Lake Sommerville, Birch Creek Unit TX
Lake Sommerville State Park is not far east from Austin. It has two separate units both on Lake Sommerville. I like Lake Sommerville better than my closest lake, Lake Livingston, because it is not developed. There is a lot of ranch land, the state park units, and several Core of Engineer parks. When you go out that way, you really feel like you are getting away. I have stayed at both units, and liked both. When I go back, I want to go back to the Birch Creek unit to hike more of the trails. I stayed at Birch Creek one night in my truck in April of 2023. I arrived after dark, but had no trouble getting into my campsite. The bathrooms were nice, as they are at most of the Texas state parks I have been to. I enjoyed walking the campground loop in the dark. The sites were reasonably private with a lot of plants between neighbors and great areas behind the campsites to explore. This is a great place to bring kids. The trails were close to the camping loops and I really liked exploring them. They were easy to walk on and had a lot of surprises. I am glad this park is within 3 hours of home, I look forward to more getaways here. I believe the best time to go here would be spring. They have lots of wildflowers. I was here very early in the season.
