SteveCoyle

We called the KOA looking for a place to stay on our way home. My wife and I use our Toyota Sienna to camp out of and didn’t need an RV site, just a campsite to sleep for the night. Julie was extremely accommodating and friendly when I called and greeted me when we arrived. Nice campground and bathrooms were the cleanest we’ve seen on our trip. We’d definitely stay here again.

We only stayed here one night, but believe it would be a great place to launch explorations of the area from, especially if you’re looking for full hookups. We had decent AT&T service with 25 mb down and 5 up. The hosts were great, the park was clean and our dog loved their big dog park. The spaces were tight, but we expected that.

We decided to stay here after receiving the Campendium email last week recommending it as one of the five for the week. We took delivery of our first RV on Saturday and after years of tent camping and sleeping in our minivan it was a treat to have a place with A/C and a bathroom. We actually spent a large amount of our time sitting outside our trailer instead of in it. We enjoyed the view of the lake from our site, even though we weren’t on the lakefront. Walking around the campsite with our dog was enjoyable and I had great AT&T service and was able to work from the site. We would definitely consider staying here again.

This was the first place we stayed after we bought our trailer in 2021. On that stay we had stayed in the campground on the west side of the park, but we decided to stay at the campground on the east side of the park this time. We were not disappointed, although it was sad to see how much lower the lake was after the last 2 years of drought conditions. The park grounds are well kept and spring has sprung with the trees starting to leaf out and the grass is green. Great park and close to Temple if you forget anything. We camped at Cedar Ridge in a Travel Trailer.

We had driven through this park years ago but never stayed. Since I work on the road I was a little concerned about cell coverage based on the drive through experience, but was pleasantly surprised to find decent AT&T coverage. 5 mb down, 7 mb up. Plenty of strength for me to work all day.
There are nice trails around the lake which our dog really liked for his walks. The sites in Big Pine were all pull through with full hookups. We checked out the bathrooms and they were fine.
It’s close to Tyler or Lindale in case you need anything. We’d stay here again and are already booked on our return trip home.

Poverty Point Reservoir SP is a very well kept park. The bathrooms were very clean as was the laundry facility. The grounds are mowed and we’ll cared for. They have several nice little trails that show off the wilder side of the park. There is a great lake that provides water recreation for those wanting it, although they do warn of alligator. They also have signs up about black bear, but we didn’t see any. And if you have AT&T service, I had download speeds over 100mb and upload speeds over 20mb. My test were done on an iPhone 13 Pro

I cannot believe this is the first time we have camped at this park. It is truly a treasure in the state park system. The river is lovely and the hiking trails are well maintained. Most sites have nice shade and all have covered pavilions over their tables. The bathrooms are nice and clean. The park hosts do a great job of keeping the sites clean. I work from the road and the AT&T coverage is solid. 17 down and 5 up from the test I ran sitting in our trailer on my iPhone 13 Max.

We enjoyed our stay and everything was very clean and well taken care of. The shower water pressure left a lot to be desired in Loop A and one of the 2 shower rooms was too hot that it would be uncomfortable to be in the room long. Also cell coverage for AT&T was not that great in Loop A, but I got up to 35 mb down when we walked up to Loop D. I also thought the views of the Spanish Peaks were better from Loop D.

I have been coming to Garner since the 70s. It has doubled in size since then. Being the most visited state park in Texas says something. The Frio River is hard to beat and 13 miles of hiking trails can satisfy most hikers. And if you’re into road cycling, the area offers some of the best road cycling in the state.
The facilities are a little dated, but clean. We were here in the off season, but summers here can be packed with long lines to get into the park.
After almost 50 years this is still one of my favorite Texas state parks.
AT&T cell reception in the Rio Frio campground was solid with over 100 mb down and 12 up.

The one thing I regret was not having our kayaks to paddle around in Lake Moya. The Alice Lake campground was clean and we had plenty of room as van campers. The vault toilets were pretty smelly. Otherwise an enjoyable experience.