Best Tent Camping near Hastings, OK

East Side – Lake Lawtonka primitive tent camping sites are very well scattered and away from each other. They have two separate areas for primitive camping along with an RV and camper area. The RV and camper area sides are $20 a night with electricity and $8 a night for all primitive tent camping sites. The first primitive campsite is called the ponds. It's very heavily wooded and Lush. The other primitive campsite is very open with almost no trees. Both sides have a beautiful view of Mount Scott & Lake lawtonka. The relative closeness all the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge is literally just across the lake. The view is outstanding but the only negative thing I have to say about this campsite is it there's no restrooms for the primitive camping areas. Both of them have only portable outhouses. No true rest rooms are nearby other than and the RV area. Other than that it's a great place for a wonderful weekend.

Weekends at WMWR (Wichita Mountains Wildife Refuge)are very popular beginning early in the camping season making it difficult to find open spots by Friday evening. But that doesn’t keep people from trying late into the night.   

The facilities are well maintained and allow anyone to choose very primitive to RV hookup and car/tent camping also.   Always lots of friendly folks to visit and get hiking insights from. Many activities are available in WMWR. Hiking trails can be accessed directly from Doris Campground, or there are numerous other trails in other areas a short drive away. Carry in all your water with bovine (longhorn, buffalo) covering virtually all areas of the refuge. I have visited all months of the year.

Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area, Fort Sill, OK

Cabin 3 (both late June and mid-October)

Lake Elmer Thomas(LETRA) is a 334 acre lake located on Fort Sill in Comanche County, Oklahoma. LETRA offers a pretty nice location for recreating. Offering quite a bit for families in a limited space.                                                                                                            •A nice beach and cordoned swim area, complete with restrooms and shower house(11a-7p)…lifeguards                                                                                                          •Sand volleyball court                                                                                                             •Watersport rentals: paddle boards, canoes, kayaks, pontoon boat                                      •Mini golf course                                                                                                                         •Disc golf course                                                                                                                     •RV/Camper area                                                                                                                         •Rustic rental cabins                                                                                                                    •Random primitive tent camping                                                                                        •Fishing                                                                                                                                              •Nearby off-base hiking(Mount Scott and the Medicine Park Wildlife Refuge)              •Bicycling-ample quiet, paved road opportunities but surprisingly limited off road options 

Tent Camping: there are no specifically designated loop or numbered site tent areas. Tenters are permitted to camp all along the lake’s edge in the grassy area. There are a few picnic tables and elevated charcoal grills(no ground fires permitted), so you may have to do without. There are also a few picnic tables under shelters, but half are in a state of disrepair and caution-taped off. Tenters cannot set up tents within the cabin rental inner circle. 

The modern facility restrooms are across from the playground as you enter the cabin rental peninsula. Tent campers are able to utilize the shower house/restrooms in the RV/Camper section, as well as the beach areas during open hours. There is no ground cover to separate one tent from the next…all can be seen and heard. 

RV/Camper Sites: big rigs are lined up side by side in a separate gravel loop immediately to the left of the entrance. Sites have water and electric hookups. The nicest shower house/restroom is located there. There is a small patch of grass between sites, picnic table and elevated charcoal grill. These sites are closest to the entrance, beach area, watersport rental and campground activities. 

Cabin Rentals: log home rentals are on a small peninsula with great views of Mount Scott and Lake Elmer Thomas. At the time of this review, you must bring your own bedding linens/blankets, towels, etc. I would also recommend packing extra eating utensils, condiments and any other items that you would take camping. We rented Cabin 3, which the website says will sleep 4…inaccurate. One full size bed and a small futon will sleep two average-sized adults and one small child in marginal comfort. The table only provides two chairs, not four for two not four. I would subtract 1-2 persons on the cabins unless you count floor space. Cabin 3 was$80 nightly. 

Painted turtles are in abundance around the lake, as are smallish ‘fist-sized’ tarantulas. Bicycling the Artillary Range perimeter roadways on base, coyote dash across in early morning hours. Note: you are on a military base, so there are a number of restrictions that you need to be aware of and abide by. 

Additionally, the campground is positioned along the northern side of the Artillery range. Yes, you will see and hear C-Ram’s lighting up the sky randomly during the day and night hours, as well as other ordinance. I enjoyed the display and out-of-the-ordinary disruption. Think unanticipated fireworks.

Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area(LERTA), Fort Sill, OK

Tent Site:$10 (both in June and October)

Spending a week in Lawton, OK there are only “so many” places you can camp…so we jumped around every night to try as many as we could. The weather was blistering hot and cloudless during the day with a constant strong breeze in June...(and unseasonably windy and bitter cold in mid-October). So both Lake Elmer Thomas and Lake Lawtonka were a welcomed respite. Technically, the only swimming permitted on Lake Elmer Thomas is 11:00a-7:00p with a daily pass of $8. However, they offer packages for military families and civilians should someone desire to take advantage of the season savings. For campers it’s all included in the site or cabin costs. 

There is a separate RV/Camper Loop near the entrance and is a little lower so does not have Lake views. All cabins have lake views to some degree. 

Tent sites are grassy areas along the campground roadway on either side, but are not numbered and cost$10 a night. All are first-come, first-served. Most will snatch up the sheltered picnic table areas with an elevated charcoal grill. Almost all are along the lake bank. There is no understory or shrubbery to provide privacy, so you can see and hear your neighbors. 

During our stay, they were all young families and very respectful of others. Tent campers can utilize any of the restrooms as well as the showerhouse in the RV area. 

There is enough to stay busy right here at LERTA. Canoe, kayak, paddle board and pontoon boat rentals to enjoy the lake. Fishing is permitted and schools of bluegill are seen along the shoreline. The water is incredibly clear. A very nice mini-golf course is located across from the offices. Sand volleyball is next to the beach area. The beach and swimming area is manned by lifeguards from 11:00a-7:00p and offers a huge restroom/showers/changing rooms building. Playgrounds are located in the RV/Camper loop, outside the beach area and along the tenting area before you reach the cabin rentals. An archery range is located across the roadway from the tenting/picnic areas. 

The staff are very courteous and helpful. The entrance gate attendant will direct you (Entrance was manned in June but not in October). A bicycle event was taking place and LERTA was the halfway mark and turnaround point. So bicycling these sparsely traveled undulating roads was enjoyable. There are some two track worth exploring to the north of the roadway as well as a few other sizable lakes to fish in the area. 

DO NOT venture south off the roadway. It is a clearly marked and active artillery range. Also of note, artillery range practice, though sporadic, takes place at any hour of any day. If you treat it like an unexpected fireworks display you’ll actually look forward to it. 

I find the large resident flock of geese more annoying that the artillery….though the half minute displays were at 2359, 0245 and 0349…blasting you out of any REM cycle. 

I was advised the tent spots rarely fill up, but RV/Camper and cabin rentals(adventure travel letra)fill up quickly so reservations are a must. 

Things to do nearby: Definitely spend time in the Medicine Park Wildlife Refuge Area. Drive, bicycle, run or walk up Mount Scott(rock climbing is permitted on Mount Scott). Check out the hundreds of free roaming LongHorn’s, Bison and prairie dog towns. Coyotes, various snakes and tarantulas can be seen through these hills. Scores of fishable lakes dot the landscape. The Ferguson homestead still exists with its “cannonball” architecture. Chad's El Sabores Mexican Restaurant in Medicine Park is a fantastic little eatery on your way in or out of the Recreation Area. Medicine Park Aquarium and Natural Sciences Center is worth a visit and reasonably priced. Clarification: while this may or may not be true for every military base campground, 

LERTA is open to civilians. However, there is a process. Passes must be acquired at the Visitor’s Center at the Sheridan Entrance (plan for an hour) for each adult over 16. You must have a valid/current Drivers License, Passport or other recognized government ID. They do a background check before you qualify for a pass. Also know, certain gates close at 7:00p…so keep track of your time of off-base.

 The camp host rolled through during the evening before sunset to make sure all was well…and the military police made their rounds a few times during each day. Both of which I appreciate. 

Would I return? Yes, if I’m traveling through these parts again, I wouldn’t hesitate to camp here again (and I did in mid-October, same year for military graduations)

For improved campground I have always found KOA to maintain a certain level of consistency so when I went on a fun trip with some friends to check out the “rumored Texas Chainsaw Massacre” community just north of Wichita Falls we wanted to check out the KOA there. Now while you are reading this and probably thinking, “WHY WOULD YOU GO THERE??” Keep in mind it is the rumored house and there is no factual proof that it actually is there, instead we found some really interesting other creepy things to go check out, because why not.

Anyway, back to the campground itself.

I was very impressed with the green space, a lot of this area was already starting to brown because of the heat, but they were still looking fresh and soft and that would make for a much better location for our tent. The site itself was just under $30, one of three options they offer which are all only about $4 in difference in pricing. We sprung for the middle option with electrical hook ups, not because we needed them but because after driving around we liked the look of that site a bit more. The deluxe sites they offered were taken but they had bbq grills and a more private tent area, this has been my favorite at several other KOA locations because of the amenities however this again was taken so that wasn’t an option.

We settled in and noticed that there were very nice amenities, the pool was amazing and perfect for a cool down on the warm day. KOA usually has this kind of amenity available as well as some outdoor activities you can enjoy like playground or sports courts. We were told they do observe quiet hours however if we wanted to swim a bit later as long as we were not loud we could do so. I would ask if this is ok before just getting out there and doing it however!!

The shower area was very close to the tent space we had selected and as often is at a KOA, one of my favorite features because they are more home like than a typical National or State Park campground. The water was warm and the pressure was very good!!

I noticed there were several what looked to be long term campers there in RVs. While I personally am not effected by this, it did make the area they were staying in a little less kept looking. They were not over by the cabins and tents however so it wasn’t that off-putting to me, but I could see how if that is an RV stayers view it could be kind of annoying.

I used the WIFI here and it worked great, sometimes the campsites are a bit to far away and thus don’t get good connection, however I was able to use wifi for typical functions, although I did not fully test it with uploading anything major.

TIPS

If you are interested in a Deluxe site book in advance there are very few and they go fast during heavy traffic seasons. Usually at this campsite there are tent sites which are walk in ready however.

Explore around the campground because they have some very interesting items if you are willing to just walk around and see them which are unique to this campground.

• Be careful for stickers. While the area we were in didn’t seem to have them we did notice when walking around especially near the dog walk area they seemed to be pretty bad.

The Wichitas are (in my humble opinion), by far the best place to be in Oklahoma. When my boyfriend took me camping there (he's an OK native), I was pressed to the glass looking at the buffalo. AMAZING. So much wildlife (make sure you stop to see the prairie dogs), and the mountains are amazing. There is no bad place to camp here, just make sure you go for a hike!

We needed a quick spot for an impromptu camping trek so hike the Wichita mountains. The Wichita Reserve seemed to be closed to tent campers due to Covid, so we opted for this spot in a pinch. Setup directly next to the lake and had a great view of Mt. Scott at sunset! Only complaint was proximity to the road, as there was some passing truck noise throughout the night.

If you are in an RV this is the area at Nocona Lake you will want to check out. Unlike the other two campground which focus more on the tent camper this one has actual RV sites with improvements though they are not waterfront and also area a little small. Sewer and Water are available for a fee in addition to a dump station.

If you are a tent camper they do have these as well so this makes this campground the more busy of the three when it comes to holidays and nice weather.

The facility has grills and picnic tables and though they are not in the best of condition they are more recently replaced that other campgrounds and are sheltered from the hot sun with covers.

This area is the more patrolled of the campsites around the lake so you will have a lot more supervision here and less likely to encounter rogue kids trying to party.

The positives of staying here include a small fishing pier and boat ramp which is better for larger motor boats then some of the other smaller launch ramps. It is pretty clean, the trash isn’t full and is clearly picked up often. The area is very wide open so it is easy to move around in with your boat, trailer or RV.

Now to the negatives. With this being a more populated site it can fill up quickly during nice weather around holidays and with that it can be a little hectic. With this being the most busy boat ramp on public access you will have a lot of in and out traffic.

And lastly, the bathrooms, none of the public facilities are much more than a port a potty, they are a bit odd and not well maintained.

TIPS:

• Grab supplies before coming out to the lake at any number of stores in Nocona. The community itself has a grocery store and several mini-marts which provide pretty much everything you could need. The only place you will find on the way out to the lake isn’t open often and everything seems a little dusty.
• Try geocaching in this area, there are several geocaches which range in size from small sign in only to trinkets. It is a great activity to try with the family and will provide a fun way to get away from the crowds of the lake on a busy weekend.