Goose Island State Park - Review

Goose Island State Park
202  S. Palmetto St.
Rockport, TX 78382
PH# (361) 729-2858

Brief Description
Located 40 miles Northeast of Corpus Christi Texas on the Lamar Peninsula between Copano Bay, Saint Charles Bay, Aransas Bay and Mesquite Bay, Goose Island State Park is a haven for salt water fishermen while still close enough to Fulton, Rockport and Port Aransas for day trips to the beach and shops.

Goose Island as seen from the day use area.

Main Attraction
With out a doubt the main attraction at Goose Island is the fishing. The park features a boat ramp, shore fishing, bait shop and a very long pier. With that said there are not many other featured attractions with the exception of a rather short nature trail and the legendary "The Big Tree". The Big Tree is a Live Oak estimated at well over 1000 years old and is the 2nd largest Live Oak in the state of Texas (edged out not long ago by a Live oak found in Brazoria County).

1/2 way down the pier looking out to the Bay.

1/2 way down the pier looking back at the island.

Trail head for "Turks Cap Trail"

Sign at trail head.

The Big Tree.

Day Use
The day use area is simple and set just off the island and features covered picnic tables and grills.

The day use area had a lot of sticker grass (don't wear sandals).

Looking out from the day use area at the Bay, saw many birds at the park.

Camping Facilities
There are 2 places to camp while at Goose Island SP, the first is Bay side and features relativley tightly packed sights directly on the bay. There is no cover here and a steady wind but if you want to be right on the water this is the way to go.

The other sites are on the mainland among the the Oaks and this is where we choose to set up our camper, here you will find trees, shade, cover from the wind and a bit more privacy.

Our "off season" stay was very peaceful.

Restroom Facility.

Restroom/Shower Facilities

The restroom got a daily visit from the rangers and where very clean. The showers delivered hot water and had lockable doors for privacy. Despite the harsh coastal conditions these restrooms get a 4 out of 5.

Personal Experience
This was a trip we did not plan. When other arrangements fell through we found ourselves scrambling to fill a week of time. It just so happened that we gave it a try and we where happy that we did. The ONLY complaint I have is that we had a lot of mosquitoes at our site... A LOT! but we had OFF so we where ok.


Conclusion
A great place to stay for the fishing enthusiast and close enough to other attractions to make an excellent "home base" Goose Island State Park is a must for the angler and a worthwhile visit for anyone else.

Remember that 1 hour away (the wait at the Aransas Pass Ferry accounts for most of the time) is Port Aransas and a little further away is Mustang Island State Park with its miles of Gulf front access.

Updated Review - Pedernales Falls State Park

Since I already had a post for it I decided to just make some updates instead of creating a whole new review.

Click here --> Pedernales Falls State Park - Review 2013 For the updated info and till then enjoy this picture.

Guadalupe River State Park - Review

Guadalupe River State Park
3350 Park Road 31
Spring Branch, TX 78070
PH# (830) 438-2656

Brief Description
Located 40 miles North of San Antonio and 80 miles Southwest of Austin Guadalupe River State Park (GRSP) is located in the Spring Branch/Bulverde area off of State Highway 46. The park offers many attractions such as swimming, tubing, canoe/kayaking, fishing, hiking, biking, horseback riding and birding as well as educational program for the kids at the Discovery Center. GRSP gets very busy in the peak months (anytime the weather is favorable for a swim) and is also susceptible to drought conditions.


Main Attraction
The main attractions at GRSP is obviously the Guadalupe River and it is at or near the river where you will find most of the activity. The main use area of the river features a wide stretch of the river bordered by a river stone beach on one side and 50+ foot cliffs on the opposite. Going down stream you will find a dirt trail that leads to the rapids and more swimming areas. The swimming is relatively safe due to the lack of strong currents and the shallower areas at the main day use area. The parks is both a popular put in and take out spot for canoers and kayakers who make the trek down the river and has a special location for that purpose. Of special note would be that in the later part of 2012 there was a rock fall on the cliffs that overhang the river leaving larger boulders that some may view as a hazard and others as a new place to play (picture below).

Looking down the river rock beach.

The high cliffs that border the opposite side of the river.

Looking upstream.

Kayakers on the river.

Rock fall that occurred late 2012 over night.  Some guests reported hearing a loud crash. No one was injured.

Hiking/biking/horseback riding - There is a large trail loop that stretches from nearly the entrance of the park all the way to the river. These trails are shared use trails and could see a lot of activity on some days. The trails vary in ruggedness from smooth dirt paths to rugged ankle breaking rocks so take care while hiking.

Park trails.

Day Use
GRSP has a large day use area with plenty of picnic tables, fire rings and grills as well as large open areas that can accommodate your own setup. At the top of the hill that leads down to the river you will find restrooms, soda machine, water fountain and a play set along with parking. Opposite the parking and further from the river you will find the bird blinds (look to the west side of the parking lot for the trail) and the discovery center (more on that later).

Looking down the hill to the river.

Picnic tables.

Restrooms at river.

Playground at river.

Fun for the little ones!

The fun and educational "Discovery Center".

Amphitheater behind Discovery Center.

Bird Blind.

Other side of bird blind.

Camping Facilities
There are 3 camping areas at GRSP, W/E, water only and walk in dry camping. All are well laid out and respectably private. We stayed in a Water/Electric site that was surrounded by trees that offered a decent amount of privacy from both the road and our neighbors. The 2 main camping loops only have 1 restroom each so if being close to the restroom/showers is important then get their early and look for sites 44-51 and 72-77 in the W/E loop and sites 18-21, 27-30 in the water sites. If you are in the walk in camping area you have a pair of composting toilets near the parking area. For campers in the water and walk-in loops you will also find a playground for the kids, there is no playground in the W/E loop.
PIC

Water only site.

W/E sites are deeper to accommodate campers.

Fire ring.

Tent Pad (tents allowed on tent pads only.

Restroom/showers at W/E loop.

Playground at water only loop.

Restroom/Shower Facilities

The restrooms/showers were very clean and well maintained. The facilities themselves appeared to be somewhat old but that was a moot point as the staff obviously takes great care of them. The showers are adequately private using a curtain, dry area and a wet area. I would give these restrooms a solid 4 out of 5. Keep in mind that there is only 1 building per loop so they can get rather busy at times.

Personal Experience
We had a pretty good time camping at GRSP. This was our first trip of the year and our “shake down” trip for the camper so we kept it close in case we ran into trouble or forgot something. We had invited a few people to join us but in the end only my sister was able to make it so we ended up with a lot more food that we needed. We also brought our dog Lucy with us and even though this was her first camp out she handled it like a pro. We never went swimming, the water was a bit cold for us, but that didn’t stop others and on Saturday it was pretty busy at the day use area but not yet crowded. My sister and I did a little fishing and she managed to catch the only fish of the day, a very tiny bass. All in all I was pleasantly surprised because for some reason I had low expectations of GRSP.

Our camper all set up.

The living room =)

The kitchen =)

Lucy on her first camp out.

Fire just waiting to happen.

Sister with her little dog Petie in her lap.

Petie and Lucy

Lucy was exhausted.

Conclusion
An easy to access park with lots of swimming and other activities Guadalupe River State Park should definitely be on your list of parks, especially for camping.

Pat Mayse State Park - 3rd Party Review by Biggunn

Pat Mayse State Park
Pat Mayse Lake

Arthur City, TX 75411 (or Paris, TX 75460 depending on what section)

Brief Description/Location of Park
Pat Mayse State Park (and the nearby Wildlife Management Area) appear to be relatively new additions to the TPWD network of parks. As of typing this review the park can not be found on the TPWD web page in the “Find a Park” section. Pat Mayse SP is located very close the the Texas Oklahoma border approximately 120ish miles Northeast of Dallas and a daunting 326 mile drive from Houston.

Main Attraction

Pat Mayse Lake

3rd Party Review

Because this is a new park and is very far outside my range fellow PopUpPortal member Biggunn has allowed me to share his impressions and photos of the park

“Well, we camped at Pat Mayse for a week.  First night we got 3-5 inches of rain and it was the first night in our NTU PUP so we thought we were going to die.  Very high winds and lots of rain but the PUP stood firm and had no issues or leaks.  As far as the campgrounds they don't officially open until April 1st but they had just opened the bathrooms and shower unit.  There are 3 sections to the park (A, B and C).  We stayed in A because it is where the shower building was and it looked like it was the only section where the bathrooms were cleaned and maintained.  Showers are 2 per side (boy and girl) and have one spigot which turns on warm water with no place to set shampoo or soap.  Rates were $18 per night and at the time we were there was taken by the honor system dropping the money in a steel tube but the park paperwork was checked daily by Charles the camp manager.  There is a guard shack which was unmanned the entire length of our stay.  Below are some picks of the park.  Lake level was really low and fishing was poor for most people as we camped in A1 right by the boat ramp and got all the fishing reports.  All the outdoor grills are rusted through and unusable for the most part.  Our fire ring had a removable grate so that is what we used for cooking.  Section C has sites that had washed into the lake and were unusable.  The people were nice but we weren't too impressed with the park itself.  Hope this helps someone as I found very little on the park in searching the internet.” - Biggunn, Original Post.

Restroom Facility

Honor system at work.

Camp sites along the Lake.

Floating Pier.

Biggunn's setup.

Photos courtesy of PopUpPortal member Biggunn (used with permission).

Conclusion Pat Mayse SP will be a welcome addition to the Northeast camping scene but for those looking to camp this season it may be worth giving the park a little more time to situate itself. With that in mind, revenue from visitors is needed for the parks to improve themselves so if you do wish to go keep in mind that this is a brand new park with more improvements to come down the road.

Guadalupe River SP - Preview

Well the 2013 camping season is about to begin and for our shake down trip this year we have chosen a destination that is relatively close to home. April 5th will see us loading the camper and heading to Guadalupe River State Park located 41 miles North of San Antonio off of State Highway 46.

Activities: 4 miles of river frontage (9 miles of river run through the park if you include the Honey Creek SNA that borders the park to the East) that can accommodate canoeing, fishing, swimming, tubing. There are also dry activities such as  picnicking, hiking and of course camping. The park also has about 5 ½ miles of equestrian (horse) and bike trails however there is no equestrian camping available at this time. The park offers 94 camping facilities that are broken down as follows: 1-37 water, 38-85 water/electric and 86-94 walk in primitive. Looking at the maps and google earth you can see that the water and water/electric loops each only have 1 restroom facility (at South Llano this was not bad) so lets see how that goes.

Guadalupe River SP water/electric camping loop.

And of course the official park map can be found here. Now lets break down what we see from both maps.

• One restroom facility per loop centrally located, this means that if you want to be close the showers and toilets  you need to pick a specific spot.
• Nearest swimming area is a half mile away, this means that you A) walk half a mile, B) hop in the car, or C) Bike ride to the swimming hole.
• No park store but located very close to the City of Bulverde where you will find an HEB Plus and just about any restaurant/fast food you could want (if you want).
• The camping areas look heavily wooded so there should be more than enough shade and trees for the hammock.
• Should be plenty of tubing and if you have someone who is not interested in tubing they can drive you 13 miles down 46 to Bergheim (turn right and got to edge falls road, turn right again and you will soon see the river) where you can put in for a very long float back to the park.
• Lots of trails from experience. When I lived in Bulverde I would take my mountain bike here to ride the many trails.
• Never had a great fishing experience here but this time I plan to explore a little more than usually and go upstream of the busy crowds.

Well that's about it, almost a month and a half till we officially kick it off. Seems like such a long time to wait but that gives us time to get the cover off the camper, pop it up, clean it, test the systems and rinse out the water lines