Reviews

For Tejas Park: This review is what I wish I had known:
Tejas Park is a hidden gem slowly being surrounded by huge high cost wealthy housing and ranches.

Free parking is outside the park on a dirt off the road place if you want to visit during the trail during the day.

Williamson county sheriff Dept patrols this area at night so follow road speed signs.

The road to the park is one lane and currently in poor condition.

Only the park host is allowed to have an RV overnight but I did see an rv camper-van.

Use an elevation app or map to see elevation. Only 2 sites are level with the parking lot. All other campsites are uphill. No truly wheelchair accessible sites.

One campsite has been moved up the hill - the site nearest the trail - so if you choose the site nearest the trail - call the host to find out where it has been moved because the website has not been updated.

Each site is a primitive site but has been updated with lots of trees for shade. Only one site is exposed to the sun.

Each site has a prepared tent pad covered with mulch.

The soil in and around the hillside sites is very rocky that pokes through tents. Bring good sleeping bag pads or hammocks.

There is a resident raccoon who demanded to be fed between 12:30 and 1:30am. It goes site to site seeking food. If you do not feed this raccoon, it will shake your tent and growl until you wake up to feed it. This raccoon ruined my camping trip because I had no food to throw at it as other campers have trained it to expect. The raccoon then went to another campsite and did the same. I did not get sleep.

The other campers were heavy sleepers so the raccoon ran off with their hot dog buns. The raccoon now knows to keep being aggressive to get food from campers.

In late winter near my tent, I saw a huge owl fly off with a snake. There are owls and food for owls in Tejas Park.

Boy Scouts use Tejas Park a lot for overnight stays. If you do not want to be with the Boy Scouts, camp far away. When looking at the online map, all sites near the group camping area are close together. If the group site is booked, those are either Boy Scouts or church groups. They quiet observe quiet time at 10pm. If you are loud or want more privacy camp away from the group site.

Most of the sites are on a steep hill. Bring a wagon or help to transport uphill. You don't realize how far you are from your car or restroom until it's raining or have a really cold wind.

Good stores are a short drive by car but too far to walk. Eventually stores will be built closer to the park - but not at this time. Try to bring everything you need including wood because driving to the stores is not fast during rush hour commuter traffic.

Central Texas weather is unpredictable in late Winter and early Spring. Prepare for all kinds of weather in late Winter and early Spring. Late Fall brings sudden downpours. There is nowhere to go at the park for safety if the weather suddenly changes.

Many people book this park during South by Southwest SXSW and holiday seasons in Austin.

Tejas Park is the cheapest place for secured camping. At the same time the park is heavily patrolled and regulated. If you want freedom - this is not the place. If you want a pleasant quiet family camping experience - it's great.

Tips: Bring lots of drinking water and water container for washing yourself and other stuff. The water from the only spout is drinkable. Also you must put out your fire. Bring trash bags. You must clean your area before leaving camp. The rest room is a composting toilet and it's clean. Bring binoculars. If you have an rv - only the park host has an rv. The raised tent pads hold water. When it rains a lot - tent pads can become ponds. Most sites are up a steep hill. Because it's a small campground, it's patrolled a lot. I would prepare for sudden downpour of rain even though the county is in a drought, bring a wagon, wood, more water, fishing gear, binoculars, camera for bird and nature photos, and a bucket if I tent camped at Tejas Park again. Maybe the raccoon who I call Fred will be less aggressive when there are more campers and people to feed him - or her.

Posted Mar 29, 2018 by JT from USA. This is the subjective opinion of a traveler and not of AllStays LLC.