Cagle Recreation Area
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 15:13 UTC
- A night
- $30From, per site
- Sites
- 47All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 13 notices
In the agency’s own words
Cagle Recreation Area is a popular campground and day-use area that sits along the shoreline of Lake Conroe on the west fork of the San Jacinto River, just 1 hour north of Houston, Texas. The area offers great camping, fishing, hiking, hunting, birding and water sports year-round. Keep reading
Recreation
Anglers are drawn to the 22,000-acre Lake Conroe for its forested lake shore and open water. The lake is particularly noted for black bass and year-round fishing. Swimming is not allowed, but fishing, hiking, picnicking and shoreline wading are sure to provide plenty of fun for kids. Hikers and mountain bikers can try the 2-mile Cagle Trail within the facility. Learn more about recreation in the national forest.
Facilities
The campground offers sites with full-service hookups organized into two loops. Each loop has sites overlooking Lake Conroe and restrooms with flush toilets, sinks and hot showers. The facility also has a boat ramp with large parking area, hiking and bicycle trails and a picnic area overlooking the lake.
Natural Features
Cagle is nestled among the pines of the Sam Houston National Forest. This area is covered with beautiful large pine and hardwood trees plus thousands of colorful wildflowers. Mid-February redbud tree blossoms followed by dogwood blossoms in early March put on a spectacular display of flowers. Lake Conroe and the surrounding forest provide wintering habitat for the endangered bald eagle. Temperatures are moderate to cool from September through May, and hot and humid from June to August. Winters are cool and wet.
Nearby Attractions
Visitors can explore the national forest's 85 miles of off-road vehicle, equestrian and mountain bike trails. The 128 mile Lone Star Hiking trail is nearby with a portion of the trail located near Lake Conroe.
What the agency tells you
PLEASE DO NOT DISPOSE FLUSHABLE WIPES INTO CAMPGROUND WASTEWATER SYSTEM. THESE PRODUCTS CAUSE SIGNIFICANT BLOCKAGE ISSUES AND ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM.
No alcohol permitted at this facility
No horses allowed
Everything else this campground posts · 10
Only two tents and up to eight people are allowed at a campsite
Golf Carts are not allowed at Cagle
One camping unit plus one vehicle per site
Additional vehicles $5 fee per day; extra vehicles must use overflow parking lot at day use area
Street-legal vehicles only
Fire permitted in fire rings only
Site must be occupied in the first 24 hours of reservation
Shooting restrictions in effect year-round
Learn more about the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas
Don't Move Firewood: Help protect our forests! Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood at or near your destination and burning it on-site. Moving firewood is illegal in some states. Visit dontmovefirewood.org to learn more.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 47
- Hookups
- 47 electric, 47 water, 47 sewer
- Longest rig
- 60 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- 5
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…has sites overlooking Lake Conroe and restrooms with flush toilets, sinks and hot showers. The facility also has a…”
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- “Each loop has sites overlooking Lake Conroe and restrooms with flush toilets, sinks and hot showers.”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Beach
- Biking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Water sports
- Night sky · 123rd darkest of 154 in TX
- Bortle 5
Full this Saturdayread 15:13 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 40 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 28 are free on Thu, Oct 22. read 15:13 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 14
What you actually pay
“Additional vehicles $5 fee per day” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $30 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 15:13 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
47 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 47 mapped sitesAll 47 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 47 of the 47 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| SWGU | 001 | standard electric | 55 ft | 50/30 amp | 80 ft | 1,218 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 002 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 80 ft | 1,167 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 003 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50/30 amp | 104 ft | 1,117 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 004 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 100 ft | 1,067 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 005 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50/30 amp | 100 ft | 997 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 006 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 102 ft | 965 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 007 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50/30 amp | 100 ft | 910 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 008 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 102 ft | 810 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 009 | standard electric | 60 ft | 50/30 amp | 102 ft | 784 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 010 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 78 ft | 894 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 011 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 133 ft | 818 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 012 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 78 ft | 929 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 013 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 107 ft | 948 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 014 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 80 ft | 1,052 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 015 | standard electric | 60 ft | 50/30 amp | yes | 91 ft | 1,019 ftLake Conroe | $30 |
| SWGU | 016 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50/30 amp | 80 ft | 1,095 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 017 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 86 ft | 1,111 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 018 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 86 ft | 1,180 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SWGU | 019 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | yes | 95 ft | 1,256 ftLake Conroe | $30 |
| SYME | 020 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 127 ft | 472 ft | $30 | |
| SYME | 021 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50/30 amp | 91 ft | 559 ft | $30 | |
| SYME | 022 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50/30 amp | 91 ft | 507 ft | $30 | |
| SYME | 023 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 94 ft | 605 ft | $30 | |
| SYME | 024 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 74 ft | 541 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SYME | 025 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50/30 amp | 85 ft | 524 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SYME | 026 | standard electric | 42 ft | 50/30 amp | 74 ft | 468 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SYME | 027 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50/30 amp | yes | 92 ft | 414 ftLake Conroe | $30 |
| SYME | 028 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50/30 amp | 94 ft | 390 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SYME | 029 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50/30 amp | 84 ft | 336 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SYME | 030 | standard electric | 42 ft | 50/30 amp | 84 ft | 262 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SYME | 031 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 116 ft | 317 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SYME | 032 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 82 ft | 136 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SYME | 033 | standard electric | 42 ft | 50/30 amp | yes | 97 ft | 261 ftLake Conroe | $30 |
| SYME | 034 | standard electric | 42 ft | 50/30 amp | 82 ft | 133 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SYME | 035 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 88 ft | 149 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SYME | 036 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 100 ft | 284 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SYME | 037 | standard electric | 42 ft | 50/30 amp | 97 ft | 311 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SYME | 038 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | yes | 97 ft | 326 ft | $30 |
| SYME | 039 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50/30 amp | 101 ft | 397 ftLake Conroe | $30 | |
| SYME | 040 | standard electric | 42 ft | 50/30 amp | 97 ft | 284 ft | $30 | |
| SYME | 041 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 105 ft | 381 ft | $30 | |
| SYME | 042 | standard electric | 42 ft | 50/30 amp | 93 ft | 280 ft | $30 | |
| SYME | 043 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 93 ft | 366 ft | $30 | |
| SYME | 044 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50/30 amp | 56 ft | 333 ft | $30 | |
| SYME | 045 | standard electric | 42 ft | 50/30 amp | 72 ft | 394 ft | $30 | |
| SYME | 046 | standard electric | 50 ft | 50/30 amp | 56 ft | 359 ft | $30 | |
| SYME | 047 | standard electric | 45 ft | 50/30 amp | 71 ft | 396 ft | $30 |
25 of 47 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Double Lake Recreation AreaSam Houston National Forest · 24 miLake Somerville Marina & Campground61 miFrom Huntsville, Texas, take I-45 to mile marker 103, New Waverly exit, and go to the first stop sign. Do not turn; stay straight on the feeder until you reach the stop sign at FM 1375. Turn right (west) on FM 1375. The Sam Houston District Office is on the right approximately 2.5 miles west of I-45. Cagle Recreation Area is approximately 6 miles west of I-45 and approximately 3 miles west of the District Office on the left hand side of FM 1375.
From Conroe, Texas, take I-45 to mile marker 102, New Waverly exit, and go to the first stop sign. Turn left (west) on FM 1375. The Sam Houston District Office is on the right approximately 2.5 miles west of I-45. Cagle Recreation Area is approximately 6 miles west of I-45 and approximately 3 miles west of the District Office on the left hand side of FM 1375.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for New Waverly, TX
Typical weather
Typical October night 58°F, day 79°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 39°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it · a letter you can send
Who answers for this land
Cagle Recreation Area is in Texas’s 8th congressional district. Its representative, Morgan Luttrell (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyMorgan LuttrellU.S. Representative · Texas’s 8th district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationJohn CornynU.S. Senator · Texas
- Your senator, on the same appropriationTed CruzU.S. Senator · Texas
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Cagle Recreation Area, Sam Houston National Forest, Texas
Dear Morgan Luttrell, I’m a constituent in Texas’s 8th district. I tried to camp at Cagle Recreation Area, Sam Houston National Forest, Texas, and couldn’t. All 47 sites at Cagle Recreation Area are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 40 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Cagle Recreation Area keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Cagle Recreation Area. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Cagle Recreation Area (Sam Houston National Forest, Texas) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Cagle Recreation Area, Sam Houston National Forest, Texas
Dear John Cornyn, I’m a constituent in Texas. I tried to camp at Cagle Recreation Area, Sam Houston National Forest, Texas, and couldn’t. All 47 sites at Cagle Recreation Area are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 40 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Cagle Recreation Area keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Cagle Recreation Area. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Cagle Recreation Area (Sam Houston National Forest, Texas) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Cagle Recreation Area, Sam Houston National Forest, Texas
Dear Ted Cruz, I’m a constituent in Texas. I tried to camp at Cagle Recreation Area, Sam Houston National Forest, Texas, and couldn’t. All 47 sites at Cagle Recreation Area are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 40 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Cagle Recreation Area keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Cagle Recreation Area. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Cagle Recreation Area (Sam Houston National Forest, Texas) via campanac.com