Camping on a Budget - SETX Camping

Fisherman on Lake Livingston reservoir at sunrise in East Texas

Lake Livingston Reservoir Camping Guide — Every Campground Compared

Lake Livingston reservoir camping ranges from a state park with 141 sites across six loops to private RV resorts on the water to a smaller fish camp on the north end of the lake. They’re spread around a 90,000-acre reservoir in the East Texas Piney Woods, and picking the…

What to Pack for a Family Camping Trip — The Complete Checklist for Southeast Texas

What to pack for a family camping trip is the question that causes more last-minute stress than anything else in camping. You're standing in the garage the night before, trying to remember if you packed the headlamps, and suddenly you're not sure you have enough dry bags or whether…

How to Feed Your Family Camping for Under $50

Feeding your family camping for under $50 is not only possible — it's how most SETX families camp when they're being honest about it. The image of elaborate camp cooking with expensive freeze-dried meals and specialty outdoor cookware is a gear industry fantasy. Real family camping food is cheap…

Free Beach Camping at Bolivar Peninsula — Everything You Need to Know

Twenty-seven miles of Gulf Coast beach where you can drive your vehicle right onto the sand, set up camp wherever you want, and wake up to the sound of the Gulf. No reservation. No campsite number. For most of the year, just a $10 annual parking sticker. Bolivar Peninsula…

How to Camp on a Budget in Texas — The Complete Guide

I didn't grow up with expensive gear. My first tent was a hand-me-down Coleman that smelled like mildew by the second night. My sleeping bag came from Walmart. My camp stove was a single-burner propane setup that cost less than a sit-down meal at a restaurant. And I had…

Best Camping Coolers for Texas Heat — Keep Food Cold in 100° Weather

A $30 cooler is a fine idea until the first afternoon of a Texas summer camping trip. By noon it's a warm soup container. By the second morning your food is flirting with temperatures that will make you miserable for three days. I've made that mistake. Most Southeast Texas…

Free Camping in Texas — 10 Real Places You Can Camp for Nothing Near Southeast Texas

People act like free camping in Texas doesn't exist. They're wrong — there's just less of it than out West, and you have to know where to look. Texas has roughly 800,000 acres of federal land spread across four national forests, multiple Wildlife Management Areas, and 27 miles of…

Free Primitive Camping on the Neches River — B.A. Steinhagen Lake’s Hidden Boat-In Sites

Most people drive right past B.A. Steinhagen Lake on US-190 between Jasper and Woodville and never think twice about it. That's a shame — because tucked into the north end of this 10,000-acre Corps of Engineers reservoir, along the Neches and Angelina Rivers, is one of the best free…

Budget camping gear for Southeast Texas two-person kit under 400 dollars

Budget Friendly Camping Gear – Save on Outdoor Essentials

Camping in Southeast Texas does not require expensive gear. I grew up camping here on hand-me-down equipment and learned early on that what you spend money on matters a lot more than how much you spend. The budget gear that works in SETX is specific to our conditions —…