Brazos Bend State Park

We spent the long July 4th holiday weekend -- Thursday through Sunday -- at BBSP. We have visited this park a handful of times for the day, but this was our first stay in the campground. What a delightful experience! The large asphalt pad was deep and wide; and the site was fully shaded, for which we were grateful given the triple-digit heat index temperatures all weekend. A grill, a fire ring, and a picnic table are provided at each RV site. Depending on the time of year you're at the park, Elm Lake provides either lots of birdwatching (early spring) or lots of blooming aquatic plant life (summer). The hike around 40-Acre Lake to the observation tower was well worth our time. The view provides an excellent idea of the natural state of this part of Texas in the absence of man's impact on the environment. The George Observatory is currently closed. There are several walking trails throughout the park.

There is NO CELL SERVICE in the campground area. You have to drive all around the park to find one bar. I actually had to leave the park to make a call. They say there is wi-fi at the building near the campground, but I did not confirm.

The park is amazing. I was there in March and the male gators were growling at each other in the early morning. Also, there are so many birds!

This was my first shelter camping experience. It was supposed to rain all day and all night and the thought of a roof was too good to pass up. There were four chicken wire windows in the shelter, with eye bolts on the inside. We were able to zip tie blankets over each of the windows after dark to have some privacy. There were no tables inside, but it did have a ceiling fan and a light. Most shelters had tents set up inside, although you could set up tents on the outside too. The parking for each shelter was long enough to park four cars/trucks. Of course, it never rained.

Incredible state park with huge sites and expansive trails

Brazos Bend has got to be one of our favorite state parks ever! We absolutely loved all of the nature to explore and the extensive trail system. We saw all sorts of wildlife and were so impressed with how well the park was kept. Not to mention, the sites were huge and very well spaced out. Although it was a bit far from Houston, you could still easily drive in for the day for a visit. We loved this place and will be back again!

The one thing I didn’t like was the gate system after hours. After 10pm, the gates close and you have to use a code to get in/out. This normally wouldn’t bother me because most gates are automatic- however, this gate is a combo pad lock. Getting out of the car at 2am in the middle of the wilderness in pitch dark was a little creepy. I’m sure they will upgrade it when they have the resources! 😊

This Texas state park has Texas-sized campsites and a wide variety of amenities, making it a winner. Sites are generally very long and spaced out very nicely. Although the oak trees don't provide any meaningful visual screening between sites, the spacing alone was enough to provide a reasonable sense of privacy. Some sites are under an oak tree canopy while others are out in the open surrounded by grass; consult with a satellite view of the campground to select a site you prefer.

Our site was truly enormous, a double-wide site that was 60 feet long, and while not perfectly level it was large enough that we could work with it to find the most level spot to park. Our site was water and electric only, and unfortunately the water bib was very drippy (like many others we noticed) but otherwise worked fine. The closest bathhouse was in good condition and kept reasonably clean, even during a holiday week when it was obvious that the cleaning staff had days off.

The other amenities of the park include a nature center with frequent programs and hands-on activities for kids, an observatory open on Saturday afternoons and evenings, and (our favorite) 37 miles of trails suitable for hiking and biking. The nature center, observatory, and trails are easily accessible from the campground. The trails offer options to hike along lake shores, to observation towers, along the river, and through upland forest areas. During our visit in December the birdwatching was excellent (mostly water birds but also a good variety of forest birds) and the trails were busy, but because the park is so large it never felt crowded. We also saw plenty of alligators, the park's signature animal. The oaks draped in Spanish moss, the peaceful marshes, and the calm waterways combined to make this an outstanding place to enjoy nature.

There are a few gas stations with convenience stores located 1.5 miles south of the park entrance, but otherwise the best place for shopping and services is in Sugar Land, about 25 miles away. On AT&T, we had only 1 bar of LTE service using our MyFi but it was solid enough to stream movies and do FaceTime (forgot to test speed while we were there).

In spring East Texas is emerald green and adrift in wildflowers, and this beautiful, well-kept park is a photographers paradise. Off the beaten path in farm and cattle country, the RV spaces are level and well-spaced for privacy. Lots of easy hiking trails that take you by beautiful lakes where you can see deer, alligators, water birds, turtles, and more. Peaceful and quiet. Firewood available. Nice showers. Playgrounds for children. Informative nature center open daily where you can pet baby alligators, and an observatory that has night-time programs on Saturdays.

We were there for 2 mid-week days in early April and the park was only 40 percent full. Wish we could have stayed longer. The one drawback was poor cellphone coverage under the trees.

I think this is my favorite of the Texas state parks we stayed at. We were camping during the week, so it was pretty empty/quiet. There are great walking/hiking trails (although some were still closed due to hurricane damage). You could see a mud line on all the trees. Everything must have been under water. There are alligator, vultures, deer, birds. The bathrooms were OK and they had a laundry room.

I made a youtube video of park at: https://youtu.be/1ziNzvc1FJ0

Cell phone data download/uploads (Mbps) using Speedtest:
Verizon 8.48/0.26
T-Mobile 5.17/1.17
ATT 4.32/2.20

With Weboost cell booster:
Verizon 15.0/1.0
T-Mobile 4.94/4.59
ATT 8.60/3.26