Last weekend, I had the opportunity to go camping in Bastrop, TX at Lake Bastrop South Shore Park. From Houston, this was an easy 2 hour drive and a nice little getaway into an unsuspecting pine forest in the middle of Texas. It was a cold weekend, with night-time temperatures dropping down into the 30’s (Fahrenheit) at night. Luckily, we were able to have great campfires and had enough warm gear to see us through the night.
The Campsite
We booked the campsite about a week in advance, luckily there were still some spots left, due to the season I’m guessing. We were the only people there without an RV. Each site had a fire ring and a charcoal grill, which was great. They also had clean, running water and electricity. It was about $35/night so I think it was more geared towards RV campers than us tent folks, but the other parks nearby were full up. It was super easy to get in and the staff was friendly. They sold firewood and had kayaks you could rent. The shop also had some last minute snacks and fishing supplies. I didn’t get a chance to use the showers since we were so cold but they were there just not very close to our site.
Exploring Bastrop
While we were there, we ventured into Bastrop’s historic downtown. We ate at Maxine’s, which had very good home cookin’ style breakfast. Afterwards, we went across the street to The Painted Porch. The Painted Porch is a book store owned by Ryan Holiday, a stoicism author. It shared a store with a record store as well that had quite a bit of records at good prices, both obscure and well-known. I thought the downtown was pretty cool. They had some art exhibits in partnership with the Art Institute of Austin as well as plenty of little boutiques to see. Outside of downtown there are also of plenty of creature comforts that most other cities have, like H-E-B, Academy, and some good restaurants.
Later that day, we were able to go fishing Lake Bastrop. Sadly, we didn’t catch anything. We did see some people catch bass though, so they are definitely there. The lake was really nice, especially by Texas standards. The water was quite clear and the pine trees all around mixed with the cooler weather could have fooled me into thinking I was in Canada.
Conclusion
Bastrop is one of my favorite places in Texas. While it’s slowly getting eaten up by the Austin metro area, the state park still remains a nice, peaceful getaway. The trees here are quite uncommon in Texas, and I often feel like I’m somewhere else entirely when I’m there.
If you’re within a couple hours and are looking for somewhere in Texas to get outside without going all the way to Big Bend, you should definitely check it out!
If you liked this content, please check out some of my other posts about traveling in Texas!
Chasing the Texas Sun, an odyssey through Big Bend, Marfa, and the Davis Mountains
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