Park visitors can now buy a “Save the Day” pass, book specific campsites, cabins and shelters and buy a Texas State Park Pass online

AUSTIN— Planning a day or overnight trip to a Texas State Park just got easier with new online features available in the Texas State Parks reservation system.  The new options allow visitors to reserve a specific campsite, buy day passes in advance and buy or renew a Texas State Parks Pass online.

“We are excited to introduce these helpful features to park visitors and provide a new way to efficiently schedule a trip, either for the day or overnight, to any Texas State Park,” says Rodney Franklin, Director of Texas State Parks. “These options give park goers the ability to plan their perfect state park vacation, no matter where and when they want travel.”

The system includes online features that are mobile-friendly and easy to use.

Visitors now have the option to purchase day use passes up to one month in advance, guaranteeing access to parks even during busy times like weekends and holidays. The new “Save the Day” pass helps address the growing issue of visitors not being able to get into a popular state parks due to overcrowding.

Day passes for some of the more popular parks have specific arrival time slots. Visitors to parks such as Balmorhea State Park, Brazos Bend State Park, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, Garner and Government Canyon State Natural Area can select an arrival time and have the peace of mind knowing they can get in to the park.

Anyone planning overnight trips at a Texas State Park can now choose a specific site when making reservations up to five months in advance. Photos and details of campsites, shelters and cabins are available online, so campers can pick their site before arriving at the park. Visitors can search for sites by specific parks and site types, see photos of the site before making their decision and see details for each site including utilities, parking pad length and width, and amount of shade.

Larger families and groups can also select and reserve neighboring sites, so they can enjoy the outdoors together.

Parkgoers can also renew or purchase a Texas State Parks Pass online. With a Texas State Parks Pass, an entire vehicle of guests gets unlimited visits to more than 90 Texas State Parks with no entry fee for 12 months.

Texas State Parks are making every effort to make the reservation system upgrades as smooth as possible. All existing park reservations have been moved into the new system and are secure. Any customers experiencing issues may contact the Customer Service Center at (512) 389-8900. However, in the early days of the improved system, Customer Service Center wait times are expected to be longer than normal due to increased demand.

For more information about the system, or to make a reservation to a Texas State Park, visit www.texasstateparks.org/reservations.