The Real Frio Texas

The property is on a ridge above a creek, you can hear the creek while sitting by the fire. The stars were very visible with minimal light pollution. The creek is dammed so there could be canoeing / kayaking / paddle boarding, but I did not investigate further.

It's primitive camping with no cell service, so if you're traveling to the area, download an offline map beforehand. The google pin took me directly to the driveway. I pulled my pop up camper and was able to back it into the driveway, but bigger trailers would be harder to fit.

Matt was nice and checked in with us several times.

Our camping adventure in central Texas in the beautiful hill country Frio River drainage area just out of Leakey was wonderful. We originally wanted to get a couple of camping nights in Garner State Park but didn’t plan the months and months early enough to get reservations. Be prepared! We searched the web and found HIPCAMP website that listed Matt S’ camping site and others. We very much lucked out with our choice. Matt S was a wonderful host! He’s an outdoorsman, ichthyologist, herpetologist, teacher, gentleman and really interesting person. Camping there was comfortable and beautiful. Matt is in the process of improvements that will make it even more inviting, e.g. renovating bathroom, tables, benches, clearing more trees, etc. The drive from Leakey in to the camping site takes about 10 minutes and traverses a creek a few times. The drive from this site to Garner State Park is 25 to 30 min. Overall an excellent experience. We very much look forward to returning. Enjoy!

My trip to Real Frio was disappointing, and I would not recommend it unless the host addresses some key issues with the page to align visitor expectations:
1) The site was covered in trash, including a half dozen rusty nails, several old kitchen knives, and a ceramic toilet lid. It also had rusty, broken, and decrepit junk like an old slide, broken ladders, a decayed smoker, and several other random pieces of junk. I spent the first hour cleaning.
2) Getting to the site was extremely challenging. The road has large potholes, rocks, and dips that caused me to bottom out 4-5 times each way, as well as having to cross the river 4 times, causing me to submerge my car in water up well past the bottom.
3) The page advertised potable water, but there was none.
4) The site itself does not look at all like the pictures. The campsite is an area between a house and a trailer. It felt like camping in someone's yard. Moreover, we were not on the river front. The photos from the page show neither of these structures, and show all waterfront, which felt misleading to the actual site.
5) The toilet did not have running water.
6) "Kitchen or cooking equipment" available included a sink without running water and a kitchen that was in disuse, decay, dirty, and messy.
7) There was no cell phone service for either of my group's cell carriers within 40 minutes, which would have been helpful to know in advance
8) The advertisement says "You’ll be able to set up your tents in any one of the multiple magical spots overlooking acres of trees" but there was only one spot to camp.
9) "Picnic table available" - there was no picnic table

That all being said, the pros were:
- Private
- By walking a short distance, access to beautiful and quiet sections of the Frio river
- Collection of dead wood and branches for use in a nice fire pit
- The host refunded my trip after I submitted a refund request for the above reasons

We had a blast staying at Matthew’s place. Good spot to set up tents with a fire and relax. Matthew hung around in case we needed anything and got us set up to go fishing. I had never had any success fishing and he taught us everything! We caught so many fish. The river monster is still out there! Fishing, swimming, camping, family and friends all enjoyed it. Matthew was an excellent host and I would highly recommend.

Matt's place is great. It isn't a glamping setup but it has everything you need to camp comfortably. Matt took great care of us and is a friendly and helpful guy. Two fire pits that you can cook on. A toilet that you have to flush with jugs of water (much better than digging a hole). The surrounding land and property is beautiful and unexpected for Texas. The creek area that connects Matt's property to the rest of the neighborhood is a great place to explore and relax. Matt saved us when we had to jump our car after the first night after a long rain. We were very thankful for him and his friend who were staying in the house close to the campsite. I would suggest bringing a car that has a higher clearance just to make sure you can get to the campsite. We saw sedans on the other side of the water crossings but with all the rain we got the water was impassable at times with any car. The neighbors said it was historic rainfall for that area so it probably won't be an issue, but bring a higher clearance vehicle if you can. Would stay there again for sure. The people are friendly and the land is very pretty. Hope you have as much fun as we did.

Response from matthew, the Host, on June 4th, 2021

Thanks Jeffry, y’all were great guests. Matt

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Remove vote :(

Absolutely beautiful