Between Marfa Texas (post here) and Padre Island, we made two quick stops – Seminole Canyon State Park and Falcon State Park – described below.
Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site
Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site is near Del Rio Texas. This state park has 46 well-maintained campsites ranging from primitive drive-up sites to paved sites with water and electricity. The main draw? Ancient rock art.
A short but informative ranger-led tour to Fate Bell Shelter (named for Mrs. Fate Bell who previously owned the land) is the only way the pictographs can be seen.
The tour costs $8/person and is not available on Mondays and Tuesdays. Not a bad way to spend some time. If you’re mad about pictographs, White Shaman is another popular site nearby.
The visitor center at Seminole Canyon is small but has packed in a comprehensive display on the native and pioneer history of the area.
Doug took my ebike out the second day for a ride along the Seminole Canyon rim toward Panther Canyon and despite the strong, cool winds, really enjoyed it. There are several other hikes to do in the area if you’re more than passing through.
Falcon State Park
Falcon State Park is a borderland park and its 84,000 acre Falcon Reservoir provides an oasis in the desert, which is why visitors come here to bird watch, hike, swim, fish and boat. Although, for us, the main appeal was the fact that this was one of the very few campspots along this desolate 300 mile stretch between Laredo and South San Padre Island.
The campgrounds felt gigantic and although they have been cut back, the area surrounding the campground, was thick with smaller trees and bushes. Portions of the reservoir are actually on the Mexico side of the border and there are caution signs at all the boat ramps warning of drug smuggling activity.
We were here in early February, and it was ghostly quiet. In fact, I asked Doug to move to a campground in the park that was nearer other RVers.
We arrived late in the day and didn’t do any activities in the area so the only thing to report is that there are plenty of available camp sites at Falcon State Park in mid February!
