Village Creek State Park — Attraction in Lumberton

Vacation = ruined; Children = crying

So we plan for weeks to visit Village Creek State Park. I use the online system to reserve one tent site with water and electricity for the entire week of Spring Break. The plan is for Dad to camp alone for a couple of days then bring the three boys up. One son will celebrate his 12th Birthday.

Today I arrive to set up camp. The sites are totally inadequate for pitching my tent. None of the sites available is large enough. These are 10 x 10 tent pads. A few sites are configured so as to provide a little additional tent space. A couple are large enough so that you can pitch the tent beside the tent pad. These spaces are, of course, taken.

One space (number 6) is about large enough to park a 15-passenger van. At this space there is no room for a table, fire ring or tent pad. You're basically renting a parking space.

I walked up and down to check out the 22 spaces. They are literally ear to ear. There is more space between my two cars in my driveway right now than there is between some of these spaces. RV's are lined up all up and down and people are almost on top of each other.

I am a huge fan of the TPWD system and I have camped all over Texas for years. I have never had trouble with space pitching a tent. I have sometimes come too late to get that perfect spot - everybody has done that. But I have never arrived at a campsite wondering if I was going to be able to stay.

So, I jack around with this tent for a couple of hours and finally give up. I ask for a refund and the staff politely issues me one. My trip - the only chance I will have this year to get out of town alone for a couple of days, as well as my sons' camping trip - is ruined.

One note - one single note on the website or on the online reservation system would have prevented this. I literally spent hundreds of dollars planning and executing this trip. Our spring break camping / birthday trip is ruined. My son is literally crying himself to sleep because he's been looking forward to going camping with Daddy for...

Very unexpected, nice park close to Houston and Beaumont. We camped on Memorial Day weekend. Needed a reservation since the park was full. Had to get a "walk-in" campsite because the drive up sites were all reserved. On the map, the "walk-in" sites appear quite close to the parking area. Do not be fooled - it is a LONG walk from your vehicle to the campsite. We got site #7 and it was at least a quarter mile walk from the site the truck. Luckily, we were on the water and had brought our canoe, so we were able to haul our gear in and out by floating it up and down Village Creek in the canoe. Other people knew better and brought wagons for hauling gear in and out.

The walk-in campsites are not "too close" together as noted in other reviews (I think those were in reference to the drive-in sites). I actually found them perfectly spaced, with about 50-100 feet between separate sites, and separated by dense forest undergrowth, which made them feel very private. There were potable water spigots placed about every 2-3 campsites on the main walking path, which was nice. Also, each site has a picnic table and lantern hook.

The creek runs deep and wide here. There is a dedicated "swimming area" at the end of a 1 mile long trail. It's just a sand bar in the creek. We rented canoes from Eastex Canoe Rentals and floated Village Creek several miles upstream from the park. It was packed with paddlers, swimmers and people enjoying other sand bars.

The park's showers were excellent (hot water, plenty of water, and very CLEAN). Trails are flat and mostly gravel. Other than the creek, there is not much scenery - just lots of piney woods. No big hills or vistas. The many miles of hiking/biking trails are the same - flat with...

I do love this little park. After reading the other reviews I felt compelled to write a few lines. I come here often to hike and relax. It is a small park and does not pretend to be otherwise. The facilities offered are in line with the overall accommodations offered.

I take severe offense to the post by hflechtner1 - you state that you were disrespected and treated badly. As a seasoned camper and someone who frequently visits all State Parks I am continually confused by this attitude when it comes to those of you who decide to break the posted rules and later scream foul treatment.

Rule 1: no gathering or collecting of wood is EVER allowed so your "collecting sticks" was clearly against the rules. Rule 2: ALL pets must remain on leash at all times so the "demand for your 8 year old lab" to be on lead was clearly you deciding, again, to break the rules. Rule 3: no alcoholic beverages, EVER. Being asked to remove all alcohol shows you continued to ignore the rules. Grow up and face the consequences of your decisions and stop throwing the blame where it does not belong.

I give three stars not as a reflection of the state of the park but as a reflection of activities offered compared to other, larger parks with more money to work with.

If you want more from your parks - donate time and money. Otherwise, take care of what we have and treasure it for what it is and not what you...