We headed east from Benson through Arizona and all the way through New Mexico and finally entered Texas!
We arrived at the entrance to the state park at 3:59 pm and the Visitor Center closes at 4pm and the front gate locks at 5pm! The ranger at the front gate let us in and the rangers at the Visitor Center waited for us to get there so we could register. Thank you!
The state park was not originally designed with a campground in mind but now they have converted a small parking lot to a 5 site campground. We made reservations well in advance since we had read it was very difficult to get sites here. It was full when we were there.
Site 1 
Site 2 
Site 3 
Site 4 
View of campground from the trail
If you are planning to spend a bit of time camping at a Texas State Park then an annual pass may be well worth your while. Texas is one of those states that you need to pay an entrance fee per person in addition to your camping fees. The entrance fee can vary from state park to state park and some do not charge any entry fee. We bought our Texas State Park online a few months before we departed and it saved us quite a bit since we were planning to be in Texas at least 2 weeks.
Our campsite, RV005, was in the center of the parking lot and was a pull along with a picnic table and fire pit. All sites have great views of the surrounding mountains.
Campground: Franklin Mountains State Park
Location: El Paso, Texas in the Franklin Mountains
Site: RV005
Cost: $10 (with Texas State Park Pass) (plus the purchase of $70 for a Texas State Park Pass)
Services: dry camping
Comments: A lovely campground with nice hiking trails and terrific views. It was very windy when we were there and we even took our slide in during the night to reduce the wind noise and help keep us a bit warmer. It was around freezing at night.
There are a few hiking trails and a nature walk trail along with terrific sunset views!
Nearby the State Park is the US Border Patrol Museum. It is a free museum (donations gladly accepted) and is well worth the time. We loved it and highly recommend it.
We enjoyed our time in the Franklin Mountains and as usual, we wished we could have stayed longer. Off we go!
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