Midway Park Campground is an Army Corp of Engineers (COE) campground in Waco, Texas and it sits on Lake Waco. It is a small campground with 38 sites (including tent sites). Some of the sites are on the lake, some sites have lake views, and other sites are near the road with not much of a view and a bit of road noise. We found this park to be nice but nowhere near the great standard we have found at so many other COE campgrounds throughout the US.
Campground: Midway Park Campground – COE
Location: Waco, Texas
Site: 8 (back-in and waterfront)
Cost: $14 (half off with Interagency Pass)
Services: E/W
Comments: We had a lovely back-in, long site (95 feet long) right on the water. We had a great picnic area too. The sites are quite close together as are the picnic areas. There is very little if any site privacy. There is a bit of road noise too. But it has close proximity to town and nice views. There is a dump on-site.
Lake Waco is a man-made reservoir with swimming and boating and ten public boat launches. There are 3 other campgrounds on the lake with this one, Midway, being closest to town.
Waco is in central Texas and about halfway between Dallas and Austin and is Baylor University’s college town. It is also home to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, the Dr Pepper Museum, the Magnolia Silos from Chip and Joanna Gaines of HGTV “Fixer Upper” TV Show, Mammoth National Park, Waco Suspension Bridge, and a host of other sites and activities to keep you busy for days.
Dr. Pepper was created in Waco, Texas in the 1880’s and became nationally marketed in the US in 1904 before Coca Cola. It is the nation’s oldest soft drink. The Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco has been open for over 30 years and is located in a old manufacturing building that is on the National Register of Historic Places. It offers 3 floors of exhibits detailing the history of Dr. Pepper along with lots of memorabilia. There is also a gift shop and a soda fountain where you can taste some Dr. Pepper.
Neither of us were or are fans of Dr. Pepper and we could not really actually remember ever drinking one so we headed to the soda fountain afterwards to try one out (coupon for a drink included with museum entry fee). Since we are not soda pop / soft drink drinkers we were not enticed to buy more but it did quench our thirst after the Silos and Museum touring!
The Silo District in downtown Waco encompasses two city blocks full of shops, eating establishments including food trucks, green space, picnic tables, stage, and more. Two old grain silos, which are a city landmark, are on the property but not open to the public. This area arose from Chip and Joanna Gaines buying the Silo property years ago and transforming it into what it is today. It opened to the public in 2015. We, accidentally, happened to visit during a special event, Spring At the Silos! This meant lots of other food trucks on the streets along with vendors…AND…massive crowds. Lines for the bakery, coffee shop, and stores were incredible.
The two main stores in the Silos are Magnolia Home and Magnolia Market which both offer decor and furniture, amongst other things, for the home. Both stores were lovely but were very crowded.
There are a variety of food trucks, a bakery, a coffee shop, and a roof top restaurant.
It was fun to see the Silos after seeing it develop over the years on HGTV but it was way too crowded and way too expensive. Had it not been during a special event it might have been a completely different experience.
Back to the campground to sit outside and watch the sunset.
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