AUSTIN -- Just because Old Man Winter has wrapped his cold hands around Texas, that's no reason to stay home and forsake an adventure in the great outdoors. More than one out of every four Texas state parks offers some sort of indoor overnight accommodations.
You can choose to "rough it" in a small cottage offering the barest of necessities that rents for as little as $35 a night, or opt to steal away to a cozy cabin or full-service lodge for $100 a night. Bunking in a state park offers the bonus of not having to wake to the sounds of highway traffic or the hum of the city but instead to the soothing sights and sounds of the canyons, woodlands, and lakes of Texas.

Spending a weekend or week at one of 37 state parks with indoor overnight facilities during winter months also means you'll experience fewer crowds and milder weather more conducive to a bike ride, mountain hike, or sunset canoe cruise than during Texas' warm months.
The growing demand for climate-controlled overnight facilities has prompted a number of parks, including popular Inks Lake State Park near Burnet, Lake Colorado City State Park, and San Angelo State Park, to permanently enclose and heat screened shelters that sleep up to four in bunk beds. Though the mini-cabins have no indoor plumbing and minimal amenities, they put a roof over campers' heads and offer all the advantages of a full-service campsite: picnic table, fire ring, grill, water spigot, and electrical outlet. There is also a slot at each cottage site to park a small trailer or pop-up camper. Mini-cabins rent for as little as $35 per night.

Two state parks -- Starr Family Home State Historic Site in Marshall and Landmark Inn in Castroville -- offer romantic bed-and-breakfast accommodations. At these historic sites, overnight guests can enjoy a quiet getaway while immersed in a part of Texas history and eat a Continental breakfast at their convenience. The Rosemont wing at Starr Mansion, built in the 1830s, rents for $85 a night plus tax.

"Most folks don't realize when they visit our park that there is this type of accommodation within an historic setting," said John Thomas, Starr Family Home's park manager. "But most people leave with fond memories and nothing but compliments for their experience."
Landmark Inn charges $45 to $55 a night plus tax depending on the size of the room and number of people. Couples may want to consider booking a Romantic Weekend package at the 19th century stone-and-plaster inn that includes dinner at Castroville's Alsatian Restaurant.

The most popular place for an indoor overnight stay in a state park remains Indian Lodge, where the 39 rooms are often booked six months or more in advance. Room rates range from $40 to $100 a night. The Civilian Conservation Corps chose a scenic setting in the Davis Mountains of West Texas to construct the picturesque adobe inn, replicating the Southwestern Pueblo style of architecture. The full-service facility, which includes a swimming pool, restaurant, and other amenities, features all the comforts of home. Twelve rooms are undergoing major renovation and will remain out of service through most of 2002. Reservations for Indian Lodge should be made well in advance and can only can be made through the park at (915) 426-3254.

Just a short drive on a curving mountain road from Indian Lodge sits an old-fashioned motor court built by the CCC. The motel is operated as part of Balmorhea State Park, home to one of the world's largest spring-fed swimming pools. The 18-unit San Solomon Springs Court, built in the 1930s in a Spanish style (red tile roofs, white stuccoed adobe walls), derives its name from the desert springs that continue to feed millions of gallons of water into the pool daily. The garages of the old motor court were incorporated into the motel rooms during an extensive 1970s renovation. Some rooms include kitchenettes; all are air-conditioned, heated, and decorated in a Western motif. Singles rent for $50 and doubles $60 per night.
Cabins, however, are what probably come to mind when most people think about staying indoors in a state park. Ten state parks feature modestly furnished cabins. Accommodations vary by location, but even some of the more rustic cabins built by the CCC more than 60 years ago have been updated to include microwave ovens, mini-refrigerators, and air conditioning. Reservations are encouraged, particularly during weekends and holidays. Some parks require weekend cabin rentals to include both Friday and Saturday night.
Five of the parks feature cabins a popular wintertime premium -- a wood-burning fireplace to knock off the chill. They are:
o Bastrop (12 cabins and group lodge)
o Daingerfield (one cabin and Bass Lodge)
o Garner (13 cabins)
o Lake Brownwood (17 cabins)
o Possum Kingdom (5 cabins)
At Caddo Lake, seven of the recently renovated nine cabins include gas log fireplaces. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own wood, though most parks sell kindling. Park policies vary, too, on whether or not bedding, linens, utensils, dishes, and silverware are provided with the rented facility.
For more details about renting cabins in state parks, please visit the TPW web site (www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/admin/cabinfo.htm) or phone the state park information line at (800) 792-1112.
Large families and groups can be accommodated at a number of state parks that offer group lodges, barracks, and bunkhouses. Some parks even rent spacious recreation and dining halls for overnight use with cots provided for beds. One of the park system's hidden overnight housing jewels is found at Big Bend Ranch State Park, which has Sauceda Lodge, a bunkhouse-dining room that sleeps 30 in segregated dormitory style. Big Bend Ranch also can sleep eight in the Big House, a 1908 Spanish-style adobe ranch house that affords an opportunity to truly get away from it all -- 28 miles from the nearest paved road in the Chihuahuan Desert high country near the Mexican border.
Reservations for campsites, group facilities, cabins, and other overnight indoor facilities can be made through the Texas State Parks Central Reservation Center, (512) 389-8900, in Austin. Before calling the CRC, the public is encouraged to check availability on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Web site (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/). Room prices do not include tax.