Barefoot on the Colorado River

There was mention of several private campgrounds on the Colorado River around San Saba and Bend.
The Barefoot Camp is motorcycle friendly. I sent them an e-mail and this is their response

yes of course motorcycles are welcome and yes you can drive to our primitive
sites, we have 3 miles of the Colorado River to camp on and the sites are on
a first come first serve basis. we have nice showers and rest rooms for all
our campers to use. we do allow tent camping in our RV sites, the RV sites
are $20 a day which includes 2 people and $5 a day for each addational
person, the tent camping rate is $5 a day per person. if you have any ? you
can call us 325 628-3395 after dark is the best time to reach us as this is
aworking cattle ranch and we are out and about most all day. thanks for
checking us out,Charlene & Jackie Brister

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Thanks for the tip!

Interesting. Makes me wonder if someone other than the owners may have been turning bikes away

Tourmeister said:

Interesting. Makes me wonder if someone other than the owners may have been turning bikes away

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That was the "other" one further down the road. I looked for the thread by skiphunt, have not done a search to clarify the correct place to go.

Ahhh... did not realize there were two places!

Tourmeister said:

Ahhh... did not realize there were two places!

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Yes, I've stayed at Barefoot Campground twice. Both times on a bike. You just pay via envelope and find your spot. The bathrooms are near the RV camping (a good distance away from the primitive camping), but the scenery is MUCH prettier in the primitive areas. Right on the river with picnic tables. A few are even covered.

The camp site that turned me away is Sulphur Springs Camp http://www.bendtexas.com/index.htm


I sent them an email telling them if they're going to have such a policy, they should have it posted on their website AND on the sign going in. You have to ride about 10 miles of gravel before you even get there and find out they won't accomodate you. Then another 5 miles back out to the main gravel road.

They replied with a sarcastic email and said they had no intentions of changing any of their policies. Other campers I met said they didn't really like Sulpher Springs anyway... said it was kind of dirty, over-priced and the view wasn't as nice as the other options.

The campgrounds at Colorado Bend state park are ok, but they only have one outdoor "rinsing shower". And organic toilets. The only items you can buy there are bottled water and cokes. If you need something, you have to ride back out 20 miles RT of gravel to the little town of Bend to get basic stuff. And they really don't have much other than bread, chips, a little sandwich meat, cokes, water, and bait.

You're MUCH better off buying anything you need in Lampasas, Llano, or San Saba (depending on how you get here). And you're better off staying at the Barefoot camp. If you need anything from the little store.. it's only about 6 miles RT and it's before all the gravel. Plus they have running water toilets, better scenery, hot showers, and only $5! The State park charges about $15 including your park entry fee for basic camping. RV camping is more.

http://www.texascampingforum.com/

Well I am checking this forum out, seems like a good place to go if your looking for a camp ground. Looks like it is currently State Parks only but with private parks may soon be listed.

DaveC said:

http://www.texascampingforum.com/

Well I am checking this forum out, seems like a good place to go if your looking for a camp ground. Looks like it is currently State Parks only but with private parks may soon be listed.

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So far, I've stayed with the mc at the following State Parks and all have been mc friendly, well kept, clean, and somewhat reasonably-priced:

Colorado Bend State Park
Big Bend (not sure if that's a "State Park")
Palmetto State Park
South Llano River State Park
Garner State Park
Bastrop State Park
Buescher State Park
Garner State Park
Amistad National Recreation Area

I usually sleep in a hammock and have found some of the RV camp grounds won't let you "tent" camp.. and frequently won't allow any ropes in the trees. But, I've never had a problem with ANY of the state or national parks in this regard.

Bumping this up; anyone else stayed at this (Barefoot campground) recently?

I camped here for two days end of September. Photos are in my trip report. Nice place!

I just took my son there this past weekend. It's a nice, simple campground, excellent prices ($5 for tent camping) and bathrooms/showers (although we didn't use them since they weren't very convenient to the primitive area we camped in). The nicest sites are at the south end of the park, particularly the last one by the fence... unless you want to get wet, in which case I'd go further up where the water is a little more inviting.

My only real disappointment was the water; I thought I'd remembered the water at Colorado River State Park being fairly clearish at shallower depths, about like the Guadalupe, but no... it's pretty murky. In the deeper, slower moving areas you can't see your feet beginning at knee-depth, so if you're like me, the type that likes to spend the day in crystal clear hill country waters of the Pedernales, Frio, Llano or Blanco rivers, then you might not like it. If you just like to sit in the shade of large trees, surrounded by river bluffs, then enjoy

gotdurt said:

I just took my son there this past weekend. It's a nice, simple campground, excellent prices ($5 for tent camping) and bathrooms/showers (although we didn't use them since they weren't very convenient to the primitive area we camped in). The nicest sites are at the south end of the park, particularly the last one by the fence... unless you want to get wet, in which case I'd go further up where the water is a little more inviting.

My only real disappointment was the water; I thought I'd remembered the water at Colorado River State Park being fairly clearish at shallower depths, about like the Guadalupe, but no... it's pretty murky. In the deeper, slower moving areas you can't see your feet beginning at knee-depth, so if you're like me, the type that likes to spend the day in crystal clear hill country waters of the Pedernales, Frio, Llano or Blanco rivers, then you might not like it. If you just like to sit in the shade of large trees, surrounded by river bluffs, then enjoy

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This is good to know. I may run out there and spend a night just because.
As to the water quality, remember we haven't had much rain this year and all of the rivers are running sluggish and that area may be a little stagnant.

I think the water issue is Ubiquitous Texas this year. Over the last four weeks we camped at Inks Lake SP and Perdenales Falls SP. At both places the water was warm and like very diluted pea soup. It's a function of Texas and drought, especially the latter this year.

But then again, my frame of reference for lakes, streams and rivers has been New England and Oregon, so the water bodies here are mucho disappointment. Nevertheless, this year the water quality everywhere in TX has deteriorated more than normal due to the drought (so, what is 'normal' here anyway? )