Category: Park Review

A state park that Sherry and I visited on a whim last year turned out to be a very nice getaway from home and had one of the most beautiful sunsets we’ve seen on our camping trips. Fairfield Lake State Park near Fairfield, Texas is about two hours North of Houston and is on a nice-sized lake that allows boating and fishing and many hiking and biking trails through hilly terrain.

The park is rather large and there are many opportunities for hiking and biking on the many roads and trails that go around the South and South East side of Fairfield Lake. This was one of the first campgrounds Sherry and I visited when we began overlanding and was before we got the Tuff Stuff Alpha Roof Top Tent. The campsite we had was smaller than some of the other parks we’ve been to, but still spacious. We were much closer to people behind us, and we were able to overhear their conversations well into the wee hours of the morning.

The campsite had water available, and also had built-in firepit and a pole for hanging a light or lantern as well as a cement pad with a picnic table.

The lake itself is nice and large. We did some wade fishing, and we each caught some fish, although Sherry caught the biggest. We did see boats on the lake, but there wasn’t an excessive amount of them. Most people with boats were fishing and weren’t really scooting back and forth that much.

We had a chance to do some light hiking, and we saw armadillos rooting for food as well as a raccoon that came up to our campsite and stole a piece of aluminum foil that we had baked some brownies in. It was cute, and we watched as it licked the foil to get the chocolate remnants off. We also saw squirrels and many birds.

For me, the highlight was our bike riding. The trails were a lot of fun and not too challenging. The hills on the bike trails we went on were not that severe and were easier than Huntsville State Park but more of a challenge than Stephen F. Austin State Park. The real challenge, however, came when we decided to ride our bikes on the main road from our campsite up to the office to complete check-in (which we missed on Friday night because we arrived after the office was closed). While I had a good time with it, Sherry suffered quite a bit with the big hills. It felt, to her, as if we were going up-hill for most of the trip there. Maybe she was right, because the way back was much easier and faster, although there were still a few pretty big hills to climb before we made it back to camp.

This park is very nice, and the trails are well maintained without too many roots on the trail. There were only a few muddy spots on the trail, but it did rain the night before, so this was to be expected. The majority of the trail was clear.

The boat launch areas look very nice, and there’s a lot of room for parking larger vehicles with trailers.

This is another park we have considered returning to. Although it’s twice as far from our home than Huntsville State Park or Stephen F. Austin State Park, it is worth the trip. I haven’t been able to get Sherry to go back there yet because she knows I would want to ride bikes there and the hills were pretty big, but we both want to kayak on the lake, so I might be able to talk her into a trip there this spring.

Compared to other parks we’ve camped or overlanded at, I’d have to give this one a 7/10 for the smaller campsites that are grouped closer together than other parks. The lake is amazing, though, and the bike trails are a lot of fun.

I recommend using the Reserve America website to secure a campsite well in advance. One of the realities of the world in COVID-19 is that more people are visiting parks and forests than ever, and unless you have a reservation, you will likely be unable to camp at a standard campground. We have been using Reserve America with great success since last year. It makes the reservation process easy and reduces the wait during check-in.

The first state park Sherry (my wife) took me to after we both lost a bunch of weight was Huntsville State Park for a hike. Little did I know back then that we would return to this park more than a few times for camping, hiking, mountain biking, and even kayaking.

Huntsville State Park is located just North of Conroe, Texas about an hour or so North of Houston. It’s pretty close to I-45 which makes it easy to get to, but it also means that at night (especially when the air is cooler), you can still hear the highway, but it’s not too bad.

The hiking/biking trails are pretty amazing. In many places, there are a lot of roots growing into them which, on the hilly portions, makes for natural steps for hikers but introduces a higher degree of difficulty for bike riders. I found the challenge of the roots to be fun while Sherry hated them. The hills are also pretty big and require 1st gear and a lot of leg work to get up. Sherry walked her bike up most of the big hills, and I don’t blame her. I feel comfortable on a bike pedalling fast and moving slow, even up-hill, the result of riding bikes extensively in my youth. Sherry rode bikes as a kid, but not nearly as much as I did. This is something to consider if you want to go mountain biking and are not experienced; Huntsville State Park’s trails are what I would call intermediate level.

For hiking, the trails are really good and will get your heart pumping. The hills are pretty big, but not so steep or big that you get winded. The views are serene and the forest is beautiful with many different types of trees, underbrush, and wildflowers (especially in springtime). The trail we took goes around Lake Raven, the central attraction at Huntsville State Park.

On our third trip to the park, we took our Tucktec kayaks and spent hours on the water. As it was our first time in these watercraft, we took it slow at first, but quickly became comfortable with them. We went from one saide of the lake to the other and back again within about two and a half hours. As a bonus, I almost capsized once due to horseplay, and I learned my lesson. A quick trip to the shore to pour the water out of my kayak was all it took to get back to the adventure, although my bottom was soaked.

The campsites are of a good size and well maintained with water available. On our third trip to the park, we stayed at an improved campsite for RV’s and even had electricity available, but we didn’t plug in. We like to practice living off our own resources as much as we can when we camp, even if power is available. The only thing we typically will use if it’s available is water, although we still find ourselves using the 5 gallon water containers pretty often. They’re just more convenient sometimes. The campsites are well-spaced from each other, and we never felt cramped or like campers next to us were too close. To the contrary, it feels very spacious and isolated, which is a good thing while camping.

The park has cabins, but we have not used those. We did see people staying in them, so it appears this state park has some sort of COVID-19 mitigation in-place for use between campers. The roadways are all very smooth, and the trails are well-marked. There is a wildlife center staffed by workers, and there is also a store that sells some snacks and basic camp supplies as well as fishing supplies. I don’t remember if they sell bait. They also rent canoes and pedal boats, and there is a swimming area that was closed when we were there. The water seems pretty cold, though, so we weren’t missing that opportunity. The park hosts are very friendly and helpful.

Overall, I would rate this park 8/10. It has a lot of activities, amenities, and it is well maintained and staffed by friendly people. If the trails were a little more bike friendly, I would rate it higher (if only to get Sherry back onto the trails with me). I would gladly bike those trails again; they are a lot of fun!

I recommend using the Reserve America website to secure a campsite well in advance. One of the realities of the world in COVID-19 is that more people are visiting parks and forests than ever, and unless you have a reservation, you will likely be unable to camp at a standard campground. We have been using Reserve America with great success since last year. It makes the reservation process easy and reduces the wait during check-in.