Lake Somerville State Park & Trailway — Attraction in Caldwell

We. Love. State. Parks.

This one is wonderful for all; we are tent campers/travelers with kids so our view on the park was: We had reserved an electric spot that we believed to be right off of the water. It IS… however the water is shallow (ankle to knee deep) for about 100 yards past the shore from the campsites. And VERY warm (HOTTTTT: bathtub hot!!) So not great for swimming/water activities for the fam! The day use spots are pretty nice, very well maintained, not a lot of shade at all (1 or 2 trees in the day use areas) but ample parking and lots of room at the lake shore. The ground in the water is something else - it is a sand/dirt mix for about ten steps into the water - then it turns to this sick, sinking, cloudy mud.. I can’t even explain it. It feels absolutely horrible to step into as you sink about six inches deep into it immediately. I would bring floats or chairs or something to keep your feet off of the bottom of the lake. It isn’t very pleasant!! The restrooms in several areas are under construction, but they have conveniently offered air conditioned portables to use the restroom in and also offer portable showers (not air conditioned). The day use restrooms and showers are PHENOMENAL. It makes me think they’re renovating the old bathrooms in the camp areas to match the outstanding day use restrooms. We did not take advantage of the trials as it was over 100 degrees every day we were there. There are several great fishing spots as well as a “family fishing pond” right behind our camping area. The lake has dried up I a few areas leaving little creeks or small ponds along the trails behind the lake. Very nice to fish and not crowded at all. through the whole park the entire time we stayed (4 days through The Weekend) it was not...

First of all, it was a great experience. We arrived there at 2:30pm and it was a line for entrance. We said that we are here for camping and she directed us to the headquarter which is across the road. Headquarter was a huge place when you compare to the other state parks entrance. They have ice cream and other things. We asked for junior ranger booklets and backpacks for exploring for our kids. They provide us everything we asked for. They were super nice. We camped at post oak camping area and it was great. We did our reservations online and have state park card so it is very convenient. Very clean environment and organized camping area. This state park has bigger camping areas than other state parks which is very cool. Our Camping site was near the lake and had a great view. This state park will give you more privacy than other. Your cars will cover for you in front and everything will be on the back. I loved it. Restrooms are clean and no bad smell. You do not see flies going around or flies on the floor. Everything is well organized and clean. They have paper towels. If you want to swim, there is a public picnic place and family friendly. People come with their families and swim with their kids. Water is muddy but it is all lakes so it is fine. Mosquitoes are no joke. Bring what works for you best because they do not die easily and they are huge! Some of them are small but very big groups. Their bite will itch and burn. We had a tent and it was really hot during afternoon so make sure bring something that you can shade under it. You can do fishing anywhere and they have a kids fishing pond. It has great trail to do morning walk and enjoy birds singing. Overall happy to find this place and will go...

It's actually called Birch Creek state park, they need to change the name of the entrance to this place. Camper sites are fairly short, but level. We have a 28 foot trailer, and backed in we can't fit the truck and trailer in here without unhooking and coming back behind the hitch a little. Some of the sites have a little more room. Mostly trailers here, and some class C's... I'd expect a half to 3/4 size Class A will be fine. Sites are designed in U's with bathroom at the end of the U, and campsites on both sides of the U. Decent site size, and it feels like you are in the woods as there is dense or thick brush and trees between each site. Do know if you have the sites on the inside of the curve, the Rd is a bit narrow, so getting a travel trailer backed in takes a bit of work. A couple good goes at it, and we got in with no issues.

Lake access is at the bottom of the U on each segmentation. From there a short walk to the lake, and pretty nice banks to fish from. Sites do not have Lake views... More like camping in the woods. Tables, firepit, poles, and pads are well taken care of. Some sites do offer 50amp service, but not full hookups. Plenty of room for the pups on a leader/run. We will be here for 2 weeks... And so far the Hosts have been really friendly, park attendant was friendly and wearing a mask. Seems quiet, but we are in the middle of the week as well. When we got here a couple days ago, there was no-one at the gate... Go right for camper sites, go left for boat ramps and fishing access. Go straight and you go to park attendant if they are open. There is a host on each U, and generally driving around, so if any questions they are quick to help. Bathrooms were clean... But very hot, needs some...