Camping at Lake Medina RV Park

Family of Deer at Lake Medina

When I bought my RV, I had a free membership with Thousand Trails for a year so I decided to take advantage of some free camping on my way out west.  This spot is just outside of San Antonio and not too far from Government Canyon State Recreation Area.  There wasn’t a lot to do at the RV park, so my plan was to spend a day at the recreation area to do some hiking.  Unfortunately, the rain was still chasing me across the country and it didn’t let up all day.  Even though it was just  a light rain at the RV park, the weather was showing heavy downpours at my planned destination.

I didn’t want to let a little rain slow me down too much though, so I went for a walk around the RV park.  There are a lot of deer on the property and they were pretty tame – I’m guessing that they are fed regularly because they have little or no fear of humans.

The lake itself was really nice back in the day, but it has been dry for several years now.  There may be some water out there somewhere, but the only thing that can be seen from “shore” is a giant field of plants that have grown to replace a sea of blue with a sea of green.  Looking down from an old boat launch, I could even see the tracks of a dirt road down at the bottom of the lake area.  I suspect the road is only used by hunters, or ATVs since it really doesn’t seem to go anywhere.

Not too far from my campsite was the historic Spettle Riverside House.  This historic landmark was actually moved from an area that was to be flooded when the Medina Dam was built, and placed here.  Unfortunately the building is in complete disrepair and is in the process of completely falling apart.  It’s a shame to see something that was worth saving as a historical marker given little or no maintenance to keep it from returning to nature.

That wasn’t atypical of this park or the surrounding town.  The roads coming into the area and the roads in the park itself were in horrible shape with broken and missing pavement so bad that the most comfortable speed to drive in the area isn’t much above what a car will do with an idling engine.  On a rainy day, that made the campsite a muddy mess with sticky red clay that stuck so thoroughly to my hiking shoes that it made me an inch taller!

When all is said an done, and the pros and cons considered, I think I can honestly say that I wouldn’t stay here again.  The park staff was nice, but the park itself is in need of major repairs.  On the plus side, since I didn’t have to pay to stay here, I do feel like I go my money’s-worth.