Palmetto State Park Campground

This park captures a bit of unique habitat in Texas, dwarf palmettos usually found in warmer, wetter climates and there are several miles of trails that showcase it, all can be hiked or biked. The sites were very level and large enough for any size rig, just watch out for overhanging trees. Lots of deer and other wildlife, including HUNDREDS of black vultures in the trees above. Phone and internet worked well with Verizon. There is some fishing here in a small lake but limited recreation on the San Marcos River. Our biggest negative was 24/7 highway noise from I-10 which was about 3 miles away.

I loved this park. There are two parts, one for RV parking with 18 sites that included water and electric.The sites are paved and level. The other section had camping without water and electric. The bathrooms are a stone building, nice and clean with a free shower. It sits on a river that had kayak and paddleboat rentals. There is a nice playground for the kids and they had an archery setup. There were several trails to hike on that had signs describing the wildlife and plants. We came across a big snapping turtle wandering down the trail and there is a water tower that vultures roost on at night. I didn't hear any noise from I-10 at all, but it may have been the time of year.
If we had time, I would have stayed several days.

This is an extremely well-maintained taste of Florida in Texas. When you turn into Palmetto State Park (make sure you enter at the park entrance and not the back road your iPhone may send you down) you are greeted with a spectacular view of the Texas countryside. As you continue down the road, it begins to feel like you are entering Jurassic park.

Once you check in and begin the drive to your site, you will see the hiking trails. Many warn of snakes (yikes!), but we didn't see any.

The sites were a little tricky to get into, even though they were paved. Our site, site 15, sloped a pretty significant amount, but we didn't roll into the woods.

In the primitive loop, there is a playground and access to the pond where they keep the pedal boats and canoes.

Each loop has rest rooms and dumpsters, as expected. There is only sewer is at the host sites, so you must go to the dump station.

As for the area, there is a Buc-ees off the I-10 exit. You should go, its an experience and they sell everything Yeti. Luling and Gonzales are each 8 miles away. Luling has an H-E-B and is home to Luling City Market. I'm a vegetarian, so you will have to take their word for it:
“One of the ‘Ultimate Texas Menu’ contributors for Outstanding Bar-B-Que” – Texas Monthly
“Best Beef Sausage” – Barbecue America
“Best Bites in the USA” – Esquire Magazine

We really liked how well maintained the trails were in the park. We took advantage of the open trails. Currently, the San Marcos River trail was closed. The park has some cool scenery for the area. I didn't feel like I had only driven 1.5 hours (from Austin) to get here. It felt more like East Texas area.

Some of the sites can be difficult to get into. There are trees on both sides of the outer sides and the pads aren't angled to road. I had to come at the site from the other direction. Basically, come down the road the wrong way. Next time, I'll see what sites are available before pulling into the loop. My trailer is almost 32'.

The park is close to I-10, but I didn't notice any noise. It was close to convenient stores. Also, close to the HEB in Luling.

I was able to get about 20mb/s down on my AT&T phone.

We spent one night here on our way back from Goose Island SP. I was really excited about this park after researching it online, unique flora in a Texas setting and great trails to scoot on. There are even reports of Bigfoot sightings in this park!
As we were unloading the car the park host very sharply informed us that we would have to unload everything at the parking area and transport it the 100 yards or so as we could not leave the car parked at the end of the pad. What?
After getting set up I unloaded my mobility scooter and went for a ride, the same park host stopped me and said that mobility scooters are not to be used in this park!
We ignored this person and had a pleasant visit anyway. I have posted videos of our visit on my YouTube channel and they can be seen here...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV3OUUap8JeAqOISylnZlgWO-TajYlxU-

we really should have stayed longer and taken advantage of the place. beautiful. even the wildlife were friendly. we were visited by squirrels, racoons, possums and armadillo. we kept hoping but did not see any bears. maybe next time.

This park is not far off of I-10, about an hour east of San Antonio, which would allow for a day trip to the city. The park is very clean and well cared for.

The host was very friendly and helpful. He made recommendations for eating in Lockhart, which is one of the reasons we stayed at this park. Lockhart is the bbq capital of Texas, home of Smitty’s and Kreuz’s.

We stayed in the rv loop and there wasn’t a bad site. The large sites are shaded, have a pad, and good spacing between sites. They are not very private, if you are looking for that, since the undergrowth that would provide that is not there. Try for an end site or number 8, 9 and 11 if you want more privacy. We did take a bike ride over to the tent area which is just as nice. Small campers (under 16 to 20 feet) would fit over there in some sites. That area has a pond for swimming and boating.

The hiking trails are very well maintained and are relatively flat. It’s worth a peak at the CCC building and pump house.

As for the noise from I-10 that some folks mentioned. We were there in early April and leaves were on the trees. No one was running AC, so that made for quiet sleeping. We didn’t hear any road noise and I tend to be sensitive to that. I did notice near the top of the campground during the day I heard some road noise. I think this issue may depend on the time of year you are there.

We stayed 6 days, the first day we stayed in the “water only” side of the park, meant for mostly tent or small RV camping. As the name implies, there is no electric or sewer. We stayed in this part of the park for only one night because it was booked to capacity. On the next day, Monday (It was a holiday) we were able to get a sight on the other side of the river. This side had electric and water, with a dump station. All sites have great quality pads of differing sizes. We stayed at site #9 which we believe is one of, if not the best site in the park. Each site comes with a grill, fire ring, picnic table and lantern holder. Restrooms are adequate in the water only side and a bit better quality on the electric/water side which also have showers. Showers have great pressure and hot water as do the sinks. All bathrooms were very clean and camp hosts were very pro-active in taking care of cleanliness. Fire wood is a valuable for sale, self-service. Quality of wood while we were there was great, all oak. Trails are all very well maintained and very interesting. Coyotes, Owls and frogs can be heard at night and star viewing is pretty good.

Please note that the Parks Headquarters and check-in for camping are located in the village of Ottine (just south of the intersection of FM 1586 and Park Road 11)!!!!!! Get a map of the park while there!!!!!
The park has two camping areas one for trailers and RV's with 18 sites electric (50/30/20 amps)/water plus one 1 with full hook up. The sites are good size paved back in sites, have a fire pit plus a grill and a bench table combo. Suggestion get a odd number space since the end of your rig will be facing the forest.  The entire trailer camping area is tree covered, the sites are well spaced and it is very quiet in the loop after dark (we are here in February). There is an overflow parking area near the rest rooms. The rest rooms (we did not use them regularly) seemed older but clean and maintained (we heard a heater kicking in). Next to the rest rooms is also the dump station and the trash.  Satelite reception might not be the best due the tree cover.
I walk/hike a lot and made it to the "other" side, the tent camping side too. The two sides are connected by a low water crossing across (crossable by foot or bike) over the San Marcos River. There were 20 tent sites with water only, a group camping site and a cabin for rent plus another bathhouse. I did see some class B or vans in those spots.
The hiking trails are more like walking trails: mostly flat, lots of bridges, some dirt, but also a lot of gravel (not challenging, but extremly beautiful!!!). The trails are also great for bikes, strollers and self driving wheel chairs too (no curbs or steps). There is no way of getting lost and the trails meander through an amazing mixture of swamps filled with palmetto trees, meadows full of wildflowers, forests and along the San Marcos river. There lots of birds, deer, squirrels around. It is a bird watchers paradise (never seen that many cardinals in one place!).The park is currently (late February) starting to transfer into spring: amazing bright green grass everywhere, lots of flowers and the trees are starting to get their leafs. It is very stunning to see.... I can imagine the park taking on a more jungle like feel in some areas later in spring and summer.
The nearest grocery stores are in  Gonzales. We use a verizon jetpack and had no problem working on the internet and watching TV.

The park itself is why we stopped here. The camping is fine. This was the only state park within an hour that had availability on a weekend without advanced reservation.

Pros: The park is beautiful. The trails are nice flat and easy. Very picturesque.

Cons: it is further than other parks if you are trying to be close to San Antonio, Austin, or even Lockhart. Each camping spot is pretty wide open and you can see several neighbors. Not incredibly private like some of the other state parks.