We needed a short getaway for the weekend, and this park fit the bill perfectly. It was a short distance from home (about 1 hr tow each way) and had full hookup, pull-thru sites.
The tow up to the park was a little rough. Driving into the wind on bad roads in hilly terrain. But we made it okay anyway. We got to the park after the office closed, found an open spot and got setup well before dark. The park was full, so we felt we were pretty lucky to get there before dark and have some spots to choose from. Most of the spots in this part of the park were well spaced so I didn't feel like we were on top of our neighbors despite the park being full.
On Saturday we hiked around the park, took a nap, did some more hiking, made dinner and had a campfire. Temperatures dipped pretty low both nights with the first night being the coldest. The space heater and furnace did great keeping us comfortable both nights. The second night the furnace only ran once or twice. The daytime weather was absolutely spectacular.
If you recall, much of the Lost Pines were destroyed in the fire a couple years ago, but many of the park's facilities were spared. You can definitely tell there was a fire, but overall the park seems to be recovering nicely. You just have to be careful of falling timber and branches, but the park staff has done a great job clearing the more dangerous timber. The bath houses are under construction, so public facilities consisted of Port-o-johns and a shower trailer. No problem for us since we use our own facilities. Some of the pull-thru spots still had some trees for shade, but most of this particular area lost its foliage in the fire. Between our awning and the weather, we didn't think lack of shade was much of an issue for this trip; it was quite nice to sit in the sun and warm up a little. Perhaps the biggest issue was the grass burrs. We had a real problem dealing with those, and Wondermutt especially had problems getting them stuck in his paws
. This really highlighted our need for a pretty aggressive outside rug, we just hadn't gotten around to getting one yet, but this item has since moved to the top of our short list.
Bottom line: We had an absolutely terrific time, and will likely be back again at least once this Spring. This is our busy season at work, and it's nice to know there's great a place where we can sneak away for a short weekend without it becoming an epic journey.
Along the "Yellow" trail that heads at the Pull-Thru sites in the Piney Hill Camping Area.
Further along on the "Red" trail nearing the park lake.
From Lost Pines Overlook at the end of the "Red" trail.
Our trailer setup at our site. Bailey, the Wondermutt, sees something he wants to sniff...
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