Camping in Texas

[MarkC]

Picking up our Oliver Sept. 7 th.   Then slowly working our way back to Wenatchee, Wa.  We are "green horn's" to this experience.  I've booked some stops along the way but it is very time consuming trying to find a camp site.  Using all the web tools offered.  Lots of places full in Texas already unless you want to pay $$$.  I've thrown up my hands and said "just getting on the road"...start and stop early, then hope I find a spot or a wide place in the road.  Does this method work?  I know I'll probably get burned sometimes at popular areas but feel like l'm wasting lots of time searching the web.  Wondering about availability in Texas...take the coast route East, or go through the middle or northern route this time of year.  Any thoughts?

[Guest]

From my limited experience, there isn’t a lot of public land in Texas and reservations at a campsite would be helpful. You could also also look at Harvest Host and Boondockers Welcome. They might have options. 
 

[Hokieman]

My wife found the following  post on “Oliver Trailer Owners” Facebook page 2 days ago.   Seems like good feedback to your questions.  

“Ann Barklow 8/18/2022:   We have almost completed our cross country trip. We left on June 28 from South Carolina all the way to Bainbridge Island, WA and then back to South Carolina. We will arrive home this Sunday after four days in Tennessee.  We had reservations all the way to Washington and on the way home we did not. Even though there is great advantages to having reservations we both enjoyed the spontaneity of traveling without.  We never had trouble getting in anywhere and on weekends we did call a day in advance to make one just in case. One day we set out driving through Bighorn mountains in WY and even though we had planned at least six hours of driving we only made it an hour and a half and found an amazing campground and stayed three days. One camp ground we found later on was apparently abandoned so we had it to ourselves and it was beautiful. A little eerie and I wouldn’t have stayed there alone but it was an adventure. So my research is over and though we will still reserve sites we definitely liked it without better. Hull 1010 with over 8,000 towed miles since February.”

[AZ Wonderer]

I completely agree with @Kirk Petersonabout using Harvest Host/Boondockers Welcome.  There are some interesting Harvest Host stops along I-20 in Texas, including the Petroleum Museum and Hangar 25 Air Museum.  There are also some Texas state campgrounds along the way.  I think Campendium is a great resource for searching for campgrounds.

[Kathy Tewart]

We live in Katy Tx-picked up Ollie and got truck in July. I'm finding that most state parks have something available Sun-Thurs.  Also Corp of Engineer parks usually have availability.  Harvest Hosts are good option.  If you have a way to run A/C without electric hookup then some of the state run rest stops off of interstates can be used overnight and many are very nice, water available. (it will probably be hot through Sept)  I'm finding camping spots easier to find this year than last year.  School is back in session here so that helps.  

I hope you are not in a hurry to get home-lots of great place to see between Tn and Washington state.  Planning is time consuming and a PIA, my soul wants to just wing it and we will do some of that next spring with some stops planned.  Good luck and take your time.  Once you pick a route I can give some recommendations-Caprock Canyon SP is a top pick in the panhandle.

[MarkC]

Thanks sooo much for your responses!  I like the idea of just poking around until I find a place to camp.  Was hoping that was an option and didn't have to reserve all the time!  My navigator will be relieved to hear your comments.  She's getting a little anxious as the journey is only weeks away.  Neither of us has done this before!  However, has been on our bucket list for years.  We are in 100%!  Thanks for all the comments!

[ScubaRx]

3 hours ago, MarkC said:

Picking up our Oliver Sept. 7 th.   Then slowly working our way back to Wenatchee, Wa.  We are "green horn's" to this experience.  I've booked some stops along the way but it is very time consuming trying to find a camp site.  Using all the web tools offered.  Lots of places full in Texas already unless you want to pay $$$.  I've thrown up my hands and said "just getting on the road"...start and stop early, then hope I find a spot or a wide place in the road.  Does this method work?  I know I'll probably get burned sometimes at popular areas but feel like l'm wasting lots of time searching the web.  Wondering about availability in Texas...take the coast route East, or go through the middle or northern route this time of year.  Any thoughts?

I agree 100%. We never have reservations along the way. In 15 years of travel we’ve always slept somewhere. Walmart, Cracker Barrel (fav), side of the road (US-50 and all over Canada) and small town fairgrounds. You won’t ever find yourself in a situation where you’ll have to drive all night. Many times we’ve stopped a police officer and asked where we could park for the night. Never been turned away. Just head out in the general direction of where you want to end up and let the road take you there. Try it this way, you’ll be fine and your stress level will go way down.