Lake Mineral Wells State Park
Drive from Austin: 204 miles / 3 hours 15 minutes
Where am I? About an hour west of Fort Worth, TX
Site we stayed at: #48 in the Live Oak Loop
Sites we would recommend: 48 was nice and private and near the restrooms, but sites 30 and 27 in the Live Oak Loop looked awesome with a lake view / access
What to do: Hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, swimming, kayaking
FYI: Dogs are not allowed in the designated swimming area, and the campsites do not have shelters
We were up in the Fort Worth area for work so we took advantage of the weekend and drove the short hour to Mineral Wells State Park. When you’re camping in Texas in June, being near water is key.
We’re lucky we snagged the last available weekend spot, as they’ve closed one of the camping loops in the park to limit the amount of people. We arrived early Friday evening just in time to set up camp before the rain started. Mind you, there was a 0% chance of rain in the forecast all week, and then all of a sudden there was a SURPRISE crazy thunderstorm all night long. Really lucky we brought our Kelty pop-up tent since the campsites don’t have shelters. But we enjoyed a lovely evening of cooking pasta, listening to the rain, and drinking beers.
Saturday was a gorgeous day, allowing us to explore the state park. We started the morning on the Blue Waterfront Trail (trail access was right next to our site) and walked about 2 miles along the lake. Then we packed up some water and snacks and walked to the Cross Timbers Camping Area, which was about 1.5 miles from our site. There is also a parking lot up there, so you can drive up and then start your hikes! We walked around the Cross Timbers trails and the Primitive camping trail and then made our way back down to camp before we (and the dog) overheated.
Since dogs are not allowed in the designated swimming area / beach, we drove to the parking lot at the Penitentiary Hollow Overlook and headed down to the Red Waterfront Trail to explore these lakeside options. There is some awesome rock climbing down in this area. No one was climbing when we were down there, probably because it had rained the night before. We found a nice little spot on the water to hang out and swim, but it was a bit rocky, so not the sandy relaxing shores the designated beach area offers.
It was a warm night, but we made a fire, had some beverages, and enjoyed our last night at Mineral Wells. We had plans to do some more hiking the next morning, but another rain storm rolled through, so we packed out. We’d love to go back and spend more time up there! It was beautiful, quiet, and the lake was perfect for a warm June camping trip.
