Texas State Parks in Winter: 25 RV Nights at $24 a Night
Texas state parks were the cheapest state parks we camped in during our first year in the Brinkley: 25 nights in ten parks for $612, or $24.48 a night with reservation and entrance fees included. Winter is the quiet season at half of the parks we used. Goose Island on the coast and the Monahans dunes in West Texas list busy seasons that run into the cold months, but neither one was busy at all when we were there.
Our first big trip in the trailer ran from Colorado down to Austin in the fall of 2025 (coming soon: Episode 4), and we rented a storage spot in Austin from October to April. At the end of November we set off on a Texas winter trip along the coast and into East Texas (coming soon: Episode 6). Then two drives in the spring took us back across West Texas. Below is what each park was like and what I’d want to know before booking one in winter. Every receipt is in a table near the end.
What is each Texas state park known for?
Davis Mountains to McKinney Falls (October and November 2025)
Coming soon: Episode 4, our first big trip from Colorado to Austin.
Davis Mountains State Park sits about a mile above sea level outside Fort Davis, and Texas Parks and Wildlife says it has some of the darkest skies in the state. We pointed a camera at the stars over the trailer one clear night, and we filmed a yoga class at the top of Skyline Drive. It’s also where a ranger changed my mind about rangers. I’d assumed they were basically park police. She was friendly and answered every question we had, and she told us about the park’s stargazing events.
Guadalupe River State Park, in the Hill Country about 30 miles from San Antonio, is all about the river, which runs through the middle of the park over four natural rapids. In early November the weather there was perfect, and Erin named it the “non-temperature temperature” on camera. (Heads up, generators aren’t allowed.)
McKinney Falls is inside Austin’s city limits, where Onion Creek spills over wide limestone ledges at the Upper and Lower Falls. We stayed three nights in early November and came back for two more later that month. It’s on our short list of favorite campgrounds anywhere. You’re right in the middle of Austin, and all of a sudden you’re in a beautiful forest (you can still hear the airplanes). The park is large, with trails everywhere and really nice campsites. The campground is laid out well, and it’s easy to get anywhere in Austin from there. Sites have partial hookups, and there’s a dump station. If you’re spending time in Austin, it’s a great stop. The e-bike trails around the park are good too. By Thanksgiving, on that second visit, the weather had turned. It read 57 degrees, and on camera we said it felt a lot colder than that.
The coast and East Texas (December 2025)
Coming soon: Episode 6, our Texas winter trip.
Goose Island State Park is on St. Charles and Aransas bays just north of Rockport. Its Big Tree, a coastal live oak, was named the State Champion Coastal Live Oak in 1969, and endangered whooping cranes winter across the bay at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. When we finally walked up to the Big Tree, the first words on the recording were “That is amazing.” It was also freezing. On camera I called it “apparently a massive cold front,” and we canceled a couple of reservations while we figured out where to go next. It stayed cold for the rest of that Texas trip. We talked about it a lot in our videos, and I don’t think that’s normal.
Lake Corpus Christi State Park was our cheapest Texas stop at $15 a night. It’s a lake in South Texas brush country with more than 200 bird species recorded, and alligators live in the park. Erin joked on camera that we were filming it just so we would always remember how cold Texas got that week. It was too cold to film yoga.
Lake Livingston State Park is about an hour north of Houston in the East Texas Pineywoods. It sits on one of the largest reservoirs in Texas and is best known for fishing. Bald eagles nest around the lake and show up most often in fall and winter. By our third day there the campground had emptied out. “We’re like the only people left,” Erin said on camera, and we headed out to film yoga for the first time in two weeks.
Brazos Bend State Park, southwest of Houston, has well over 300 documented bird species and plenty of American alligators. At the nature center, a volunteer invited Erin in to pet baby alligators. They hatched from a nest that had been abandoned, and the park is raising them until they’re old enough to release. We learned the park has more than 300 adult alligators. We did see some ourselves, maybe 10 to 15 of them in the water. Rindo didn’t go around the lake. She hung out at the campground.
West Texas on the way home (March and May 2026)
Abilene State Park was a one-night stop in March on the drive from Austin back to Colorado. In May, Monahans Sandhills State Park gave us dunes up to 50 feet tall, and you can rent sand discs at park headquarters for sledding. (Our flat tire near Lometa happened between Monahans and Palo Duro, and that story is in what a year on the road cost us.)
Then Palo Duro Canyon in the Panhandle, which Texas Parks and Wildlife calls the second largest canyon system in the United States. It has more than 30 miles of trails, including the hike to the Lighthouse rock formation.
How did the Texas State Parks Pass change the math?
I bought our Texas State Parks Pass on November 28, 2025, partway through all of this. The full breakdown is in Texas vs. Colorado State Park Passes, so here’s just the short version. Split at the day I bought it, our state park nights went from $34.75 to $18.14.
Not all of that drop is the pass. Some of it is just cheaper parks. But the pass covered entrance for both of us and took half off the second night on our longer stays, and it paid back $231 on a $70 card. Ours runs out November 30, and I’m renewing it before we book anything.
| Texas state park stays | Nights | What we paid | Per night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booked before the pass (Davis Mountains, Guadalupe River, McKinney Falls) | 8 | $278.00 | $34.75 |
| Goose Island (one booking before the pass, one after) | 3 | $80.00 | $26.67 |
| Booked after the pass (the other six parks) | 14 | $254.00 | $18.14 |
| All Texas state parks | 25 | $612.00 | $24.48 |
What should you know about booking Texas state parks in winter?
The busy season depends on the park. Half the parks we stayed at say their busy season runs from spring into fall, so winter is their quiet time. Monahans Sandhills is the other way around, with its busy season from September to March. Goose Island is busy from October through Thanksgiving and again from January through April. When we were there, though, Goose Island and Monahans Sandhills weren’t busy at all. I think the cold weather had a lot to do with it, because I think they’re normally fairly busy. Nine of the ten park pages recommend reserving ahead, and most of them recommend reserving day passes too.
Weekends have rules. At Lake Livingston, a Friday or Saturday reservation needs a two-night minimum.
It does freeze. Texas in winter isn’t always warm, and three of our parks spell it out:
- Davis Mountains: winter nights often drop below freezing, with occasional snow.
- Abilene: freezes are possible from mid-November to mid-March.
- Lake Corpus Christi: the average January low is 44 degrees, and the first freeze usually comes in mid-December.
Entrance is extra. Texas charges a daily entrance fee per adult on top of camping, and at our parks it ran $5 to $7 per adult. The pass covers everyone in the car, but Texas applies it when the reservation is created, so buy the pass first.
Mind the alligators. Brazos Bend asks visitors to stay at least 30 feet from alligators and to keep pets out of the lakes. Rindo travels with us, so that one applies to us.
Which Texas state parks did we camp at, and what did they cost?
Here’s every Texas state park stay in one place. Each total is the camping fee plus whatever reservation and entrance fees landed on the same receipt. Two Texas stops aren’t in the table because they aren’t state parks. On Lake Amistad we spent one night at Southwinds Marina, a military campground run by Laughlin Air Force Base, and paid $30.00. The Austin East KOA, where we spent five nights in May, is a private park.
| Park | When | Nights | Site | What we paid | Per night |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davis Mountains | Oct 2025 | 2 | 58, Electric Area 2 | $64.00 | $32.00 |
| Guadalupe River | Nov 2025 | 1 | 39, Turkey Sink | $38.00 | $38.00 |
| McKinney Falls (two visits) | Nov 2025 | 5 | 17, Little Oak (first visit) | $176.00 | $35.20 |
| Goose Island | Nov to Dec 2025 | 3 | 115, Wooded Area | $80.00 | $26.67 |
| Lake Corpus Christi | Dec 2025 | 2 | 6, Opossum Bend | $30.00 | $15.00 |
| Lake Livingston | Dec 2025 | 4 | 91, Hercules Club | $70.00 | $17.50 |
| Brazos Bend | Dec 2025 | 3 | 136, Burr Oak | $62.50 | $20.83 |
| Abilene | Mar 2026 | 1 | E58, Brushy Trail | $20.00 | $20.00 |
| Monahans Sandhills | May 2026 | 2 | 22, Willow Draw | $32.50 | $16.25 |
| Palo Duro Canyon | May 2026 | 2 | 136, Sagebrush | $39.00 | $19.50 |
| All ten parks | 25 | $612.00 | $24.48 |
Every stop above has its own page on our travel map.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to camp at a Texas state park in an RV?
We averaged $24.48 a night across 25 nights in ten parks, with reservation fees and any entrance fees on the receipt included. Our cheapest was Lake Corpus Christi at $15 a night and our most expensive was Guadalupe River at $38. Camping fees are set park by park, and Texas adds a daily entrance fee per adult.
Is the Texas State Parks Pass worth it for RVers?
It was for us. The pass is $70 for a year and covers entrance for the cardholder and everyone in the car. It also takes half off the second night when you stay two or more nights in the same site. It does not cover the campsite itself, and ours paid back $231.
Are Texas state parks busy in winter?
Some are and some aren’t. Half of the parks we used list spring through fall as their busy season. Monahans Sandhills is busiest from September to March, and Goose Island is busy for much of the fall and late winter. Neither was busy when we visited, which I put down to the cold.
Does it freeze at Texas state parks in winter?
Yes, at several of the ones we stayed at. Davis Mountains often drops below freezing on winter nights, and Abilene can freeze from mid-November to mid-March. Even Lake Corpus Christi in South Texas usually sees its first freeze in mid-December.
See you down the road,
Matt