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Calliham, TX (Choke Canyon State Park)

Calliham, TX (Choke Canyon State Park)

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Choke Canyon Lake about 24% full, the nearby grassy area should be underwater
Javalina in our site

Park Review – Choke Canyon State Park

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Location: Calliham, TX
Type: State Park
Check-in/Check-out times: 2:00/12:00
Site Quality / Amenities: Asphalt roads / pads. Each site has a covered patio, a fire pit and a lantern pole.
Access: Off TX-72 West of Three Rivers, TX.
Staff: We had minimal interaction with staff.
Cellular/WiFi: Verizon worked slightly but only with our amplifier and external antenna. Starlink was great as we had a clear view of the north sky.
Restaurants: Live Oak Restaurant in Three Rivers served good food at reasonable prices.
Nearby parks: We didn’t look closely at any other parks nearby. We did drive by a few and they were pretty rough looking.
What we liked: We saw wildlife while we were there including numerous types of birds, javelina, wild turkeys and deer. They have signs posted about alligators being in the park but we didn’t see any. The park was fairly quiet even on the weekends.
What we didn’t like: We were in site 107 and although it worked it was a bit challenging to get into due to a post and trees near the site entrance and trees at the back and side of the site. We had to park the truck sideways across the front of the trailer. The sites are water and electric only with no sewer so stays for us are limited to a week or less.
Verdict: This was typical of most Texas State Parks if not on the better side of most. It could have used some TLC in places, particularly in regards to trimming some of the low trees along the roads. This might be a good stop if heading down to the South Padre / Brownsville area but check the sites for trees and other obstructions as well as length first.

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El Campo, TX

El Campo, TX

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El Campo is situated in the center of the Coastal Plains of Texas. Because of the bountiful native grasses, these plains were used as open range for cattle by Spanish explorers, later by Mexican cattlemen and then settlers brought in by Colonist Stephen F. Austin. After Texas won its independence from Mexico, German, Irish and Swedish immigrants moved into the area and cattle production remained the principal income of the people.

In 1882, a railroad camp (section No. 230) was situated where El Campo now stands. The little camp was first called “Prairie Switch” because it served as a switching point on the Houston-Victoria Railroad and a shipping point on the New York, Texas and Mexican Railroad. In fact, during the mid-1880s, El Campo was the largest prairie hay shipping point in the entire United States.

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Galveston, TX

Galveston, TX

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Although we spent three months on Galveston Island between December 2023 and February 2024 we unfortunately didn’t get to see a lot of the “touristy” attractions there. Instead, we spent a lot of time preparing for travel during 2024 including settling on (and ordering) new furniture, looking at interior decorating changes and updating things like one of our vent fans, bathroom faucets and replacing our water heater in the middle of a wind storm with wind gusts to 65 mph. We also spent a fair amount of time planning our route for 2024 and booking many of the stops along the way – more to come as we travel to the north west this summer including a month near Glacier National Park.

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Bryan, TX

Bryan, TX

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Nice park with asphalt roads and paved sites
Like many parks, the overall layout forced us to park back on the pad and the porch didn’t align with our steps. These sites would work better for class A RVs.

Park Review – Hidden Creek RV Resort

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
Location: Bryan, TX
Type: Commercial Park
Check-in/Check-out times: 1:00/11:00
Site Quality / Amenities: Sites are full hookup with 30/50A electrical service. Each site has a picnic table but nothing else.
Access: Just east of US-190 / TX-6 in Bryan, TX.
Staff: Friendly and efficient check-in process with lot’s of follow up prior to arrival.
Cellular/WiFi: The park had WiFi but we didn’t use it. Verizon service was good.
Restaurants: We ate at Casa Rodriguez Mexican Restaurant. We had eaten here a couple of years back and liked it but unfortunately it was not as good this time. We likely won’t try it again when we are back in the area.
Nearby parks: We did not look closely at any other parks during our stay but Hardy’s RV Resort and Aggieland RV Park right off US-190 / TX-6 might also bee good places to look at.
What we liked: This was a nice paved park with a good walking trail through the woods at the back of the park. Convenient to restaurants and stores in Bryan/College Station.
What we didn’t like: Could be somewhat difficult to get out of the park if traffic was heavy. Sites could be laid out a bit better.
Verdict: We would stay here again for a one or two night stop when travelling through the area.

Brownwood, TX

Brownwood, TX

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Site 23 – Basic no frills site but adjacent to the city park. Pecan Bayou river is just in front of the site.

Park Review – Riverside RV Park

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Location: Brownwood, TX
Type: I believe this is part of the City Park and possibly managed by a third party.
Check-in/Check-out times: 1:00/11:00
Site Quality / Amenities: Sites are full hookup with 30/50A service and no other amenities. There are separate bathrooms for men and women in the RV park.
Access: Easy access from US-84. Turn left onto Riverside Park Dr. and the RV sites are about 1/2 mile up on the right. Do not go into Riverside Park as some directions suggest.
Staff: There is no onsite staff. The park will text you on the day of arrival to confirm your reservation and site number. We did meet the person who texted us as he showed up when we were getting set up and he was nice and helpful with activities going on in town that night.
Cellular/WiFi: We had good Verizon service with speeds fast enough to stream. We did not set up our Starlink due to just an overnight stop but we likely would have had problems with it anyway due to limited north view because of trees.
Restaurants: We ate at the Cotton Patch Cafe which is just outside the park and it was decent but not necessarily unforgettable.
Nearby parks: We did not look at any other parks during our stay but Harlowe’s RV Park on the east end of town looks like it might be OK for a one night stay as well.
What we liked: The Pecan Bayou River flows right in front of the RV park, just 50 yards from the sites. There is a deck with chairs to sit out and enjoy the river. In addition the City of Brownwood also has a large city park adjacent to the RV park so there’s lots of room for a walk or to just get out and enjoy the outdoors. There are numerous opportunities nearby for food and stores like Walmart.
What we didn’t like: Many of the sites had issues like low tree limbs or other issues getting out of the sites.
Verdict: One of these sites should work for us 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, or 23. We were on site 23 this time. Do not pick a site below 14 with a big rig unless you can back out and then get turned around to exit because of a big dip in the road to get out of the sites. Any other site not listed above has trees that would likely be too low or might interfere with getting out of the site. This is a great park for a one night stopover or maybe even a few days.