Jim Hogg Park

Heading west out of Georgetown toward Jim Hogg Park you pass Sun City Texas. This huge complex for retiring geezers has provided the impetus for enormous growth in the population as well as to the city’s tax base. It does seem the tax dollars are being put to good use. However, there are so many new subdivisions also popping up and the topography outside of town is changing rapidly. There is no place for the growing herds of deer attempting survive in their shrinking habitat. Wildlife abounds in Jim Hogg Park because of humanity’s selfishness (and bad taste).

The park itself is pretty good. However, weekends are full and busy with a much different crowd than the typical weekday campers. The restrooms are not as clean and kept up as others, but did provide plenty of hot water for showers. For some reason push button toilets fail to encourage weekend users to flush, and one might, upon entering one of the few remote restrooms, greet a full and stinking pot at any time. Often there is a good breeze coming off the lake, but the recent one hundred degree temperatures were at times still miserable. The closeness of this park to Austin and Georgetown make it a good base camp to explore those two areas. Our senior lifetime pass discount made the park a very reasonable $13 per night. I did have to use my 50 amp adapter as the regular 30 amp hookup kept tripping the breaker and it was too hot to keep going outside in my underwear and resetting it. Plus Bob the dog likes to stay cool. Our site #7 was okay, but if we were ever to return we would pick #106. It is private, has shade and also a nice cedar tree, backs up to the backwaters of the big lake, and not where everyone generally likes to be.

Downtown Georgetown is pretty cool. All within a short walk is a great coffee shop called 309 on Main Street, plenty of antiques and other old shops in the town square off Main, and then a delightful swim or soak in the dog-friendly Blue Hole in the San Gabriel River.

We spent three nights here in early March and stayed right on the lake. This was a last minute trip, but we got lucky and came across this double site, D039. You pay $26 for lake front but then an extra $10 for a double site. The double site allows for a large group (up to 16 people) to both RV and tent camp at the same time. We primarily cook in the outdoor kitchen area. So for just us two, it was still worth the extra $10 to get more of a paved patio under our awning instead of being in the grass. Plus plenty of parking room and awning space. Even though we were on the lake front the site was very level. There was a covered shelter, fire ring, and pathway down to the lake. The pathway in front of this site was only used by us, whereas the adjacent two sites got a lot of other guests filtering to their two pathways. So they had a lot of foot traffic down to lake, but we didn’t. We have been leery of covered shelters, because if they don’t maintain them they are full of spiders. Plus sometimes, it doesn’t allow for your awning to fully open. This was not the case here. It was well maintained, and we hung our hammock and outdoor lights under it. There is a a pretty oak tree on the connection side of the site, but it didn’t cause any issues with our slide out. Great spot, with gorgeous lake views and a constant breeze coming off the lake. Site offers water, electric (30/50 amp), shelter with table, fire ring. Dump station at park entrance. No WIFI at the park but we had plenty of cell reception with AT&T. There is also an HEB close by and plenty of dining option. I heard there were great hiking trails at the park on the south side of the lake. There may be some at this park the two we went on weren’t much.

Our only complaints are related to the office hours and front gate. The park house was closed when we arrived an hour before the posted hours. They left a sticky on the window for us but there wasn't a gate code on the back. So we were worried to leave, but it turns out they weren't closing the gate at night. I thought that was strange, because it was operational and closed during the day when someone was there taking park fees. But then they left it open at night. Since it was a short trip, we didn't have to use the showers. But used one of the restroom and it was pretty dated.

We stayed here one night in September 2018 after spending the day in Austin and on the way to Amarillo. We had booked online and had no trouble checking in upon arrival. We also bought a national parks pass here that we’ll be using over the next few weeks. We had site #96 which had a path leading to the lake and was just a few minutes’ walk to the restroom. No complaints on the restroom. Typical campground restrooms with timed buttons on the showers and sinks. It was quiet with mostly RVs and trailers. Saw one other group of tent campers. We went into Georgetown for breakfast at Monument Cafe which was recommended and didn’t disappoint. Lots of deer on the road to the campground and in the campground itself! :)

We spent a night and 2 nice days there. The lake is beautiful and the site we were at was really great and shady. All sites have a covered picnic area and ours was 50 amps and had water hook up. We saw many deer and bunnies. Very silent and a great place to relax. The bathrooms weren’t great but not the worst we’ve seen either. We ended up using the RV bathroom only. Dog friendly. Our dogs had a blast! I would definitively come back and maybe stay at a site in front of the lake next time. Site number 7 was near the lake but not in front.

Pretty campground. The lake is beautiful and clean. Fished a little with my daughter. The campground is quiet with a lot of shaded sites. Only complaint is a lot of the sites are unlevel, including ours. Take extra blocks just in case. The sites closest to the lake aren’t shaded and some are very unlevel. Also, bathrooms were out of order. Other than that, would definitely stay at this quiet campground again.

The prices must have gone up from the last reviews because the cheapest site you can get here is $22. We got site #37 which is located right on the lake. It was $26 a night. The sites are well maintained. I haven’t seen any trash just lying around. No recycling bins though. Which I consider a downside as Id rather not just dump it in the trash bins.

We spent one night here on our way south. I found the roads to be tight even though they were one way. ( I pull a 36ft travel trailer)
The pad was very slopped and required a lot of blocking to reach level.
The site was also very slopped and created some navigation issues for me.
The dump station is only one lane and is right at the exit gate, on our departure there were four RVs lined up to dump this actually blocked the exit for everyone.
I have posted a video about my experience and it can be found under the blogs tab above

Loved our stay here however we did bring home pest control and did have to spray for fire ants! Inspect the grounds before setting carpet or sitting in the chairs outside around firepit as there could be fireants... could have been season for them... however it was a wonderful stay , beautiful campground, bathroom was clean however they do have push button 30 second shower...but it was warm water.... lots of deer!!

Nice Park. The primary focus of this park is parking your camper and going fishing on the lake. Maintenance upkeep was not good. Several bathrooms were not working. No conditioning of the air (AC or Heat) in the bathrooms. Don't plan on using the restroom facilities. We started out at Site 144 but the electrical was not working. Sites 78-148 were the upper loop and the better loop for shade. The Sites 1-77 where in the open with no shade but nice view of the lake.

My family spent the 2017 Easter weekend here. The campground was full with no empty sites. Our site was on the north end of the campground and looked out at small arm of the lake. The site was spacious and very shaded and provided a nice spot for my popup camper. Camp site area was well maintained with a nice picnic table with cover. My only criticism is directed towards the bathrooms of the park. Bathrooms and showers need to be updated and maintained more often for the amount of people visiting the park.