips