Looking for best park in Texas - Wild Texas Forums: Parks, Travel & Recreation

lilana07 · 12-29-2007, 10:18 AM

Hello All!

This site is full of useful information! Thanks!!!

My family & I want to go camping for Spring Break and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for the best park in Texas during March. We are thinking about Dinosaur Valley, but we have never been there and I hear it is always crowded. We live in north Texas, so we would like to stay around that area, but we will travel farther. We have a 28 ft. TT, so full hook-ups would be nice. We're looking for a quiet and pretty place, like by a river in the woods.
Thanks in advance for your help.

srds · 12-29-2007, 10:44 AM

Welcome aboard,
Now you are asking a loaded question about the best park,everyone is a little different.I think Garner-Inks-South Llano River-GSRP are in high standings in our family right now.check out the WILD TEXAS LOGO and look under Parks or try TEXAS PARKS .We also have enjoyed Dinosaur Valley and yes it can get a little crowded.

srds

Have Fun

happybooker1 · 12-29-2007, 12:54 PM

What do you like to do?? That would help a lot. Do you have a boat/canoe/kayak? Fish? How many kids/what ages?? Do you need a playground, bike trails, nature center? Do you want towns nearby?

We are going to Ft. Davis for Spring Break......

And do you just want parks in TX? I LOVE TX parks, but OK and AR have some nice parks too.....

Troop198 · 12-29-2007, 01:01 PM

As SRDS noted that is a loaded question, the parks link on the left of this page is a great thing to use. Now saying that we live in North Texas also and camp in a 22 ft Hybrid. Within a short time distance (less than 3 hours) are a wide variety of nice parks. (Send me a PM if you need more)
March should be ok for almost of them. So here is my list(NORTH PARKS only)
Cooper Lake South Sulpher (we went there in August)
Cooper lake SP South Sulphur Unit Review
then Fairfield Lake SP TPWD: Fairfield Lake State Park
and finally Lake Tawakani State Park (use the link from this site under parks)

Both Ray Roberts parks are close and have lots to offer, and in March should be ok to visit, they get full because they are so close to big D and Ft. Worth.
Dinosaur Valley is a small park, (which is one reason it gets crowded when it warms up) but it is nice if you want to hike and see the dinasaur footprints. It has plenty of shade and you can walk anywhere from most of the Water electric sites (no full service sites ). I am sure you will get lots more

Motorman355 · 12-29-2007, 09:03 PM

I have never camped at DV, but if your kids have any interest in Paleontology or Geology, it's a must. A side trip can be to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Refuge. It's expensive. Thank God for Discount Wednesdays. Just because it is a break from school does not mean that kids can not learn something while having fun.

campermom · 12-29-2007, 11:00 PM

I took my son there 2 summers ago when he was 6. We were tent camping and got #4, by the restrooms. The park was nice with a playground nearby. The tracks are neat. Wear river shoes so you can really get in to explore them. The valley is pretty hot so pray for a breeze or have AC. Turnkey suggested we spend some time at Big Rocks park while in town. We enjoyed swimming and wading there. That's where the locals go. It wasn't hard to find. We decided to skip Fossil Rim since the kids take school field trips to Natural Bridge Caverns/Safari Park every year. We stayed for 2 days and that was just right. You should be able to search other trip reviews for DV.

crawdude · 01-01-2008, 10:48 AM

my two cents…having an entire week available to you allows for a trip much further from home than what one could do with say a long weekend, not knowing your family demographics or interests but having been to DV I would say go further, DV is nice but IMO not enough there to fill a weeks activities, especially since it may still be a little cool out for swimming

my tribe has a schedule of which parks we visit during the year, we usually head west earlier than the crowds and hit the Big Bend area in late February, schools are out for presidents day and amazingly our kids were always running a fever the Friday before (schools have gotten a little unreasonable about excused absences and sometimes a little white lie can mean the difference between a mediocre day of learning and four days of amazingly educational life experiences out in the geology and nature of our state), anyway we always made this our Big Bend weekend, but we only had to travel from Austin, warm days followed by hot soaks in the spring in the cool evening air, and no crowds

but back to your trip…I suggest you head far and head south, there are some awesome parks close to you, Mineral Wells, Daingerfield, Caprock Canyons, Abilene, Brownwood, but save these for later in the year when the heat, humidity and mosquitoes return to the coastal areas, March is the time to enjoy the coastal area of our state before all of the aforementioned return, and seeing a dinosaur track is cool, but seeing a live dinosaur (alligator) is way cooler, and Brazos Bend is a place to do that

another good one for kids is Goliad, kids like forts, and they like to climb on things, and Goliad has lots of that, the Mission, Presidio la Bahia a paddling trail, museums, even a petting zoo last time I was there, we have always seen lots of critters on our hikes there and there are great antique shops in Goliad and Gonzales

as someone else suggested there is Inks, which is very bueno, and it offers the option of day trips to longhorn cavern (how cool are caves? real cool) and if you know how to play the number game you can enjoy a drive to Enchanted Rock which is within range of a day trip during your week (kids like rocks and enchanted rock is one seriously big rock)
avoid the temptation to see Colorado Bend, it is a fish camp on a river way, way, way down a dirt road, beautiful spot on a river to paddle but a long way out of the way to go to visit another dot on a map

anyhoo, that’s my two cents

almitra · 02-08-2008, 02:16 PM

I wish someone would make a suggestion here cuz I am in Tyler area and this interests me also. Anyone have any ideas to suggest? TIA!

4everfrio · 02-09-2008, 02:24 AM

It's starting to get a little late to get reservations at some popular parks.
All the parks mentioned are great. Here's my two cents. Try Kerrville Schreiner park. I would camp on the side away from the river. The deer will almost run you over. If the weather turns sour, town is just minutes away. There is plenty to see in Kerrville. And guess what??? there is a Gibson's Discount center still open in Kerrville. When is the last time someone heard of Gibson's????? No matter where you go, anything is better than sitting at home. Git out there and enjoy!!!

almitra · 02-09-2008, 07:12 AM

Great suggestions. Thank!

Maury · 02-10-2008, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4everfrio

It's starting to get a little late to get reservations at some popular parks.
All the parks mentioned are great. Here's my two cents. Try Kerrville Schreiner park. I would camp on the side away from the river. The deer will almost run you over. If the weather turns sour, town is just minutes away. There is plenty to see in Kerrville. And guess what??? there is a Gibson's Discount center still open in Kerrville. When is the last time someone heard of Gibson's????? No matter where you go, anything is better than sitting at home. Git out there and enjoy!!!

Kerrville Schreiner park is nice on the side away from the river as mentioned above! We were there in Nov and Dec for tent camping and were run over with deer. Plenty of owls hooting too! This is run by the city now and not a state park anymore. They have kept it up nice. The showers and bathrooms were spotless!
For Iilana07 in North Texas and the Tyler folks ..Bastrop State park would be closer but might be full already. I really love the pines at Bastrop! The little lake has some great fishing for the kids (and me!) and we always rent a canoe there. The pool may be open by spring break?

Where ever you all go please post a trip report!

Happy camping!
Maury

lilana07 · 02-10-2008, 04:07 PM

Thank you everyone for all of your wonderful suggestions! I’ve been doing lots of research.

Sorry about the loaded question, but everyone seemed to get the point…what’s your favorite park and why. Again, thanks for your input.

We decided against DV for spring break, not sure there’s a lot to offer besides the dinosaur tracks. My husband, our 2 daughters, 9 & 12, and I are leaning towards Inks Lake. Although it may be too cold to swim in the lake, it will be nice to camp by it. I think we’ll enjoy the hiking as well. One day we will go to Longhorn Caverns. I think it will be a good trip for us. We definitely want to visit Big Bend, Garner, Pedernales, & Goliad, but we really can’t drive farther than 3-4 hours this trip.

P.S. SRDS, so sorry to hear about your BR spider bite. I heard a story about a young girl in Georgia who died from a BR bite. Since then I’m scared to death of them. Glad to hear your feeling better. Thanks for sharing your story.

Lil

almitra · 02-10-2008, 04:36 PM

We have Caddo Lake SP on tap for Spring Break ourselves. Gonna hit Goliad, Lake Whitney, and Galveston SP later on as well.

campermom · 02-10-2008, 08:43 PM

If it's not to late, and you've secured reservations for Inks, there are some places you could see that are near by or within 45 minutes. Canoe Tour of Devil's Waterhole @ Inks, Longhorn Cavern State Park, Sweet Berry Farm in Marble Falls, Commerative Air Museum in Burnet, Cooper's BBQ in Llano, The Eagle nest on hwy 29 on the way to Llano, Wildseed Farm in Fredericksberg, Enchanted Rock State Park, Canyon of the Eagles on Lake Buchanan, Vanishing Texas River Cruise on Lake Buchanan, Austin,.....There's a ton to see in the Hill Country. There are 2 hikes we've done at Inks, Stumpy Hollow and Devils Waterhole. The park can feel crowded so site selection if you are tent camping will be important. Good Luck and have fun.

ps, the bathroom by the boat ramp is the nicest one. Take the drive over to that one for your showers. Trust me on this one.

srds · 02-10-2008, 09:52 PM

Hope you have a great trip to Inks,And campermom is right about the showers.Be sure and take you some firewood,still can get chilli at night.Thanks for your concern about BR bites,go back to doc on 12th to see what we are doing next.The spot on shoulder has almost healed ,so far so good.If you get a chance check out Fall Creek Wines at Tow ,TX.They have a great tour.We heard from friends that eagles are starting their nesting early this year.Hope it warms up a bit so kids can at best get their feet wet.

srds

Have Fun