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Lake Raven inside Huntsville State Park in Walker County, Texas

Piney Woods · RV Parks & Campgrounds

Huntsville State Park RV Loop

Huntsville State Park RV Loop combines 23 full-hookup and 77 electric campsites with 210-acre Lake Raven, 21 miles of Pineywoods trails and a convenient I-45 location north of Houston.

Photography: Urban Versis 32 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lake_Raven_at_Huntsville_State_Park.jpg

Plan the visit

Huntsville State Park RV Loop at a glance

Where is Huntsville State Park RV Loop?
Huntsville State Park RV Loop is near Huntsville, Texas, in Walker County.
When is the best time to visit Huntsville State Park RV Loop?
TPWD lists mid-February through Thanksgiving as the busy season and warns that the park often reaches capacity. Reserve camping and entry before travel and check current lake and park alerts.
Do I need to plan ahead for Huntsville State Park RV Loop?
Enter at 565 Park Road 40 W southwest of Huntsville. Full-hookup Raven Hill sites are designed for RVs and offer 20/30/50-amp service; verify the specific site's drive length and vehicle limit before arrival.
Who manages Huntsville State Park RV Loop?
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

The place

Why Huntsville State Park RV Loop belongs on the list

Huntsville State Park has substantial developed RV capacity within the East Texas Pineywoods. TPWD lists 23 full-hookup sites in Raven Hill with water, sewer and 20/30/50-amp electricity; the mostly paved area is designed for motorhomes and other recreational vehicles. Another 77 sites in Coloneh and Prairie Branch provide water and 20/30/50-amp electricity. Drive and vehicle lengths vary, so the exact reservation record matters for larger rigs.

Lake Raven anchors the park experience. TPWD describes the 210-acre lake as a place to fish, swim and paddle, with a boat ramp, fishing piers and kayak rentals. Away from the water, 21 miles of trails cross pine and hardwood habitat, including the Chinquapin Trail around the lake and shorter routes near wetlands, bird habitat and Civilian Conservation Corps features.

The park is six miles southwest of Huntsville off Interstate 45, making it practical for both Houston-area weekends and longer East Texas trips. TPWD says the park often reaches capacity and lists mid-February through Thanksgiving as the busy season. Reserve ahead, confirm the specific site's length and utility needs, and review current alerts plus alligator and water-safety guidance before arrival.

The details

Plan the visit

Nearest town
Near Huntsville, Texas
Best season
TPWD lists mid-February through Thanksgiving as the busy season and warns that the park often reaches capacity. Reserve camping and entry before travel and check current lake and park alerts.
Address
565 Park Road 40 W, Huntsville, TX 77340
Entry & reservations
Enter at 565 Park Road 40 W southwest of Huntsville. Full-hookup Raven Hill sites are designed for RVs and offer 20/30/50-amp service; verify the specific site's drive length and vehicle limit before arrival.

Quick answer

Planning a visit to Huntsville State Park RV Loop

What is Huntsville State Park RV Loop?
Huntsville State Park RV Loop combines 23 full-hookup and 77 electric campsites with 210-acre Lake Raven, 21 miles of Pineywoods trails and a convenient I-45 location north of Houston.
When is the best time to go?
TPWD lists mid-February through Thanksgiving as the busy season and warns that the park often reaches capacity. Reserve camping and entry before travel and check current lake and park alerts.
What should I know before arriving?
Enter at 565 Park Road 40 W southwest of Huntsville. Full-hookup Raven Hill sites are designed for RVs and offer 20/30/50-amp service; verify the specific site's drive length and vehicle limit before arrival.
Where is it?
Near Huntsville, Texas, in Walker County.

Field notes

What to know before you go

Conditions, closures, fees and availability can change. Use these notes to plan, then confirm the latest details with the official site before making the drive.

Things to do

  • 210-acre Lake Raven for fishing, swimming and paddling
  • 21 miles of Pineywoods trails

What you’ll find

  • 23 full-hookup RV sites plus 77 electric campsites

Good to know

  • Best time to go: TPWD lists mid-February through Thanksgiving as the busy season and warns that the park often reaches capacity. Reserve camping and entry before travel and check current lake and park alerts..
  • Enter at 565 Park Road 40 W southwest of Huntsville. Full-hookup Raven Hill sites are designed for RVs and offer 20/30/50-amp service; verify the specific site's drive length and vehicle limit before arrival.

Build the trip

Places that pair well with this stop

Nearby places, worthwhile detours and combinations for adding water, history, outdoors or a full weekend around this destination.

Close enough for the same trip

Nearby places

Places ordered by straight-line distance when reliable coordinates are available.

  • Anderson · Grimes County

    Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site

    Built in the 1830s, Fanthorp Inn became an important stagecoach stop and hostelry on an early Texas transportation route. The inn makes pre-railroad travel tangible: meals, horses, overnight lodging and news all converged at places like this.

    Best season: Year-round; spring and fall are usually the most comfortable for outdoor portions of a visit.Updated Aug 2026
    • stagecoach travel
    • Republic-era Texas
    • historic inns
    Explore this place

    Approx. 29 miles away

  • Navasota · Grimes County

    Navasota

    Navasota is a Brazos Valley railroad and music town with a National Register commercial district, Victorian-era streetscapes, the Horlock History Center, parks and a living blues legacy centered on Mance Lipscomb and the city's Blues Capital of Texas identity.

    Best season: Fall through spring for downtown walking and history; spring for wildflower-country drives; year-round for music and cultural eventsUpdated Sep 2026
    • Navasota Commercial Historic District
    • Blues Capital of Texas
    • Mance Lipscomb legacy
    Explore this place

    Approx. 37 miles away

  • Washington · Washington County

    Barrington Living History Farm

    The farm interprets the home and working world of Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas. Living-history demonstrations turn Republic-era agriculture, labor and domestic life into something visitors can see rather than only read about.

    Best season: Year-round; spring and fall are usually the most comfortable for outdoor portions of a visit.Updated Aug 2026
    • Republic of Texas
    • Anson Jones
    • living history
    Explore this place

    Approx. 43 miles away

  • Washington · Washington County

    Star of the Republic Museum

    The museum interprets the Republic of Texas and the Washington-on-the-Brazos landscape where delegates declared independence in 1836. It provides the artifact-rich museum component of a larger Washington-on-the-Brazos visit and works especially well with Barrington Living History Farm.

    Best season: Year-round; spring and fall are usually the most comfortable for outdoor portions of a visit.Updated Aug 2026
    • Republic of Texas
    • Texas independence
    • Washington-on-the-Brazos
    Explore this place

    Approx. 43 miles away

  • Houston · Harris County

    National Museum of Funeral History

    Houston's National Museum of Funeral History preserves an unusually broad collection on funeral customs, hearses, caskets, presidential funerals, papal traditions and the history of the death-care profession.

    Best season: Year-round indoor museum; a practical all-weather stop near the I-45 and Bush Intercontinental Airport side of Houston.Updated Aug 2026
    • Historic hearses
    • Presidential funeral exhibits
    • Funeral customs and artifacts
    Explore this place

    Approx. 45 miles away

  • Crockett · Houston County · Piney Woods

    Crockett

    Crockett is an East Texas county seat on historic El Camino Real de los Tejas, pairing an Art Deco courthouse and active downtown with Davy Crockett National Forest access, lakes, piney-woods scenery and deep Republic-era history.

    Best season: Fall through spring for downtown and forest hiking; spring and fall for wildlife viewing; warm months for lake recreation with heat precautionsUpdated Sep 2026
    • Houston County Courthouse
    • historic downtown
    • El Camino Real de los Tejas
    Explore this place

    Approx. 48 miles away

Add some water

Nearby water stops

Lakes, rivers, springs and coastal places that can fit into the same trip.

  • La Porte · Harris County

    Sylvan Beach Park

    A developed bayside park in La Porte on Galveston Bay, offering a calmer-shore alternative to open Gulf surf along with park amenities and waterfront recreation.

    Best season: March through May and September through November for milder beach weather; summer is busiest and hottestUpdated Sep 2026
    • Protected-bay beach
    • Galveston Island & surrounding bays setting
    • La Porte access
    Explore this place

    Approx. 74 miles away

  • Seabrook · Harris County

    El Jardin Beach

    A compact bayside public beach park operated by Pasadena near Seabrook, used for shoreline views, fishing, picnics and a low-key Galveston Bay beach stop.

    Best season: March through May and September through November for milder beach weather; summer is busiest and hottestUpdated Sep 2026
    • Protected-bay beach
    • Galveston Island & surrounding bays setting
    • Seabrook access
    Explore this place

    Approx. 78 miles away

  • Lumberton · Hardin County · Piney Woods

    Village Creek State Park

    A quiet Big Thicket-area park near Lumberton where Village Creek winds through bottomland hardwoods and cypress, offering paddling, fishing, camping and shaded trails in humid Southeast Texas forest.

    Best season: Fall through spring for cooler trails and paddling weather
    • Paddling on scenic Village Creek
    • Bottomland hardwood and cypress forest
    • Fishing, camping and shaded nature trails
    Explore this place

    Approx. 84 miles away

  • San Leon · Galveston County

    Mooner Beach

    A locally named waterfront strip in San Leon on Galveston Bay, better understood as a small community shoreline access than as a formal staffed beach park.

    Best season: Fall through spring for comfortable exploring and birding; summer requires more heat, storm and insect planningUpdated Sep 2026
    • Coastal shoreline and habitat area
    • Galveston Island & surrounding bays setting
    • San Leon access
    Explore this place

    Approx. 87 miles away

Keep the day outside

More outdoors nearby

Parks, caverns and outdoor destinations that pair naturally with this stop.

  • Houston · Harris County

    Sheldon Lake State Park & Environmental Learning Center

    A 2,800-acre pocket of wetlands, prairie, ponds and woods on Houston’s northeast side, with free entry, accessible trails, fishing and an 82-foot observation tower overlooking the park and distant skyline.

    Best season: Spring and fall for comfortable trail weather and birding; the park is open year-round
    • John Jacob Observation Tower with views across the wetlands and toward Houston
    • Two miles of trails through restored prairie, wetlands, woods and former hatchery ponds
    • Fishing, paddling and wildlife watching around Sheldon Lake and the park ponds
    Explore this place

    Approx. 58 miles away

  • Houston · Harris County

    Houston Zoo

    Houston Zoo no longer has a stand-alone Kipp Aquarium, but aquatic animals remain part of the zoo, with the Galápagos Islands habitat carrying forward a major marine and coastal focus.

    Best season: Fall through spring offers the most comfortable outdoor zoo weather; summer visits are best started early with indoor and shaded habitats during peak heat.Updated Aug 2026
    • Galápagos Islands habitat
    • Aquatic animals across the zoo
    • Hermann Park location
    Explore this place

    Approx. 64 miles away

  • San Felipe · Austin County

    Stephen F. Austin State Park

    A Brazos River bottomland park west of Houston with shaded trails, camping, wildlife and a direct historical connection to Stephen F. Austin’s nearby colonial headquarters at San Felipe de Austin.

    Best season: Fall through spring for comfortable hiking and camping
    • Shaded Brazos River bottomland forest
    • Easy hiking and biking trails with frequent wildlife sightings
    • Camping and cabins convenient to the Houston area
    Explore this place

    Approx. 67 miles away

  • Needville · Fort Bend County

    Brazos Bend State Park

    Wetlands, coastal prairie and bottomland forest southwest of Houston, best known for close-but-safe alligator viewing, prolific birdlife and miles of flat trails around Elm and 40-Acre lakes.

    Best season: Fall through spring for cooler trail weather; wildlife viewing is good year-round
    • Elm Lake and 40-Acre Lake loops for alligators, wading birds and wetland views
    • George Observatory, operated by the Houston Museum of Natural Science
    • Restored coastal prairie and shaded bottomland forest trails
    Explore this place

    Approx. 87 miles away

Make a weekend of it

Build a full weekend

A mix of towns, food, history, parks and water that can turn one stop into a fuller itinerary.

  • Houston · Harris County

    Houston National Cemetery

    Established as a national cemetery in 1965, Houston National Cemetery serves veterans and families across one of the nation's largest metropolitan regions and includes its distinctive hemicycle memorial structure. Treat the cemetery as both a place of remembrance and a gateway into Houston-area veteran history, military service and national commemoration.

    Best season: Open daily from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Cooler mornings in spring and fall are generally the most comfortable for walking the grounds.Updated Aug 2026
    • veterans
    • military memorials
    • Houston history
    Explore this place

    Approx. 49 miles away

  • Houston · Harris County

    The Menil Collection

    The Menil Collection is a free Houston art museum on a leafy 30-acre campus, known for intimate galleries, modern and contemporary art, Surrealism, antiquities and satellite art spaces.

    Best season: Year-round; mild fall, winter and spring weather is best for walking between the main building, satellite spaces and surrounding green areas.Updated Aug 2026
    • Free admission
    • Renzo Piano main building
    • Surrealist and modern art
    Explore this place

    Approx. 62 miles away

Keep exploring the region

More in this part of Texas

Additional places from the same Texas region.

  • Grapeland · Houston County · Piney Woods

    Mission Tejas State Park

    A quiet East Texas history-and-nature park preserving a 1930s reconstruction of Mission San Francisco de los Tejas, the Rice Family Log Home and pineywoods trails along El Camino Real.

    Best season: Fall through spring for comfortable hiking and historical exploration
    • Mission San Francisco de los Tejas reconstruction
    • Rice Family Log Home
    • El Camino Real history
    Explore this place

    Approx. 65 miles away

  • Karnack · Harrison County · Piney Woods

    Caddo Lake State Park

    A cypress-and-Spanish-moss East Texas park on the maze-like waters of Caddo Lake, with paddling, fishing, CCC cabins and easy access to one of the state’s most distinctive wetland landscapes.

    Best season: Fall through spring for cooler paddling and hiking; spring is especially good for birding
    • Bald cypress forest draped in Spanish moss
    • Canoeing and kayaking through marked bayous and boat roads
    • CCC-era cabins and historic park structures
    Explore this place

    Approx. 162 miles away

  • Alto · Cherokee County · Piney Woods

    Caddo Mounds State Historic Site

    An East Texas archaeological site preserving monumental earthen mounds built by ancestors of the Caddo people along an important regional trade corridor more than a thousand years ago.

    Best season: Fall through spring for comfortable outdoor interpretationUpdated Aug 2026
    • Caddo ceremonial mounds
    • Indigenous Texas history
    • Archaeology and trade networks
    Explore this place

    Approx. 70 miles away

  • San Augustine · San Augustine County · Piney Woods

    Mission Dolores State Historic Site

    The site interprets an early Spanish mission and the Native communities whose lives were affected by European colonization in East Texas. It broadens the mission story beyond San Antonio and places Spanish colonial expansion in the Piney Woods and Caddo homelands.

    Best season: Year-round; spring and fall are usually the most comfortable for outdoor portions of a visit.Updated Aug 2026
    • Spanish missions
    • Native Texas
    • East Texas
    Explore this place

    Approx. 104 miles away

  • Marshall · Harrison County · Piney Woods

    Starr Family Home State Historic Site

    The Marshall property uses generations of Starr family furnishings, clothing and records to trace more than a century of change in East Texas. The site is particularly useful for seeing how household life, wealth and civic influence changed from the 19th century into the modern era.

    Best season: Year-round; spring and fall are usually the most comfortable for outdoor portions of a visit.Updated Aug 2026
    • historic homes
    • Marshall
    • East Texas
    Explore this place

    Approx. 149 miles away

  • Karnack · Harrison County · Piney Woods

    Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge

    Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Karnack protects bottomland hardwood forest, wetlands and former Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant lands beside the Caddo Lake ecosystem, with trails, wildlife viewing and layered military-industrial history.

    Best season: Fall through spring for comfortable hiking and birding; spring adds strong songbird activity and lush wetland scenery.Updated Sep 2026
    • Bottomland hardwood forest
    • Caddo Lake wetlands
    • Former Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant
    Explore this place

    Approx. 162 miles away