Best Glamping near Hinton, OK

Wow. I can't recommend this park highly enough. I pulled in here after a week in the deserts of eastern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and the Texas panhandle. The lush green landscape at the bottom of Red Rock Canyon was a balm for this Northwesterner's soul. I liked it so much I decided to stay three nights instead of one. Rates for tent camping are very reasonable.

The landscape around Hinton doesn't, uh, hint, at the Canyon's presence. It is flat here, which makes the canyon all the more remarkable. Trees at the bottom are sheltered from the wind and grow to great heights. There is a creek that runs along the length of the canyon. The creek is dammed at one point to create a small lake, where fish can be caught. There are several trails by which visitors can explore this spectacular environment. The Rough Horsetail Nature Trail near the head of the canyon is particularly nice, and paved for the first stretch.

There are a few different campgrounds along the road on the canyon bottom. I stayed in the northernmost one, Canyon Campground. Sites here are large and beautifully shaded. There are no electric hookups, and only one water spigot near the entrance. There is a modern bathroom here with flushing toilets and running water, but it was a mess when I visited. The bathrooms down the road at the Walnut Creek group picnic area are older but were in better condition. (They had signs up that read "closed for the season" but were wide open... go figure).

This park has other amenities, including a camp store and swimming pool, but these were closed when I visited due to damage from recent heavy rains.

If you are wanting a nice camping experience, you need to try out Roman Nose State Park.  During the Fall and Winter months the lake provides great Trout Fishing that is stocked every 2 weeks.  the Campgrounds are well kept with fire pits, Grills and several sites protected by trees.  The new restrooms at the Canyon Vista are extremely nice.  it has 4 individual Bath Suites; however bring quarters for the hot showers.  The Park itself also offer horsebacking, Canoes, Paddleboats, Swimming pool, Miniature Golf, and a full 18 hole Golf course.  this is a great place for hiking as well.

This park is nestled in the red rock hills of close north central Oklahoma with its curved and tree-filled landscape hiding awaiting adventures and treasures to be discovered! The landscape’s curves, twists and turns produce moments of discovery including natural springs abundant with icy cold, clear water flowing from rocky walls and gurgling streams as one winds through pathways of wild wooded areas.

Options for all levels of outdoor-lovers include the lodge, with hotel-type accommodations, restaurant and outdoor seating area to the more adventurous Tipis for those who want to experience a more “close encounter” with nature!

Certainly something for everyone including the good sized lake with recreation for the whole family!

Pool, pedal carts, jumping pillow, and a playground for the kids! Super friendly staff. If you need full hook ups, those are basically a parking lot. However, there’s some really nice shaded electric/water sites for RVs and tent sites. The bathrooms are super nice and clean. Pond has great crappie fishing too! It’s way less crowded than the state parks, and it’s nice place to spend a weekend away. They have little cabins that have beautiful, shaded outside areas (fire pits, porch swings, etc) and they’re cheap to rent. We’re not typically “KOA” type campers, but we really enjoy this place.

This place was such a disappointment. I don't often pay for campsites that aren't inside a National Park, but this place looked so pretty and it was in the location I needed.

I should start by saying that if you book an RV spot (I think they cost around $30) and whatever you're staying in has a toilet, your experience will probably be a lot better than mine. Although very close together, the RV sections seemed fairly nice.

My experience, however, was a little different (if you don't want to read all about my experience & just want the basics, scroll down to the section "the campground"):

I booked my tent site ($20) on their website a few hours before I arrived. I arrived well before sunset, and there was a sign up that said the office closed at sunset. No one was in the office and there was another sign that indicated they would return at 10AM. This wasn't a big deal.

When I booked my site online it told me to select an area (there's three different sections of the park), and then once I arrive I could choose any available campsite. I chose the Walnut Grove area. They have a map on their website showing the areas where there is tent camping. What they fail to mention on their site, is that there isn't any obvious parking for most of these sites in the Walnut Grove area. A couple of the campsites on the map were in what was signed to be a "day use only" area, a couple of the sites on the map looked like walk-in sites, but I had no clue where to park my vehicle, a couple of the sites I just couldn't find, and most of the sites were on the main road that goes through the canyon and had no obvious place to park (I looked for dead or trodden grass near the sites to give me a sign that people were just parking in the grass & didn't see any.) Also, at first it was hard to distinguish between which sites were day use picnic sites and which were campsites, because the website told me the campsite area I chose didn't have fire rings.

I finally decided to just pull onto the grass, but I noticed that multiple campsites had trash at them (most likely from guests using the park during the day). Nearby a dumpster was overflowing with trash, and I eventually saw that every section had one or two dumpsters either filled to the brim or overflowing.

I decided to stop off at the toilets in the Walnut Grove area. To get there you cross a wooden bridge that has wood planks laying over the original structure, which seems a little hazardous for navigating after dark. I could smell the bathrooms (an actual running water bathroom) from the bridge, not a great sign, but it appeared to be coming from the men's. In the women's side were two spiders the size of my palm, one in each stall. (Yes, I am afraid of spiders. In most circumstances I can get over it, but a spider of this size, that didn't seemed particularly frightened by my presence, hanging out close by while I sat on a toilet was a little too much for me in this moment.).

Between the frustration of trying to find a campsite/parking, the overflowing trash, the horrible smelling bathroom, the giant spiders, and the trash at the campsites, I finally decided to check out another area. Despite finding another overflowing dumpster, this area was a little better. The campsites were on a gravel loop, with a cleaner, but still not great bathroom at the front of the loop. At this point, I was hungry, tried, and frustrated, so I just stayed there. The office was still closed when I left in the morning.

I'm not a particularly fussy camper. I don't mind picking up a little bit of trash at a campsite. I frequently camp in areas that don't have toilets or any amenities. But when I pay $20 to camp in a tent, I do expect to have the campsites, the toilets, and the overall campground maintained and cleaned to some acceptable degree.

The campground: You drive down a short, but steep and curvy hill to get into the canyon. The red rocks of the canyon wall give off a pretty glow, especially when the sun is lower in the sky. The park is labeled into three different sections; if you are tent camping I would advise going for the first campground called Canyon Campground. Also, unless you're concerned about it filling up, I would go down and look at the areas before booking one. There are three bathrooms with running water throughout the canyon; the toilets themselves look clean, but the bathrooms as a whole don't; also lots of bugs and a couple large spiders inside. There was trash at many of the campgrounds and most of the dumpsters were overflowing with trash.

The area: If you are coming from highway 40 you'll pass through a small town that has a Sonic and a local restaurant or two. Watch your speed here, there was a police officer every time I drove by. Otherwise there's not much nearby.

Booking: You can book online, but they did have envelopes & a drop box by the front office.

Cell service: I could call out, but couldn't text or use internet.

We were in Site# 66. We had Full hook- up with a paved pull-through.
We travel towing a 14 foot trailer and were able to fit both in our pull through site along with my jeep.

The site was easy to level. Our site was not shaded with limited trees. In eight years of RV-ing, we’ve never had such little space between us and our neighbors. We literally walk out our door into their sewer. (See pictures) My husband can touch both RVs with his arms outstretched.

The lot did not come with a concrete patio, picnic table, or a fire ring. Some lots had a picnic table. We did not request one since we’d be eating at our neighbor’s sewer.

It is an easy access to the campground from highway -(right off the highway).

There is free WiFi. They offer Cable TV and there are many local channels).

They do not sell wood here.

They do not provide garbage service at your site but there are many barrel drum trash cans that can be accessed.

You are allowed to ride personal golf carts. They do not provide golf cart rentals. There is really not a need to have a Golf cart because it is a smaller campground.

They do have a Swimming pool (not heated & freezing). They have a fishing Lake on property (it is hidden behind some cabins so you could stay here & never know the lake is here). There are two Buffalo that are owned by the owners of the restaurant and trading post above the KOA (who also own the KOA).

There is a Playground and jumping pad for kids. They have a basic general store.

There is not a snack bar/restaurant on site but there is a restaurant at the top of the hill.

The streets are paved and good for riding bikes. There is not really anywhere to ride bikes outside of campground.

This is a RV park but also have many cabins for rent and tent areas.

They have 2 shower houses. The shower house has the typical stalls. These are kept very clean.

There is a laundry facility. It is a cash only facility. You’ll need to get change in the main office while they are open (no change machine). There are approximately 6 washers and 6 dryers. It is approximately $2 to wash and $2 to dry a load.

They have a fenced in dog park.

Bugs were an issue and bug spray was definitely needed.

There were no trails to hike in the campground.

We’ve noticed that the casinos nearby mainly offer slot machines only (very few have live tables (craps, roulette, blackjack,etc.).

I took my Girl Scout troop of Brownies and Juniors here the last weekend of April. I got there early on Friday so I could get enough campsites for us, since the sites are first-come, first-served. I think this is important because there aren't too many that are away from the RV campgrounds or that have shade. The grounds are pretty clean for a state park and with the resources they have available. We stayed in Beaver Den, which is near the bathrooms with a shower. There is a fantastic red cedar set back into the tree that the girls loved climbing and a little hill they spent plenty of time scaling.

Campsites have picnic tables, a grill, and a fire pit with a grate. The loops are small, so the water is close.

The park ranger was awesome. He drove by several times to ensure everything was fine. He let me know in the future to call the ranger on duty to see if the group campground would be available (because it is also first-come, first-served). They also give a 50 percent discount if they have a service project for scout groups, which is awesome. They came and talked to the girls about a service project and the importance of wearing a life jacket.

Something to pay attention to is that they charge by the tent, not by the campsite. Both Travel.ok and the signage at the park indicate it is $14 per campsite with no more than two tents per site.

Our girls did two horseback rides at the stables. Jennifer & Bre are awesome! There is a small petting zoo with a very spunky goose, some goats, a bunny, and a duck. The ride was fun and relaxing. The girls also want to play mini golf. The general store gave us a discount for being Girl Scouts, but I don't know if that's standard practice.

There are easy hiking trails for little kids and inexperienced people. We also went do the natural spring, which the girls enjoyed and hunted for crawdads.

The lodge has free Oklahoma state park passport books and stickers for kids. If you are familiar with the national park passport books then you'll want to snag one of these.

All and in the staff from the lodge, the stables, to the rangers, and general store all went above and beyond to make our stay great!