Places to wheel/camp in Texas.

[t-tentech]

I am active duty Army currently deployed. I re-enlisted to be stationed at Fort Hood later this year. I am trying to scout out places to go camping and or wheeling in South and central Texas. I have tried using the search feature on here but, our internet here won't allow me for some odd reason. I am looking for places that allow dogs also. Camping isn't camping without my trusty dog. I am from Texas originally but, I spent all of my time in North Texas around DFW. It has been a while since I have been home. I have been searching online but I trust the recommendations of my peers on TTORA over campground reviews online. I greatly appreciate any help that anyone on here can provide. Thank you very much.

[SecretSquirrel]

Texas is mostly privately owned, but there are few places to get off the grid and travel...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padre_I...ional_Seashore
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bend_National_Park

Neither are very hard wheeling

[t-tentech]

Thanks, both look promising. I am not looking for hard wheeling. I am not trying to tear up my truck. I like exploring new areas and trail riding. They are both a good drive from Hood. I am trying to find some closer ones also.

[ROCTAC]

Try hidden falls adventure park... Look at there website. That would be your closest and best option in my opinion.

[speedemon55]

X2 ^ There's plenty of stuff out there that a mostly stock rig can do.

[Richmondo]

There's a club out of Waco you might look into hooking up with. Probably your best bet for getting put on camping/wheeling spots around the Kileen/Waco/Temple area. I think HF is your best bet for sure though.

[speedemon55]

Originally Posted by Richmondo

There's a club out of Waco you might look into hooking up with.

CTOR I believe.

[Richmondo]

Originally Posted by speedemon55

CTOR I believe.

Yep, CenTex Off Road. Looks like they even moved from a yahoo group to an actual webpage http://www.centexoffroad.com/

[t-tentech]

Thanks to all! I have been looking into each one that has been recommended. These all look great.

[AustinTaco]

If you hit up Big Bend, check out the the state park, Big Bend Ranch. Their rules concerning dogs are more relaxed and there is less traffic. Not that the national park has lots of traffic, but the state park really makes you feel like you are "out there".

[t-tentech]

Big Bend looks promising. Is it all just scenery driving, or is there any off road trails?

[DangerRanger]

Big Bend National and State parks are mainly scenic trails.. I travel to the area yearly since about 2008; I just got back from there a few weeks ago.

The trails in the national park are fairly tame. I actually have yet to need 4x there.. careful driving, and you'd make it no problem. The state park is much more 'unmaintained' in my opinion, which has always made it more interesting to me. Regardless, both have amazing scenery.

[Richmondo]

I thought I had heard something about Big Bend being closed to the public in the near future? I'm probably way off on that though

[DangerRanger]

That would royally suck.. though I don't think that's going to happen. The park has invested some money in renovating their ranger stations and such.. Plus, the tiny town of Terlingua relies heavily on the tourism.

I already miss being out there. Always a good time.

[speedemon55]

We need to plan a ttora BB trip.

[DangerRanger]

I go yearly around April.. We've got land out there that we maintain and such.. so camp would be taken care of (unless anyone wanted to go camp in the park). Biggest con to anyone considering is the 10-11 hr drive from Houston. There is definitely some crawling areas; however they are on private property, and allowance is based on renting the cabins ($$$). I don't really go for the crawling.. but rather to have a good time, get some hiking/traversing in the desert, drink lots of beer, and have absolutely no cell phone service except in town. Getting away from it all is where it's at.

Here is a pic of our land:

[4wd4ever]

Originally Posted by DangerRanger

I go yearly around April.. We've got land out there that we maintain and such.. so camp would be taken care of (unless anyone wanted to go camp in the park). Biggest con to anyone considering is the 10-11 hr drive from Houston. There is definitely some crawling areas; however they are on private property, and allowance is based on renting the cabins ($$$). I don't really go for the crawling.. but rather to have a good time, get some hiking/traversing in the desert, drink lots of beer, and have absolutely no cell phone service except in town. Getting away from it all is where it's at.

Looks like you are camped in a dry wash. Nor afraid of flash flooding? I've been out there several times when all the dry creeks and washes were full of water flowing at a very fast rate. Had to wait until the water receded before I could cross. I've seen Cottonwood campground under water. Quite a sight. The cracks and crevices in the mountains surrounding the Basin were all miniature waterfalls. Awesome to see.

[DangerRanger]

Originally Posted by 4wd4ever

Looks like you are camped in a dry wash. Nor afraid of flash flooding? I've been out there several times when all the dry creeks and washes were full of water flowing at a very fast rate. Had to wait until the water receded before I could cross. I've seen Cottonwood campground under water. Quite a sight. The cracks and crevices in the mountains surrounding the Basin were all miniature waterfalls. Awesome to see.

Our land is on an old Indian camp; lots of arrow heads have been found in our area. It was also used for minors when the cinnabar rush was happening. No flash floods that we've ever known of, though there are signs that during heavy rains the arroyo surrounding us gets a good amount of water flowing.. Not really enough to blow through camp, but it will modify the road in a bit. We have a shallow spring, that we actually pump water out of from our well (you could see the spring flow by the active brush in the picture..

The Basin is amazing.. done several hikes around there, and it's always fun. Completely different plant life and such up there. On each of my trips, we stay 5 days, and hardly dent the surface of awesome things to see.