Bastrop State Park Campground

The only reason I gave it 4stars is because of a lot of street noise outside the park. The park itself is beautiful and quiet. Great bathroom fac; very new and clean. All of the tent sides have sand tent pads, but if you’re a hammock camper be sure the trees fit your kit.

Took

went there just to hike a little but ended up discovering wildflowers has recently bloomed and greening!! we had to extend our hike just to see more wildflowers and wild raspberries that had grown right by the trail

Nice campground. Clean restrooms, and good hiking trails.

Clean park. Restrooms rival Buccee's. Friendly, helpful rangers. RV sites clean. Bring levels. City water is safe to drink. Will be a 5 star once dam is complete and lake is refilled.

The weather and the calendar aligned and there happened to be an open spot, so I took it, loaded up and headed out. 

Length of Stay: 2 Nights

Type of Park: State 

Check In: 2p Check Out: 12p

💲 Cost per night$25+$5 entry fee per person per day 
Discounts: Texas Parks Pass Total Cost$25

📝 Site#24 Notes:

Pull Thru
Water
Max amp: 50 
Sewer
Grill
Fire Ring w/Grate
Hook for hanging lantern or other items
Picnic Table: concrete Site Pad: level, asphalt, long enough for truck and trailer and extra space

👍🏻 Pros:
• Full hookups
• Overlooking hillside
• No one was camping on one side of me
• A little shade in the afternoon
• A couple tall Loblolly Pines still stand at this site

👎🏻 Cons:
• Because so many of the trees are missing, you hear more of the road noise from Highway 21 and 95
• No privacy between spots
• Spot is barely off main road

📝 Park Notes:
• Restrooms
• Showers
• Dump Station
• Munzees and Geocaches in the Park
• Trails- some are pretty challenging, steep
• Pool
• Pavilion
• Cabins
• Structures built by CCC(Civilian Conservation Corps)
• When you enter Bastrop or Buescher, You can drive or bike between the parks(11 miles@ 30 mph max), but I would not tow/drive an RV.

🐦 Wildlife:
• Birds: Woodpeckers, Cardinals, Bluejays, Mockingbirds, Misc small birds

💜 Highlights of this trip:
• Drove around this park and to Buescher State Park
• Made a run through Buc-ee's
•🍕 Neighbors Kitchen& Yard- I definitely recommend the Pepperoni Rolls and the Prickly Pear Margarita! Great view overlooking the Colorado River. Live music sometimes.
• Camping alone
• Glad I went when I did. The very next day, a "controlled" burn got out of control and burned over 800 acres!

More info at my blog: https://www.denisevajdak.com/2022/01/mlk-weekend-camping.html

We stayed in Bastorp state park in our little teardrop trailer. The folks at the check-in point were very friendly and helpful. The campsite we had full hookups and was well shaded. We spent two days there and took several long hikes. We really enjoyed the changes in elevation, terrain and views. The have numerous CCC buildings around the park and several in out of the way places along the trails. We really enjoyed our stay.

Campgrounds are far enough that you won't be bothered by noise. Park host maintain the restrooms and showers very clean. Good hiking trails with great views. Plenty of dumpsters to throw your trash bags. Each site comes with a picnic table, fire pit and an sand area to place your tent on so that you don't worry about removing rocks.

Very clean restrooms and camp sites, nice trails, trails not very difficult. Perfect for a day trip from San Antonio, will be back.

I’ve lived in Austin for over 20 years and camped at a lot of state parks in that time.  I’ve never camped here because it’s so close to my house I never bothered. I ended up booking because all my favorite parks were already booked up. The best part of my stay was the clean bathrooms and full hook ups. My site was very small and full of stickers. Everytime the dogs went out to pee they tracked in stickers. I must have pulled 25 or more out of my feet and theirs! Absolutely no trees for shade either so aside from hiking a few trails, we were banished inside the RV. The map had shown some bikes trails but I found out they were from the old golf course and fires had wiped out all the trees. This was all just very depressing.  In my opinion, this park is only good for an occasional overnight stay on your way somewhere else.

Also, the best campsites by the creek were all closed.

We have camped here in tents, pop up trailer, and hybrid travel trailer. We have been here with family, scouts, and just us. The park has fire damage in 2011 but there are still lots of trees and new bathrooms in Copperas Cove section. Great hiking. Pool is YMCA owned so pay per use or bring your Y membership cards. Traffic noise may be better now that Hwy 71 construction is completed. Easy access to HWY 21 and 71.

We didn’t camp here since we live so close by, but stopped on our way to Lake Somerville State Park. Driving by the camp sites they appeared nice and tucked between some (remaining) tall pine trees; you could definitely see your neighbor though. This park endured a huge forest fire about 9-10 years ago and you can still tell. Lots of charred and dead trees, but some new growth coming up underneath. We drove to the highest point and took a picture. That was about all we needed. Sort of underwhelming, but quaint.

This park has an urban feel. It is literally in the middle of a small town. The campsites were nice. I think $14 a night. We camped at the end of December, so it was nice and cold. We actually drove to the buckees gas station to use the restroom. I think it took 5 minutes exactly to drive from our campsite to buckees. Overall, really neat to be able to explore the city and nature in such a small vicinity. Also, the movie Prince Avalanche was filmed here, so definitely see the movie then go to this park.

A fire and flood can’t keep this park down. A fire took out much of the greenery and a flood took out a bridge, but it’s still a good old favorite for locals to go hike at.

Want to ride our bike? Perfect because this park has an 11 mile back road to another state park! Had a lot of hills so perfect for someone who doesn’t want a boring flat trail.

Greenery is slowly coming back but seeing the burned forest also has its beauty. Reminder of how it can all Be gone in a flash.

I have not camped here because it’s so close to home but I have hiked several times.

Good facilities at this site. The restrooms and showers are first rate. We stayed here just one night. The front office and check in process is excellent. The campsites have water and ample shade. Not much to see in this camp but good as a stopover or local weekend camping. It’s close to Austin Texas about 25 minutes. The have some good moderate hiking trails and some interesting historical sites. The have a children’s playground and a nice swimming pool. The trees here are being replanted and restored. The views are not the greatest and some of the sites are near a highway.

Camped here two nights. The facilities are amazing. Bathrooms have had a lot of money spent on them, with hot showers and full plumbing. The camp sites are well maintained and the hiking trails are nice. Visited during the middle of summer, so it was very hot, sunny, and dry. Bring sun screen and plenty of water!

Had a great time camping and geocaching with the boys! Out hour trek turned into nearly 4, glad my kids were happy to keep going to the next cache.

Bastrop would be a great place for youth groups or family reunions. It has a little for everyone and is conveniently located about thirty minutes from Lockhart where you can get, in my opinion, some of the best BBQ in Texas. This state park has tent, group, RV, group cabin w/ barracks, cabins (some are wheelchair accessible), and a dining hall (also wheelchair accessible).

There is a swimming pool that is run by the local YMCA that is open during the summer, plus a huge playground that has disability swing set, which makes this park a 5 STAR for me. Some of the building were burned down in a fire six years ago and have since been replaced, so the bathroom and other facilities are brand spankin new!

There are some great fishing spots along with some of my favorite hiking trails. My favorite trail is the scenic overlook trail which starts at the top of the lookout and travels 2 miles down through wildflowers and over streams. It is a shorter trail, but it is a more challenging one. Some of the longer trails have been closed since the fire and flood, but you can connect a few of the others to make for one good one. Everything is so colorful here.

The walk-in tent sites are some of my favorites. The have a wonderful look and feel to them. Very scenic and off on their own away from noise from other campers. Also don’t forget to take the 12 mile scenic drive over to Buesher State park, it is well worth it!

I like the trees and shade available, very woodsy

Cabin staff are available as well as tent campgrounds. Trails are pretty. Beware of snakes, the poisonous kind we saw almost everyday.

I actually would rate this campground 3.5 stars, because it is better than average and getting better every year.

In 2011 a forest fire swept through this park and devastated over 90% of the piney woods. The park is still recovering.

However, something that has never changed about this location is that Bastrop State Park offers multiple camping options and great opportunities for family fun.

The park has car camping, walk-in camping, RV camping and even cabin camping/glamping. One of my favorite activities when visiting this park is to drive the scenic and winding tree lined road between Bastrop State Park and nearby Buescher State Park.

There are recreational activities for kids such as a playground, swimming pool, fishing, geocaching and hiking trails. Many of the facilities underwent a remodel and now offer restrooms with modern sinks, showers and toilet stalls.

There are sections of the park where one can see the devastation cause by the forest fire. It is a humbling experience for both children and adults to see the burnt but recovering forrest. There are also sections of the park where one can still stand under some of the old growth majestic pine trees. The walk-in sites are surrounded by forrest. The RV site has some of the tallest trees still standing. One caveat about the RV site is that you can hear the auto traffic from the nearby highway.

The park office has a small store and sells camping necessities and souvenirs. The town of Bastrop is nearby where you can find supermarkets, stores and restaurants so you're never too far from supplies.

Based on my recent visit to this park, I think that it still offers a variety of camping options, family fun and possibly an eco lesson for all of us.

Bastrop State Park, even recovering from the 2011 Bastrop complex fire, is a jewel in the state. Wonderful Depression-era buildings and history, hiking, biking, and camping, including very good cabins and facilities for events, reunions, weddings, etc. Connects to Buecher State Park near Smithville. A great stop between Central Texas and the Piney Woods.

It's sad what happened here to the trees in the fire and the lake when the dam burst, but this park is resilient. Please support it by visiting. You can now also walk the old closed golf course. There are little log cabins for rent. I used to live nearby.

Bastrop state park is awesome! So cool how this patch of pine trees are in central Texas and can give you the feel of being in the mountains. A lot of the park is still damaged from the fire but seeing the new pine trees grow is very encouraging and beautiful in its own way. There's also a playground which was great for our little ones.

This campsite was an alright trip. We had good time, nice scenery. Before you go, make sure the trails you want to do are open. A fire affected them a couple years ago.

Right outside Austin with lots of easy trails, historic buildings, nature center, woods, pool. Kids got to do the junior ranger program which they loved. There was a fire not long before we visited in 2012, which was sad but interesting to see. There are a few different camping areas, one is pretty close to the highway so it might not be the most quiet choice. Sites were wooded and shady, expect bugs.

It is heartbreaking to see all the damage to the Pines, due to the wildfires, but it is recovering well.

There are several miles of hiking trails, that can be done in one or two days. It just depends on how many miles you want to hike.

The camping grounds are nice. They have water and electric hook-ups, along with bathrooms and showers near most sites. However, there are no primitive campsites.

This is a short distance from Austin, if you want to take a break and head into the "Big" city.

A+ state park, no complaints!

We went after the 2nd fire & was able to see the affected trees from the 1st fire that affected Bastrop. Bathrooms were super nice & clean. Tons of hiking/running trails.

I wouldn't really recommend this place to a big time hiker/camper, but people with kids or who are just starting to get into camping, this is a great spot. The facilities are nice, and everything is pretty easy to access. It's a good spot to go with kids and give them their first taste of camping.