Franklin Mountains State Park

A beautiful, well maintained state park just outside of El Paso. No hookups but the Flying J gas station down the road has water and propane. Lots of hiking and climbing opportunities in the park. Also, the gate into the park is closed so no one can drive in after 5pm, which provides added safety. People staying at the park are provided a combination to the gate lock.

This was a stop over between Phoenix and Big Bend. Lots of sites. I have a small Airstream and had no problem with leveling. Didn't even have to unhook. Lovely views and quiet. Watch out for the turn off for State Park Campground heading East on Hwy 375. Stay in the left lane. I missed the left turn and it's a long drive to turn around & return. The entire mountain is the state Park so be sure to put the campground into your GPS.

Stayed here only 1 nite because we were en route to Tucson, we can’t wait to come back when we have time to linger.

Called ahead for an RV site since we’d be arriving after closing — no need really. Nobody was camping in the 5 RV sites- or in the campground, as far as we could tell. The park manager on the phone was very nice and explained clearly how to get there and what the late arrival procedure was. We had to unlock a gate with a code, but she didn’ tell us which lock to unlock, so we stood around looking stupid until a cyclist came by and helped us out. We’re old...

We finally got in and picked a site. RV sites weren’t particularly level but the scenery was mountains and desert. It was completely quiet. All you could hear was quail calling and a lone owl. No people except the cyclists we saw when we got there, but they were finishing up their rides and apparently weren’t staying in the park.

If you’re a cyclist , this place is probably perfect - beautiful scenery, mountain trails and more beautiful scenery. I’m sure the trails are very hikeable too if walking is your thing. There are no hook-ups at this campground and the only toilets we saw were vaults, but unless you just have to electricity and showers, this is not an issue.

Highly recommend a visit during cooler times of the year. Summer might be no fun since there’s no water.

This review only applies to the RV camping part of the park, not the tent sites or extensive hiking trails.
PROS: Beautiful desert scenery. RV Site #4 had just enough room for our 34ft motorhome. Flexible selection of one of the only five RV sites available. 10 minute drive to El Paso.
CONS: All RV sites except #4 were way off level, requiring boards. Expensive: Texas State Parks charge a daily entrance fee PER PERSON if you don’t buy the $70 Texas State Park Pass. Steep small roads for big rigs. Not recommended for motorhomes over 34ft. Poor reservation / phone system communication. Had to call four times until I got a person to get a reservation. Could not honor Texas State Park Pass for 50% off second night. Gate code causes confusion and delay. No english OTA TV reception. Two bars of AT&T reception. No water, no dump. Boondock only. We used our solar panels. Please don’t come here and run a generator because it will disturb the quiet serene desert life.