Lake Livingston State Park Campground

We had booked for 6 nights, only stayed 2. The problem? Clouds of mosquitoes, not a few, but clouds!
From the moment we arrived, we were surrounded, even though we used repellent, it was intolerable.
We huddled in our RV, just couldn’t even go out. We finally decided to cut our stay short, and went to Galveston…no mosquitoes.
They don’t seem to try to do anything to control the mosquitoes. There was standing water everywhere.
I would not recommend going to this park except in months when the clouds are lifted. It’s a beautiful place, just uninhabitable during the spring.

We arrived 151 days after making our on-line reservations for the very busy Memorial Day weekend in Piney Shore Loop campground. This was our fourth camping adventure at Lake Livingston State Park in the Piney Shore Loop.

Pros
EXTREMELY quiet during the Memorial Day weekend.
Even tho not backed up to lake, nice view of lake from Site #55.
Double concrete pad as it is an accessible campsite.
Very level concrete pad; no need to do any type of leveling.
Nice early morning shade onto Site #55
Very good privacy from neighbor Site #54 and Site behind #48
Park ranger drive-thru about every four hours
Restroom/showers good working condition, clean, ample hand soap and toilet paper.
Recently paved park roads very nice upgrade
Mosquitoes were drawn to those who strung lots of lights throughout their site, so many did not use those lights which resulted in good dark conditions for night sky viewing.
1-2 bars AT&T cell service.
Lowes, Walmart and small HEB close by n the town of Livingston.
Campground squirrels loved to hand fed...we had 5 lined up at one time...bring peanuts and make a couple friends!

Cons.
Campers requiring mobility assistance may find this campsite very challenging, even tho it does have a double wide concrete pad. Site #55 labeled as accessible but is very accessible unfriendly as it is not close to campground toilet shower facilities, fire ring is up a gravel hill on driver side of camper.
Piney Shore Loop sewer hook up required 20 feet of stinky slinky.
No privacy from Site #56.
No privacy from the campground road.
Picnic table in mud hole nearly the size of the table and very unleveled with one end higher than the other end.
Unable to move picnic table as it is chained to concrete pylon.
Picnic table not wheelchair accessible.
No afternoon-to-evening shade what-so-ever.
Site #56 campers permitted their dog to run without a leash.
No park WIFI

We have a 45' motorhome and was very nicely accommodated for our Jeep as well. Paved site pads, full hookups in very good working order, campgrounds well maintained. We couldn't get a site here for the weekend as the locals anticipated well the spring weather and filled them up so we first stayed in site 49 on the Red Oak look, left for those 2 days and came back to site 30 on Yaupon loop. Both had ample space for our coach and jeep. Good trails. We'll definitely visit here again when in this area, plan to reserve well ahead and catch a site on the lake.

I’ll start with the positive. Looks like the pads are new and were recently poured so we had a nice level place to park.

We arrived after dark, we just needed a place to sleep before continuing on. It was reported on here that it’s $22 so seemed like a reasonable price to park when we didn’t need any water or electricity, just a parking spot to sleep. When my husband went to pay this morning we were charged $47! They charge per vehicle and per person. We have 5 kids and 3 vehicles because our teenagers drive separately. Turned out to be a pricey parking spot. While paying, my husband asked if they offered discounts for the access pass. The campground host giggled when he asked. I’m not sure what was funny to her- maybe that we have a daughter with a disability. We’ve camped all over the country and many places (not just federal lands) offer discounts for access passes.

We were parked at what appeared to be a dead end. When we came in last night I turned my truck around so they could see to set up using my headlights. Well we were awakened early this morning by the park “police” that we needed to move our vehicles. There is only space for one vehicle to park in the site. He also said- “obviously” you came in the wrong way on a one way & he wrote down our registration information. Well, as I said, I turned around to give them light to set up. I certainly didn’t appreciate him assuming I was an idiot driving the wrong way in a one way. So we moved our vehicles to the bathroom for 15 minutes then walked back to get them to load up the kids.

Lastly, the entire campground looks like a swamp. Almost every single campground is full of water and mud. I can’t imagine anyone staying here longer than overnight because I would imagine the mosquitoes are horrendous. We didn’t stay long enough to find out.

Pretty standard state park fare - nothing amazing but nothing negative either. We had a site very close to the boat ramp which was great when we took out the kayak. The lake was really quiet, we were the only boaters out. Can walk along the waterfront the length of the park. Took a walk on the boardwalk to duck and frog ponds and that was a nice very easy walk with the kids. Mid-week so it was quiet, made for good bike riding.

Cell signal was OK, better the closer you got to the lake. The store and activity center were closed for construction. Sites kinda close together. Pine forest is unexpected in Texas but was a nice treat.

We rode out the historical Texas freeze here. All the loops have really nice concrete pads, electric, water, and some loops also have sewer. The camp hosts were very friendly and helpful. The park is very clean, maintenance grooms all sites upon departure. The hiking trails are adequate to get in 3-5 miles daily. The elevated boardwalk in one area keeps your feet dry but after a rain the dirt trails are a bit soggy. The lake is beautiful with fishing and boardwalks along the day use area and Piney Loop (best lake views and on the water). The bath house was acceptable but average for a state park. Our stay was peaceful and the site had nice privacy.

First I’ll comment on the park hosts, the clean every site the moment someone leaves so that the person coming in has a clean site. They were fast, too!

Our site was in the Red Oak area, just one street away from the water line. Those sites were all booked, but thank goodness because we stayed here over the Christmas and New Years weeks and the sites on the water were cold and windy. Our site was absolutely perfect! It was large, heavily wooded, private, and level. We walked around all the sites and genuinely feel ours was the best one without a lake view. Many are open and lack privacy.

They have a ton to do here, but not too much hiking if that’s your thing (it’s ours, so this was a bummer). Verizon and AT&T service were great and I was able to work without issue using our Verizon hotspot.

Amazing sunrises and sunsets! There’s a lumber spot in town with super cheap firewood, which the park directed us to. All around great park!

This park is undergoing a thorough and much needed renovation. Two of the three boat ramps and the park store are closed. The docks have been removed and are being replaced. The swimming pool is permanently closed and the there is no longer a horse stable. The sites in the Pin Oak Loop have been renovated and reopened within the last 7 months. Excellent, level concrete pads. Several of the sites do not drain well after a heavy rain. Mosquitoes are ferocious! In the "Activities Area" is a nice place to swim off the seawall. Park was very quiet except for construction activity during the day.

We love this state park and it is one of our favorites! This was our third time camping here in the Piney Shores Loop. We arrived on Memorial Day for four nights with reservations made 54 days prior.
We weren't loving Piney Shores #52 back-in campsite much due to:
1. Steep drop-off of the concert pad and the narrow roadway making backing in challenging.
2. The dirt area around the picnic table, fire pit and lantern pole was a huge MUD hole! What a mess due to daily rains.
3. No concrete pad under the picnic table, so your feet were in the MUD hole!
HINT - Park Maintenance needs to apply some medium size gravel around table and fire pit.
4. Picnic table (chained to the ground) and fire pit were right next to each other. WHO DESIGNS THESES CAMPSITES??
5. Power interruptions, albeit short. Very glad we had our power surge protector.
We loved:
1. Very level concrete pad requiring no additional leveling efforts.
2. Huge campsite along the lakefront with access to launch kayak/canoe or even swim (which we didn't).
3. Gorgeous sunsets over the lake. It was wonderful to sit at the fire facing the lake and watch the sunsets.
4. The squirrels that ate from our fingertips! It was also really amusing to find the squirrels VERY friendly. They just hoped up onto our laps and took peanuts in the shell from our fingertips!
5. Super quiet as only 6 full hook up campsites were occupied due to COVID operating restrictions.