Mother Neff State Park — Attraction in McGregor

The staff is very friendly and helpful. The campsite pads are perfectly level, with fine gravel around the pad and a fire ring that has a swing-away grill over it. It is a small park with only about 22(?) campsites, so there is only one big bath house out in the middle of the camping area. It is central to all the campsites. We were 70 steps from the bath house, which is really important if you're camping in a vintage Shasta trailer! The bathrooms? Cleaner than the ones at Dillard's or your local hospital. They are new, I think, built since the flood. The fixtures are all new and they keep them pristine. The floors, stalls & showers were scrubbed daily while we were there, and there is not even a waterspot on the chrome faucets. The scenery is gorgeous, with fairly easy hiking trails that lead you to unique features such as the beautiful, clear "Wash Pond" and the awe inspiring natural cave used by Indians back in the day. The Rock Tower that was built by the CCC (Civilian Consetvation Corp, circa 1930's) makes you feel like you're looking out over a rainforest canopy, except that it's mainly an evergreen forest. I would give this park and its employees a "6" on a scale of 1-5! We will most definitely visit again. Waco is I about a 40 minute drive from the park. There are many attractions in Waco such as Magnolia Silos, historical tours, Dr Pepper Bottling Company and many more. When you go to Mother Neff, you must also make the 10 minute trek into nearby McGregor and dine at the "Coffee Shop Cafe" at 1005 W. McGregor Drive. Their $8 dinner buffet is the best southern cooking for 100 miles. Yes, we are definitely very...

This is the first state park of Texas, and a keen little park at that. Awesome park attendants, superintendent and park ranger. Stop by the Visitor's Center to look at the wildlife and foliage photo albums taken by a "retired and dangerous" Vietnam Veteran local. (I call him Daddy.) If you're here for a short time and can't see all the creatures that live around here, check out the albums. There's a few critters that Daddy hasn't captured yet, but they are still around. (Should I tell you?? Lol. Hint - feline and big. Only been seen by a handful of people and another handful have seen traces.)

Aside & vent: The location it's at now is not the park to us locals. The lower portion at the river is "Mother Neff."

(She's buried in a cemetery about 5mi to the west.) The county and state need to get over themselves, figure out and work together on the responsibilities, and clean out the log jam before it damages the park yet again. Such blantant disrespect by county and state officials to let the First State Park of Texas look like this. My grandfather worked for Governor Neff in the 40s. He's rolling in his grave over this; he held Governor Neff in high regard and spoke often of his time working for the Neff family. The fact that these two entities can't work together...

Absolutely charming little park! This was the first Texas state park. The land was donated by Texas Governor Pat Neff’s mother for the good of the public and community. Governor Neff continued her legacy, turning the donation into a state park. It has 3.5 miles of well-maintained hiking trails (I hiked them all, accidentally hiking one of them 3 times because I left my backpack on a CCC table, making a birthday video for my nephew. 😂). The cave is a very interesting feature, as well as the "wash basin". The RV spots are really nice! Large, and have a well-groomed open space with a picnic table and plenty of space for a tent or anything else. The visitors center is large and new and has a nice gift shop and a few exhibits about the history of the park and the work of the CCC. The park restroom shower area is nice and clean. It looks new. There are a couple of bird blinds and water features that make it easy to enjoy the birds in the area. As I was leaving in the evening, I saw a beautiful herd of deer and a giant flock of robins. I’d definitely come back. I’d like to see it in the spring when there are more leaves/plants. But it was shockingly green for this...