RV travel in Texas
Texas is the longest haul of any continental US state. El Paso to Texarkana is 800 miles on I-20, the Panhandle to Brownsville is 950 miles on I-27 + I-37, and most of those miles are open road with steady fuel and friendly RV parks. The state runs the largest state-park system in the country, the Big Bend country in the southwest is genuinely remote, and the Rio Grande Valley is the biggest snowbird destination in the US after Arizona. The catch is heat: Jun-Sep, most of the state runs 100-110 F daily, and hurricane season Jun-Nov can shut the entire coast inside 48 hours of a landfall warning. October through May is the season; outside that, plan for AC capacity and a backup inland route.
Last verified: 14 May 2026
Free RV PDF guide to Texas
Driving rules, RV-friendly and RV-restricted highways, NPS reservation rules, BLM and NF boondocking, propane, dump stations, weather, and emergency contacts. Save it to your phone for offline use on the road.
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Driving rules
Interstate (cars + RVs)75 mph (most rural segments); 80 mph on parts of I-10/I-20 west of San Antonio
Toll road TX-130 (Austin-San Antonio segment)85 mph (highest posted in US)
Interstate (towing)Matches posted (no separate trailer limit)
US/State highway (cars + towing)70-75 mph (posted)
Built-up areas30-40 mph (posted)
Drive onRight
Cell phone use while drivingTexting prohibited statewide; hands-free required in many cities (Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Dallas)
SeatbeltsRequired for all occupants
RV-friendly and RV-restricted highways
RV-friendly
I-10El Paso to Houston to the Louisiana line, 880 miles. Long, flat, easy. Long fuel gaps west of Fort Stockton -- top up there before heading west.
I-20Mid-state spine, Midland to Tyler. Easy big-rig route.
I-35San Antonio to Austin to Dallas. Heavy construction and traffic; expect 2-3 hour delays through Austin in rush hour. The TX-130 toll bypass east of Austin is the recommended RV route.
I-37 / US-77 / US-281San Antonio to Corpus Christi / RGV. Easy drive; full hookups dense once you reach the snowbird belt.
I-40Panhandle east-west via Amarillo. Long, flat, windy. Watch crosswinds near Amarillo and Vega.
US-90 (Del Rio to Marathon)Quiet alternative to I-10 through southwest TX. Big-rig OK; fuel gaps require planning.
RV-restricted
TX-118 + TX-170 (River Road, Big Bend Ranch SP)TX-170 (FM-170, 'River Road') Lajitas to Presidio is paved but has 15% grades and tight curves. RVs over 30 ft are strongly discouraged.
FM-2627 + Old Maverick Road (Big Bend NP)Unpaved, washboard, occasional water crossings after rain. Tow vehicles only.
US-67 over the Davis MountainsPaved but tight switchbacks above Fort Davis. Big rigs OK with patience; not for nervous drivers.
FM-2810 (Pinto Canyon Road)Mostly unpaved gateway to the Chinati Mountains. Not for RVs.
Many Hill Country FM roads (e.g. FM-337, FM-4)Tight, low-clearance bridges, sharp twists. RVs over 30 ft should plan around the Hill Country, not through it.
National parks and monuments
Big Bend NP$30/vehicle (7 days), $80 America the Beautiful annual. Three campgrounds: Rio Grande Village (rigs to 40 ft full-hookup, reservable), Chisos Basin (rigs to 24 ft -- the road in is steep with a switchback), Cottonwood (no hookups, primitive). All reservable Nov-Apr peak season via recreation.gov, often booked 6 months ahead. Closest fuel/groceries are 30+ miles outside the park.
Guadalupe Mountains NP$10/person (7 days). Pine Springs Campground first-come; rigs to 30 ft. Dog Canyon on the north end is more remote. The Salt Basin Dunes area is unpaved access.
Padre Island National Seashore$25/vehicle (7 days). Malaquite Campground reservable; rigs to 50 ft on the paved sites. Free dispersed beach camping is permitted on the 60 miles of undeveloped beach if your tyres can handle the soft sand (4WD strongly advised; recovery is on you).
San Antonio Missions NHPFree entry. No camping inside; multiple commercial RV parks within 10 miles.
Big Thicket National PreserveFree entry. No NPS campgrounds; backcountry permits available. Stay at TX state parks (Martin Dies Jr) or commercial.
Lake Meredith NRA + Alibates Flint Quarries NMFree entry. Multiple primitive campgrounds around Lake Meredith; Sanford Dam area is most RV-friendly. Free.
Lyndon B Johnson NHP (Stonewall + Johnson City)Free entry. No camping inside; nearby Pedernales Falls SP.
Amistad NRA (Del Rio)$10/vehicle (7 days). Multiple primitive RV-accessible campgrounds. Boat-launch sites only at some.
Waco Mammoth NM$5/person. No camping; visit and stay nearby.
Boondocking and dispersed camping
BLM: Texas has very little federal land. BLM holdings are minor (a few acres in the Cross Timbers area + scattered minerals tracts). Free dispersed boondocking on federal land is essentially not a TX option. Workarounds: free overnight at TX rest areas (24-hour limit officially, 'no camping' but RV self-contained overnight is generally tolerated), Walmart / Cracker Barrel / Cabela's overnight where store policy allows (call first), Harvest Hosts memberships, Bureau of Reclamation lake areas (Amistad, Falcon Lake) for primitive RV-accessible sites.
National Forests: Four National Forests in east TX (Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Angelina, Sabine) plus three National Grasslands (Caddo, Lyndon B Johnson, Black Kettle). All allow dispersed camping along forest roads with a 14-day stay limit. East-Texas piney woods, hot and humid; expect bugs Apr-Oct. Access roads are mostly hard-packed dirt -- passable in dry weather, sticky after rain.
Stay limit: typically 14 days per location.
Service stops
Propane: Plentiful in every Texas city of any size and along every interstate. Tractor Supply, U-Haul, and most KOA / Good Sam parks fill on-site. Sparse in the Big Bend region -- fill up in Alpine, Marathon, or Fort Stockton before heading into the park. The RGV snowbird towns (Mission, McAllen, Harlingen, Brownsville) all have plentiful refill options at competitive prices.
Dump stations: Dense in metro areas, along all interstates, and in the snowbird belt. Most state parks have free dump stations for registered guests. Truck stops on I-10, I-20, I-35, I-40, and I-45 have fee dump stations ($10-15). Free dump stations are common at Texas highway rest areas (uncommon for any state) -- look for the icon on the brown rest-area signs.
Fuel: Diesel and gas widely available along all interstates and US highways. Notable fuel gaps: I-10 west of Fort Stockton (Sanderson is the only refuelling option for 100+ miles southbound), TX-118 + US-385 into Big Bend (fill in Marathon, Alpine, or Fort Stockton -- the Panther Junction gas inside the park is unreliable), the trans-Pecos backroads generally. Fuel prices typically lowest along the Gulf Coast (refinery proximity) and in the Permian Basin; highest in the Hill Country and west TX tourist towns.
Weather windows
Best monthsOctober through May statewide. The RGV snowbird belt holds 70s-80s F daytime through the winter. Hill Country and central TX are most pleasant Mar-May and Oct-Nov. Big Bend is best Oct-Apr; spring wildflowers Mar-Apr are exceptional.
Avoid monthsJune-September almost everywhere -- daytime highs 95-110 F across most of the state, 100-115 F in Big Bend and the Permian. Hurricane season Jun-Nov on the coast (peak Aug-Oct). Tornado season Apr-Jun in the panhandle and north TX -- monitor severe weather alerts daily during a spring trip.
If a named storm enters the western Gulf, you have 48-72 hours to relocate inland or out of the coastal belt entirely. RV parks along the coast may close pre-emptively; mandatory evacuation orders trump everything else. Fuel runs short on evacuation routes within 12 hours of a major storm warning -- top up early.
Emergency and road conditions
State patrolDial 9-1-1 for emergencies; (800) 525-5555 for DPS non-emergency