Adolph Thomae Jr. County Park Campground

First time RVers and we found this location here on Campendium. The most we could get was 5 days as there were a lot of bookings. We backed right into a large lot with a lovely view of the river. I think we paid $35 a day. Lots of locals that come fishing. Only cons are the gates lock so you have to be in the park I think by 10 and there is soooo much garbage everywhere.

Affordable waterfront camping along the Arroyo Colorado in south Texas provides RV and tent campers an array of recreational activities at this scenic campground. Affordable waterfront camping awaits at the Adolph Thomae Jr. County Park near Arroyo City, Texas. The campground provides access to the intercoastal waterway via the Arroyo Colorado. Join us on a video tour of this truly exceptional waterfront camping destination in south Texas; video uploaded here on Campendium for your immediate reference. Verizon cellular service clocked in at 30.0 Mbps download speed and 1.45 Mbps upload speed. AT&T cellular service clocked in at 130.0 Mbps download speed and 11.7 Mbps upload speed. T-Mobile cellular service clocked in at 4.12 Mbps download speed and 0.81 Mbps upload speed.

Camped in a 35” motorhome. We are self-contained so cannot comment on restrooms/shower facilities. Overall – the views and birding more than made up for the cons. We will return.

Pros –
- Sites have view of canal - some more than others - check satellite image if this is important to you
- Great variety of beautiful birds
- Near entrance to Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge
- Very friendly staff – seem overworked
- Sites are spacious – our site was not level but were able to use blocks to get it level. Not putting this in cons as it appears most of the sites are very level.
- Good Verizon and T-Mobile cell and i/n connectivity
- Full hookups

Cons –
- Lots of traffic – trucks with fishing boats going back and forth and over speed bumps at fast rates creates lots of noise – very early morning to late evening
- Trash at campsite – we had to pick up paper plates, cups and other debris left by campers
- Trash all around park – sadly, even though this is a small campground there is trash left by the many visitors – people fishing, etc.

Decidedly different experience than most here. Probably better if I was a fisherman. Pros: very nice staff, beautiful riverside location and lots of wildlife - especially birds. Cons: despite trash bins everywhere, there wasn't a spot that wasn't blighted by some form of refuse. The sites, paths, common areas and shoreline were strewn.

Not that there weren't plenty of beer cans and fishing lines to blame on the humans, but I think that a majority of the trash was extracted from the bins by critters. My advice to the park would be to cover the bins or at least collect as late in the day as possible.

Posted speed limit is 20, but the yahoos in their huge pickups - often with a boat in tow - drive like they're competing in the Le Mans. While walking my dog on the opposite side of the road one night we came inches away from getting hit!

Dogs? Other campers seemed to have no control over their canine's propensity to bark incessantly and I'm pretty sure I was the only one who actually used poop bags...

The riverfront sites do look nice, but one has to wonder what speeding trucks on one side and speeding boats on the other does to the overall aesthetics. We were located on the other side of the road and did enjoy relative peace until weekenders showed up on Friday night AFTER 9 pm. It took them hours to setup and settle in and none too quietly either.

Then there are the feral pigs and coyotes. Never seen, but often heard at night...

Such are the risks when staying at State/County parks. This camper did have an exponentially better experience at another Cameron County park: Isla Blanca on South Padre Island.

Such a fun place to camp with FULL hookups! Wildlife, birds galore for the avid birders, great fishing! We are from the Pacific Northwest and are used to great campgrounds and wildlife but this was a new and great experience for local wildlife and fishing for us. We had coyotes, javelinas, and the raccoons visited a couple times. It was great to explore and see birds that don’t fly north. We even spotted a stingray when we first arrived. When we moved to the waterfront site we weren’t as private as it seems more open but the spaces were large and so we didn’t feel our neighbors were too close for privacy. Staff was very friendly and picked up what others had left behind so although heavily trafficked by daily visitors it was very clean. Please remember to pick up after yourselves! We saw staff clean up trash on several occasions.

This is a nice county park situated along the Arroyo Colorado waterway. We visited in Feb. 2020 for two nights in site C-06. There were only a few campers in our area, however, the park can get busy on the weekend. The best RV sites were 27-34, which are right along the waterway and farther from the entrance our site was C-06. Lots of boaters put in here at the park, and there are two lighted fishing piers. The fishing was slow when we were, but can be quite good. You can fish right from your campsite. Cost is $30/night for full hook-ups. If you're into a longer stay, they have a monthly rate but your actual electrical usage is metered. Staff were great and it was fun seeing huge barges coming up and out of the waterway. No issues with security. They have a couple of gates to regulate entry and exit. There are not many options for camping in this area, and I think this is one of the best locations, especially if you're into fishing and/or birding. We saw dolphins in the channel both days and large tugs with barges go by. We loved this place. There are two bath houses, but we did not use them. We got really great cell signal on our ATT hot spot with 4 bars. Verizon was 3 bars. If we are in the area we will definitely be back.