With all the craziness of COVID-19 and the call for social distancing, a weekend away in the woods is just what the doctor ordered. Just over an hour north of downtown Houston, Huntsville State Park is nestled in the Sam Houston National Forest. Typically a park that is fully booked months in advance, I got lucky and snagged a campsite online Thursday night for the entire weekend.
I am not recommending to ignore the warnings about quarantine and social distancing in times of pandemics. At this time, Texas was not under “lockdown” and camping got me out of the city. So in many ways this was social distancing on steroids – at least that is how I choose to view it.
Camping
Wow! All the campsites at Huntsville State Park are significantly larger than sites I have seen at other state parks here in Texas. I camped at Site 99 in the Coloneh Camping loop, right on Lake Raven. The size of the campsites left ample room for activities and privacy at the campsite. I arrived at the park around 7 PM after a day of working from home, so the scramble was on to get the tent and camp kitchen set up before it got dark.
The first night of camping was really enjoyable with moderate temperatures for late March in Texas. Just a little rain shower before passing out in my sleeping bag with Winter as my personal furnace. Waking up to the birds chirping in the morning, as always, was the best alarm. And the next best thing after that is a breakfast of bacon and eggs topped with leftover chili from the night before.
In the late afternoon we made the call to cancel the second night of camping because of the impending 6 hours of thunderstorms and rain. Unfortunately, not uncommon weather for this time of year in southeast Texas. Even so, I will be back to camp at this park again in the future.
To do at Huntsville State Park
Hiking
At the time of my visit for Camping at Huntsville State Park, the park was closed to day use visitors. This meant less crowded trails, a huge plus for me. There is plenty of hiking within the park, with trail heads in or near all the campgrounds. One of my favorite trails at this park is the Chinquapin Trail (check out my blog post about this hike), which I hiked on this visit.
The weather held out for us, which made for a cool morning of hiking and some “zoomies” for Winter. We hiked the trail in the opposite direction than I typically hike Chinquapin Trail, which was a great mix up.
Of course there are other trails in Huntsville State Park. The Triple CCC Trail is the longest trail in the park, following the park boundary. Also, being located in the Sam Houston National Forest, the Lone Star Hiking Trail passes near the park as well. And obviously there are shorter trails. I explored several of these in the afternoon while doing one of my other favorite activities – Geocaching!
Geocaching
If you have never heard of Geocaching, you do not know what you are missing out on! This is something I have loved to do since grade school and have recently started adding back into the mix on my hikes. So what is Geocaching? Put simply, Geocaching is the worlds largest scavenger hunt. And the best part – you can do it for FREE, they do have a paid membership as well with access to more fun things.
I found three of the geocaches located in Huntsville State Park on this visit. And there are several more to be found in the park. If you want to participate in the worlds largest scavenger hunt – just make a free, or premium/paid, account on the Geocaching Website or on the app and start logging your finds. They are urban, on trails, and around the world.
Lake Raven
Lake Raven, a 210-acre man made lake and dam, is the center piece of Huntsville State Park. The lake is home to over 30 alligators (YIKES!), but the park also offers fishing, kayaking, and swimming (in designated areas). On this trip the lake was closed because of Coronavirus, but I plan to come back to enjoy the lake on another trip.
Before you go
TPWD has a lot of information available about Huntsville State Park, and any state park you are looking to visit. You can also reserve campsites for any state park online as much as 6 months in advance. This state park is often fully booked a few month in advance, so some planning may be necessary. AND always make sure to check the park advisory notices before going – this will let you know if trails are closed or any important park information.
If you are hiking with your four legged best friend, be sure they are prepared for the distance you plan to hike, the weather, and bugs! Check out some of my other posts about hiking with dogs for more details on this! This state park has a $7 entrance fee, and the campsites with water were $15/night, but with a State Park Pass you get discounts on multi-night stays.
Leave no trace
This is so important when camping, for the environment and also to prevent wildlife from coming into campsites for food. There are plenty of raccoons, coyotes, opossums, and skunks who could get into the trash or food not secured. It is really important to clean up after every meal and never leave food or trash out overnight.
When camping with dogs, who have nature as their restroom, make sure they are not relieving themselves in the campsite. This will attract other animals, and also can cause less than desirable smells. Always make sure to bring plenty of baggies to clean up after them. Check out my series on Camping with Dogs here, for more information on all my camping must-haves for pups.
Using a refillable and reusable water bottle or bladder instead of using a plastic bottle from the convenience store is a must.
Check out more camping posts on the outdoor page! PLUS more to do in and around Houston on the Houston page!
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