Rusk Depot Campground

First-this is not a state park. The state of Texas has nothing to do with it. It’s managed by an out-of-state company. It used to be a State Park many, many moons ago. The ladies that run the check in/registration are sweet as can be!
My stay was during spring break. All the State Parks were booked up way ahead. We found this spot and were excited. We booked a ride on the train, went fishing at the little lake, rode bicycles, and made the best of it. Most of the fire rings are rusted out “if”your camp spot has one. All of the amenities are old and have past the term “run down”. The sad thing about it is, why? It’s a really beautiful spot. Towering pines. Beware. Some of the trees are dead and are hazards. One camp spot was roped off due to this. But if the trees fell, they would/could take out several camp sites due to their large size. 80 feet + tall trees. The campground is next to US 84 so you will notice the road noise. We were very close and didn’t realize it till we had our camper leveled, (pop-up camper)so we just dealt with it. At night the big logging trucks are very LOUD. This is something the management company can’t do anything about. It is what it is.
Our main concern was the condition of the bathrooms and showers. We tried to just suck it up, but after a 4 night stay…It was ridiculous. Nasty is the only word for it. Nasty. The showers were not clean when we got there, and no one cleaned them while we were there. No one had cleaned them in a long time. The middle showers in the main FHU loop -men’s only had one shower that was operable. The other shower was broken. Inside that shower, the soap container had a half smoked cigarette that was all wet. Someone’s old bar of soap was left along with their shampoo. The shower was so gross I barely wanted my kids to use it. But we were determined to have a good time. The women’s showers only had one working shower. My wife had to remove a glob of long hair out of the drain for it to work. The same company manages the train. I sure hope they maintain that better than they do the campground. Those thoughts ran through my head while riding on the train. After all the negatives, I have pointed out -I still had a good time with family, but I will not go back. Now—-the price per night does not match what you have to put up with. $39.00 per night. I learned my lesson on booking ahead. During our stay during spring break, we only saw three other RVs there. Two left right after got there and one showed up on our last night. A group of tent campers were there the first couple days. I was told that the showers closest to them were locked. And they were. So we all shared what showers worked. I hated doing this review. But it needed to be done!!

This is an X-Texas State Park that really needs some overdue TLC.
After making reservations over the phone 163 days prior to arriving and prepaying the entire amount, we were told at check-in there was no record of our reservation. Once we got through that confusion we were had to ask for directions to the campground. No map provided. Even with a reservation, campsites are selected once you arrive and drive through the campgrounds. FHU loop roadway was difficult to maneuver due to the roadway being covered with pine needles which blended it into the non-roadway. We saw most people driving thru campsites thinking it was the road as the FHU loop were mostly pull-thru sites. Limited sites for RVs longer than 30 feet. Most sites were designed for 20 feet or smaller. Not a slide-out friendly campground as most sites were very compact. Minimal vegetation between sites. At our site the wooden picnic table was partially rotted. Parking pad broken up by roots so very uneven surface. The firepit ring was mostly rusted away and was completely filled with ash so our fire was on the pi ash. Sulphuric smelling water. Highway noise. On our last night, the 30 amp breaker kept tripping without a full load. Happened twice within an hour so we scaled back our amp use under 20 just to have some heat during the night. Campground WiFi was probably one of the best we’ve experienced.
Highway noise even in our campsite the furthest from the highway. Of course, lots of train whistles during depot operations.

We arrived very late about 11:30 PM. It was dark and difficult to see the spots. There were plenty of sites to choose from - just difficult to see. The park was empty with about four campers and 50+ sites. We rode the train on Saturday from Rusk to Palestine. It was a nice train ride for the kids but it was a bit long at four hours. We did not use the laundry facilities or the restrooms but have included pictures. The kids love the playground.

We arrived late about 11:30 PM. It was very dark and difficult to find the spots. There weren’t very many campers - about 4 campers/ tents for a park capable of holding 50+. It was very quiet and peaceful. We did not use the laundry service or the restrooms and showers but we’ve added lots of pictures. The kids played at the playground and had a wonderful time. We rode the train from Rusk to Palestine on Saturday which was a great experience for the kids but the train ride was too long - 4 hours.