Summer camping/hiking destinations for Texans?

I just went on my first camping trip at Bonham S.P. near Bonham, TX and had the time of my life. It occurs to me, though, that by late July my part of the world will be rife with ticks, countless other stinging and biting insects, high temperatures in the 110s F, and lows in the 90s F. I think I even read somewhere that Texans joke about the "three seasons" of camping being Fall, Winter, and Spring down here.

My newbish question is this: do Americans in southern and southwestern states have any typical summer destinations for camping and backpacking in better conditions?

Or is it more sensible to just bring extra permethrin, DEET, and water to southern destinations and suck it up?