Sam Houston Jones State Park — Hotel in Westlake

Stopped overnight at this park on our way back to Texas from a trip with our camper to North Carolina around the holidays. It was a Friday night and there were only a few camper spots available. The RV/camper-trailer campgrounf area is very reminiscent of a private RV "resort" or "park" type place, but just with a little more room between the spaces than most private parks. Every improvement in the park - like pavement of roads & pads, the bathrooms, and other structures are brand new. I'm assuming its a rebuild since the really bad hurricane season of a few years ago that really ripped up the southwest area of Louisiana; particularly the Lake Charles area. The RV/camper camp area has very big and spacious pull-through concreted pads with full hook-ups. Thankfully all the pad and road paving are concrete, and not blacktop (as blacktop would be WAY too hot in the summer in LA!). I can't comment on the cleanliness of the restrooms, as I never used or visited them - but again, the structures appeared all brand new. The only disappointing thing about this park is the lack of trees or shade. It was obvious pulling in that this pine & swamp cypress area was stripped & pretty much decimated by those devastating hurricanes, leaving few trees surviving in its wake. Therefore, there's not only zero shade in the campground areas, but even throughout the park, on the trails, and around the pond. There's a few big old pines or cypress trees that were apparently stripped clean, but still standing & survived the hurricanes. They've thankfully been left standing to attempt to reforest the area over time - but that will take a LOT of time. This park apparently used to be known for one of its few last stands of Longleaf Pine trees on the LA coast. They're still there, but it will take many years for them to come back to the glory a Longleaf forest can hold. Overall it was a very clean & well kept park with reasonable rates and friendky attendants, but if coming here to recreate, keep in mind it's still in recovery and won't offer much shade in the summer anywhere. The only problem that irritated me here is that there were a few visitors who let their dogs run loose during our stay, which really peeved me off because we have a dog that can become very defense to hyperactive dogs that run up to her and get into her personal space. People have to understand that just because your dog is friendly & social to other dogs doesn't mean that every dog they run up to (while they're loose & out of control) that us on a leash by their owner's side will be friendly back to them if they're quickly running up into their space or on their property/territory!! Please just be courteous about your public park dog handling! Anyway, this park definitely an awesome stop any time of year for RVers who are passing through, as it's very close to I-10 and close to a grocery store, gas stations, and a great shrimp boil (& I guess crawfish during season??) drive-up shack along the way. The Rouse's supermarket you pass by also a full-service market that has a wonderful collection of cajun and creole spices (T-Roy's is my all-time fave), as well as other LA culinary delights, so it's definitely worth the stop to home chefs! The local folks are also very friendly & welcoming. We will definitely be stopping overnight at this park again during out travels. Thank you to the Louisiana State Parks Department for...

I camped at this park for 3 nights during December.

— — — — CAMPING — — — — The campsites are pretty tightly packed together and have a set up more like a classic RV park. The exterior sites are much more spacious than the interior sites. We were initially in one of the smaller ones, but there was a dog barking most of the day while its owners were out, so we requested to move. The staff was very helpful and allowed us to move to another site that was much better. There were several armadillos that seemed to invade the campsites at night, so make sure to have a light while walking around and be aware. The pavement is also pretty rough, so beware of tripping hazards while walking around the campsites. The dump station was close to the sites and in good working order. The bathrooms were sufficient, but the toilet seats were a bit discolored and old looking. The showers had a push button that you continued to have to push to make the water run. They also took a long time to warm up, so the beginning of showers was quite cold. In general, the site would be a good family friendly place, but not the best place if you are looking for a more quiet and relaxing campsite. There was a lot of restoration work going on in the area (December 2017), so if you are looking to stay here during this time, be aware that there are several areas that are not open and a lot of noise during the day due to the work. Aside from the restoration noise, there were also a lot of loud boats on the water and loud cars that could be heard late at night driving at high speeds on the roads.

— — — — — — GENERAL PARK — — — — — — The park itself is very nice. There were a few trails that were either going through the restoration process or were over-grown, but there were still plenty of trails to walk on. The trails are also varying distances, so you can find some that are fairly short and some that are a few miles long. Several of the trails are mountain bike friendly, but also allow hiking and pets. If you don’t want to be on the trails, it is also easy to walk along the roads and you can still get a beautiful view along the water. There are several picnic areas and lots of wildlife to view in the park. There is a disc golf course in the park as well. Alligators are also present at the park, but we didn’t see any at the time...

This park is old and needs some work, but we enjoyed the stay. We were there mid-February 2019 and stayed for a week. It rained almost the entire time we were there so didn’t get to explore as much as we would have liked. However, one day we were able to walk the trail beside the river which was very nice and well-maintained. The campground is small and for the weekend it was full. During the week there were very few campers. We were in spot #53 and I would highly recommend that spot. We only had one neighbor to one side, and it felt a bit more isolated than the others. When things are full on the weekends, it can seem a bit crowded with spots being close together. It never felt like to cramped for us because we had (IMO) one of the best spots in the campground. Some spots have full hook-up, while others are electricity and water only. Ours was electricity and water only. The dump station is nearby and if you need to dump with a tote you could easily do so. Most of the campground is not level, but nothing bad enough that you can’t get level with blocks. There is a very nice laundry room that is free. That was a great perk. There are 3 washers and 3 dryers. Several of the units seemed brand new. We took advantage of that and did some laundry during our stay. Like I said, it rained the entire time, so the site was muddy, but not as bad as we thought it would get. Internet access was good. We had 3-4 bars of AT&T and Verizon. Lake Charles and Sulphur are not far away and have anything you need while visiting. The park has some nice scenery and the trail provided some good wildlife. The main things they need to do to improve it would be fix some of the roads/camping spots that have significant potholes. Also, the camping spots could benefit from some grading to make them a bit more level. It is my understanding that the park has made vast improvements recently and it shows. Give it a bit more time and it will be a great place to stay. Overall, we would probably camp there again. Cost is $20/night during the week and $28/night on the weekend. These price are for...