East or West Texas for Long-Term Stays - Recommendations

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LMSVA

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Feb 8, 2015
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We are very seriously considering long-terming it in Texas. I've spent a couple of years in the DFW area, but I would love to know YOUR recommendations on where to long-term in East and/or West TX. Please include specific parks and reasons why!

 
I live in western Louisiana about 20 miles from the Texas state line, so know the area fairly well, but am limited on ability to make specific RV park recommendations.  A lot depends on what you like to do.

The eastern part of Texas ranging from Texarkana to the north side of Houston is generally considered to be the piney woods region, there are no major cities in this region, it is filled with piney woods as the name implies, but also has a number of popular bass fishing lakes and small hills. many  small towns, some fairly good food, but nothing really that is easy to pinpoint when it comes to attractions. 

Moving west you get into the Texas Praries and Lakes region, the piney woods give way to grasslands with slow rolling hills, the northern end of this region includes the DFW metroplex, the southern end includes that area between Houston, and Austin / San Antonio with a number of quaint interesting little towns, look up the towns of Shiner, La Grange, Round Top, Brenham, Washington on the Brazos historic site, etc.

Moving west from there you get into the Texas Hill Country which starts on the west side of Austin and is a region about 100 miles wide and maybe 300 miles north to south (remember everything is bigger in Texas)  This is the area where things start drying out as you move west, in the Prairies and Lakes region you might see the odd cactus, but mostly it is grasslands, when you get to the hill country the vegetation away from running water becomes much more scrub brush with some cactus and lots more exposed surface rock, though still generally covered with vegetation.  The cities of Kerrville, Fredericksburg. Bandera, Llano, Lampasas, etc are all in the Hill Country.  In recent years a number of wineries have popped up in this region, it is also a popular weekend getaway area for residents of Austin, San Antonio, and even the DFW metroplex.  With natural outdoor activities, rivers known to tubing float trips, hiking, quaint towns, good food, etc.  Moving west from here you get into Big Bend country, towns get few and far between things get much drier, and there is a variety terrain much of it consisting of high desert.  Places of note are of course Big Bend NP, as well as Marfa, Fort Davis, Pecos, etc

This still leaves the coastal region, the south Texas plains including the Rio Grande Valley, as well as the Panhandle, though why one would want to spend much time in the Panhandle any time of year is beyond me.
 
In addition to what Issac noted, stay away from the Permian Basin. The oil and gas fields there leave a smell that is really ugly for 100 miles or so. There are also limited RV parks or campgrounds in the area that are not continually filled with long term oil workers. Oh, and can I add it is really, really hot in the summer?
 
Fundamental question is what sorts of things are you looking for?  Scenery and Nature, isolated camping spots, campground activities, places to go/see, access to restaurants or shopping, etc.  There is little point in any us working hard to describe things that you aren't at all interested in.

There are lots of online resources you could use yourself. Find some campgrounds or areas you THINK may be attractive and then ask here what others experience with them may be.

https://texascampgrounds.com/
https://www.hipcamp.com/discover/texas
https://www.tripstodiscover.com/best-places-to-go-camping-in-texas/

 
Isaac-1 said:
I live in western Louisiana about 20 miles from the Texas state line, so know the area fairly well, but am limited on ability to make specific RV park recommendations.  A lot depends on what you like to do. ...
Great synopsis, thank you so much for all of the info!!! That certainly does fill in the gaps in my knowledge of TX. We are not much in the way of hikers or fishing, but do enjoy beautiful scenery, a good church or two and conservative family values.
We will proceed using some of the info you provided!

 
UTTransplant said:
In addition to what Issac noted, stay away from the Permian Basin. The oil and gas fields there leave a smell that is really ugly for 100 miles or so. There are also limited RV parks or campgrounds in the area that are not continually filled with long term oil workers. Oh, and can I add it is really, really hot in the summer?

Thanks for that valuable info... about a thousand years ago, I was in southern California and we lived rear a refinery (when they actually still had them) and I remember the smell!
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Fundamental question is what sorts of things are you looking for?  Scenery and Nature, isolated camping spots, campground activities, places to go/see, access to restaurants or shopping, etc.  There is little point in any us working hard to describe things that you aren't at all interested in.

There are lots of online resources you could use yourself. Find some campgrounds or areas you THINK may be attractive and then ask here what others experience with them may be.

https://texascampgrounds.com/
https://www.hipcamp.com/discover/texas
https://www.tripstodiscover.com/best-places-to-go-camping-in-texas/
Gary RV_Wizard,
We are not much in the way of hikers or fishing, but do enjoy beautiful scenery, a good church or two and conservative family values. Maybe a great restaurant in the mix as well. We are pretty laid back and don't require a lot to do. When I could still hoist a 60 pound backpack, I would hike 10 miles to a lake to enjoy the scenery, not hike another 5 miles just because. We enjoy the destination a bit more than the journey.
Those are great links that you provided, we will make good use of them! Thank you!
 
Definitely, East Texas, more beautiful. Out here to the west of the State things are Dry and desolate, the winds can get Fierce too.

Check out some State Park Reviews on You Tube. By "RV Texas Ya'll" they have some Great Reviews.

I was down near Austin Yesterday Near  Buccannan, Inks Lake.  Looks Great. Lot's of Great Places in the hill country as mentioned by Issac.

Down towards East Texas, Raven Hill in Huntsville, state Park is Beautiful. I got my eye on Corps Of Engineer Park, Magnolia Ridge.

Lack of Trees, wind and blazing heat would keep me from settling long term out West. The draw back to the East is Humidity. Pick your Poison.

JD
 
X-Roughneck said:
Definitely, East Texas, more beautiful. Out here to the west of the State things are Dry and desolate, the winds can get Fierce too.

Check out some State Park Reviews on You Tube. By "RV Texas Ya'll" they have some Great Reviews.

I was down near Austin Yesterday Near  Buccannan, Inks Lake.  Looks Great. Lot's of Great Places in the hill country as mentioned by Issac.

Down towards East Texas, Raven Hill in Huntsville, state Park is Beautiful. I got my eye on Corps Of Engineer Park, Magnolia Ridge.

Lack of Trees, wind and blazing heat would keep me from settling long term out West. The draw back to the East is Humidity. Pick your Poison.

JD
Thanks much for the info...  we're into the "more beautiful" vs tumbling tumble weeds!
 
For scenic views, I have to say the Hill Country or just east of it, the piney woods region is ok, but a whole lot of the same and for the most part the hills are not tall enough to see over the tops of the pine trees.  There is also more diverse culture in the hill country, much of it was settled by various groups of European immigrants, most notably with Fredericksburg area being settled by Germans, but there are also communities settled by immigrants from Poland, etc.  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Texan  Though it seems most of the immigrants from Poland settled in the Prairies and lakes region founding see http://www.pgst.org/poltexan.htm  As a result even today you find remnants of these cultures in certain towns, then 10 miles down the road you may find a town settled by Dutch immigrants, or Mexican, or freed slaves, there is a town not too far from here in east Texas that was settled by freed slaves and holds a large festival each year where they try to get the descendants of the founders to come back for the weekend.

As a result the feel and flavor of each small town in Texas needs to be judged on its own, and they should not all be grouped together.
 
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