At San Felipe the campground is cypress and hardwood along the Brazos on Park Road 38. The bank stays wet and shaded, and Gulf humidity makes the insects loud by dusk. The river is the first night out of Katy, and the closest full-hookup state park.
Summer here is sticky, and mosquitoes move through the same floodplain woods, so the full-hookup loop is how you stay on the Brazos when the air does not move. Spring and fall are easier on the skin.
In the morning you can walk the bank and still be back at the van under the same canopy. On the park campsites page, full-hookup sites are RV or pop-up only as of September 2026, and the tent pads and walk-in primitive sites do not allow RVs or generators. Reserve the loop that matches the vehicle.
If you need more sleeping room than a campervan, look at RV rentals in Katy. Book the pad first on the park's ReserveAmerica listing, especially from March through May and October through November. The van is the second booking.
Alligators and levee trails at Brazos Bend belong to Houston. The next day is the Katy Prairie and Attwater.
The Katy Prairie and Attwater Prairie Chicken refuge
West of town the grass goes all the way to the sky, then drops into wetland with wading birds. The day splits between the Katy Prairie preserve closer to home and Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge at Eagle Lake. You cannot spend the night at either, so the van stays at Stephen F. Austin or continues to Lake Somerville after the day.
Attwater's refuge page opens the Auto Tour Loop, Sycamore Trail, and Horseshoe Lake Trail from sunrise to sunset and does not allow camping, as of September 2026. Staff van tours are reservation-only. Late February through early April is lekking season, when the birds show after sunrise, and they are hard to find once that window closes.
The preserve is limited days and no drop-in access. Coastal Prairie Conservancy's visit page sets those visiting days, and Warren Ranch is guided programs only. Stay on designated trails.
Lake Somerville State Park
Pine and post-oak meet the water at Birch Creek on the north shore and Nails Creek on the southwest. The Trailway between them is the walk, open to hikers, bikes, and horses on most of it. This is the lake weekend after the river night, one unit for camp and the Trailway for the other shore.
Both units have water and electric hookups as of September 2026. Skip the Trailway primitive site in a van, because it has no potable water.
Early March through the Fourth of July is when those hookup pads move first. Sealy, Columbus, and Brenham are the towns on the way. Hill Country parks beyond that are an Austin campervan trip.