V6E13 - State Parks like Stepping Stones

Written By: Chris Shontz / Venture4WD

Traversing central Texas as a full-time overlander poses an interesting problem. The distinct lack of public land throughout the state makes finding free places to safely and legally camp in one’s vehicle a bit challenging. While I was in Big Bend Ranch State Park, I picked up a Texas State Parks Pass for $70, which is valid for the entire year. This grants me access to any Texas State Park for day-use, and it slightly discounts camping. Having that pass doesn’t introduce free camping experiences, but it certainly does open up some cost-effective options at beautiful and unique settings across the state.  

Davis Mountains State Park

My first stop, as I traveled north out of Big Bend, was Davis Mountains State Park, near Fort Davis, Texas. This part of Texas features grassy, high-desert mountains laden with rock formations. The park itself offers numerous camping accommodations ranging from tent sites to full hookups for RVs. There are hiking trails, scenic overlooks, and a stunning, historic, adobe lodge, which was constructed in the 1930s. I stopped by the headquarters on the way in, a small structure near the park entrance, and the friendly ranger provided me with a campsite for the evening. She was very helpful, gave me the lay-of-the-land on a paper map, and even recommended some hiking trails and a scenic drive within the park. It should be noted that, with the exception of Big Bend Ranch State Park, and perhaps a few others I have yet to visit, most Texas State Parks are neither very primitive, nor deep backcountry experiences. You can expect restrooms, wifi access points, and some showers with wonderful water pressure!  

Monahans Sandhills State Park

As I flipped through the Texas State Parks Guidebook, Monahans Sandhills State Park, located near Odessa, stood out to me. The guidebook pictured fields of large, wisping sand dunes, which seemed atypical for the region, so I made that my next stop. This part of Texas is almost completely flat, and utilized largely by the oil industry. The entrance to the park was just off of I-20, and the facilities were a bit less well-kept than I experienced at other parks. I believe this is due to the park being a smaller size than most, yet it sees a much higher volume of people since it is so close to the interstate. Although the facilities and campsites weren’t particularly inviting, the surrounding dunes were amazing! Families picnicked while children frolicked merrily in the sand. People were playing music while dancing on the hills. A wedding photographer was taking pictures of a bride, using the dunes as a backdrop. It is a mesmerizing place!  

Tax Time

Make no mistake, as I travel each week in search of new places and experiences, regular obligations don’t go on hold. Laundry and grocery runs are a regular occurence. Doctor visits and vehicle service appointments almost always occur somewhere different. Paying bills happens online, through the banking app on my phone, and I take care of those manually each month. And of course there’s taxes… This year, I sat down at the public library in downtown Odessa, Texas, and spent most of the day on the computer, staring at Intuit Turbo Tax. For any tax documentation that I receive in the mail, I have my family in Pennsylvania send copies of to my phone. It wasn’t painless, but I was happy to finish filing my taxes… until next April.  

Look to the Waterways

While I was certainly taking advantage of the Texas State Parks Pass, it wasn’t my goal to utilize State Parks exclusively as I traveled east. For a change of pace, I visited freecampsites.net on the web, and found a few candidates on the shore of Possum Kingdom Lake, a few dozen miles west of Fort Worth. There I found a lakeside vacation community, with some designated free camping areas within the township. These campsites were in the hills surrounding a beautiful lake, actively used for recreational boating. They featured brick shelters over picnic tables, fire rings, and trash cans, and some wonderful views close to the water. It was a great find! Designated free camping areas within counties and municipalities aren’t exclusive to Texas, but I do find they’re somewhat more common there, and often near lakes and rivers. So just because there isn’t much federal public land, doesn’t mean you’re out of luck!  

Mineral Wells Lake State Park

Since I’m always on-the-move and keep a fluid itinerary, I don’t always have the opportunity to reserve a campsite in advance, so it’s a bit of a gamble when you just show up with the hope that they have one available. As I traveled east toward Texas’ more populated cities, the number of available sites thinned out noticeably, and the weekends were almost certainly booked! Fortunately, Mineral Wells Lake State Park, located just west of Fort Worth, still had space for me in an equestrian camping area at the top of a hill. While this wasn’t on the lake, it was very serene. The landscape here is wooded and rolling, with bright green leaves on the trees, and flowers in-bloom as spring was making its presence known. The lakeside campsites were far more popular, though I much preferred the out-of-the-way seclusion of the hilltop setting, which also granted me almost-exclusive access to a nearby bathhouse. The trees provided shade over a picnic table, and I enjoyed a campfire in the provided fire ring. Mineral Wells was the lushest, most green setting I had experienced in months, after enduring winter weather and traveling through the deserts of the southwest!  

Where There’s a Will

At the end of the week, when I reviewed my GPS tracks across Texas, I came to the realization that I had not left pavement all week. I experienced neither dirt roads, nor four-wheel drive routes, and I don’t think that has ever happened before! Nevertheless, every State Park is unique, and offers a distinctly different taste of Texas. While most of the more remote dirt roads are on private land, or through rural communities, there is still plenty to explore and discover. There’s always a way. [gallery columns="5" size="large" link="file" ids="https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-1.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-2.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-3.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-4.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-5.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-6.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-7.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-8.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-9.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-10.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-11.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-12.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-13.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-14.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-15.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-16.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-17.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-18.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-19.jpg|,https://ok4wd.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/v6e13-20.jpg|"]