MissionCamper

Lower Florida side of the Gulf (around Venice) was littered with dead fish last time I visited. All in the eye of the beholder. PINS may not have crystal clear water, but it's not a resort area and it's certainly no worse than a few lakes in the Texas park system. Swimming is a major component of our camping trips, so we've seen plenty of murky water. IMO, PINS is a great way to experience the ocean... within a reasonable driving distance.

DALEoutside

I live in Austin too!

I'd go to Guadalupe River SP. My kids are very young (6 & 2) so swimming is important. I thought Inks was a bit tough because it doesn't have a "beach" per se. The grassy area goes right into the water and although it's pretty shallow, it's a little bit rocky. I guess it depends on what you are looking for in terms of swimming.

Guadalupe had a nice playground, beach-y area for swimming and playing, and really nice campsites.

I will second the vote for cabins at Inks though if you plan to go this summer. We were at Inks a couple of weeks ago and are experienced campers and it was so blazing hot we packed up and came home. I'm a Californian too, so maybe I'm a wimp, but it can be unbearable. If your kids are a bit older, you can probably swim through the worst heat of the day and then it's not too bad.

Good luck!

MissionCamper

Two words: "water shoes".:yes:

nicholsinic4

As a newbie to camping myself-(AKA adult camping virgin), I really appreciate all your comments! We live about 1 hour north of Austin, so this info. is very helpful to me as well!!
All you guys are the best!! :cool:
Is there a link to a suggested camping supply list? Where someone has thought out of all the gear needed and wrote it down? Yikes, I'm overwhelmed in all I have to do, in order to go camping! :eek: f

MissionCamper

Try this one...it's aimed mostly at trailer camping, but could still be useful to a tenter, as well.

campermom

Putting together your own list shouldn't be to hard.
You need shelter
you need something to sleep on
you need something to keep warm
you need clothes
you need food
you need water
you need light for when its dark
you need something to haul all this stuff to where you're going
you need toilet paper ( just in case)

Just kidding. There are tons of lists out there. How much or how little you bring is up to you. Some people like to rough it while others bring all the comforts. If you will traveling solo, packing should be easy. Pack what makes you happy. The more people going, the more people you have to make happy. We all know you can't make everyone happy.

dwalsdorf

Try this--don't be afraid to leave some stuff out...http://www.camping-a-to-z.com/camping_check_lists.htm

__________________
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell...it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. :asleep:

nicholsinic4

See I didn't know I had to bring toilet paper :eek: , because of your list, I'll be sure to pack some.

happybooker1

I did another report on Spicewood but I just got back from camping at Krause for the first time.

They have water/elec. sites that have fire rings & some have tables. The sites are VERY close together; however when we went (Monday-Wed. last week) our closest neighbor was about 4 sites over or at least 100'. So we weren't bothered a bit. Never heard a sound in the campgrounds at all but a little talking. It's not a booze-it-up, wild party type place. Out of 25 spaces there were 4-6 pop-ups (inc. us) the 3 days we were there.

The primitive tent camping 'sites' are not marked at all -- just a large grassy meadow where you set up wherever you want. That is, if you don't want water/elec. hookups. I don't know how busy they get on the weekends.

toejam

At the risk of sounding like an ###, what you really need is to get out there. Everyone has a little different idea about what is important, so you can't know without trying it. Spending the night outdoors is a very simple thing, but our society likes to make everything complicated and dangerous. So think it through like this:

To spend the night outdoors you probably need a place to lay down. You probably need to lay on something to keep the fire ants off. You might want something comfortable to lay on. You might want shelter, but on the other hand you might want to look at the stars. You might want something to eat and drink....

After a few trips the list of things you need will be more obvious, and shopping for gear can be almost as much fun as camping.

thorn

If you can get a camp site Id say enchanted rock. Its a sight to behold.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/f...nchanted_rock/

__________________
out on the trail hunting for gold and the sound of silence.