Best Tent Camping near Norman, OK

We had a great stay in Lake Thunderbird State Park near Norman Oklahoma. The park has 11 campground areas situated around the 6000 acre centerpiece lake with many tent, RV sites and some of those have full hook up; our choice was the Little Ax campground on the southern end just off Oklahoma 9. In addition to water activities the park offers hunting, horse rental and boarding, equestrian trails, hiking, mountain biking, nature trails, a nature center, and an archery range. Our lakefront site#37 was nice and shaded with a gentle lake breeze offering a concrete pad, water, 30/15 amp electric, concrete table, lantern holder, fire ring and grill at site. The campground has an entry station, camp host, picnic shelters, playground, bathhouse and laundry, beach area, common fire pit, Verizon 4 bars, dump station, trash receptacles, interior roads are paved, with many sites waterfront. RV sites are close quarters. Tent sites are amazing...pads, concrete table, fire ring, grill, water spigot dispersed, waterfront sites. The town of Norman has all the amenities: shopping, dining, groceries, fuel and yes, Walmart. The area is home to local wineries and breweries and also the hometown to actor James Garner. WARNING: Oklahoma State Parks charge a daily parking fee per vehicle of$10 in addition to the camping fee and they enforce it...just saying from experience...read the information carefully! 13101 Alameda Dr, Norman, OK 73026 GPS- 35.234940,-97.219224 for the Little Ax Campground.

This is a tent camping area only state park that is on the banks of Lake Thunderbird. There all types of water sport activities are at the lake; there is a marina available on the lake and all other services and gods are available within a thirty minute drive. Being a tent camping area only, there is typically not as much pressure and tent campers get to have more of a "quiet" setting. The area experiences heavy use during holiday weekends and the first weekends of summer but typically drops off after that time. Summer temperatures will be hot and humid so prepare to enjoy the water.

Stayed in site 27 for one night passing through. Last minute stop and several sites available. Beautiful sunrise and sunset over the lake. Sites close together and a bit loud, but we were there on a Saturday night. Walk-in tent sites looked great.

This campground rocks. It is camping made easy. The views are the best I have seen around the lake and this park area is much cleaner than others. The fire ring is awesome as it is waist-level and has a grill. Definitely worth the 21 bucks. The best tent campsites are 17-20

some of the sites are tent sites with no area to pull up to with a car. you have to park in a lot. and they tell you you can’t stay in your van unless you’re in an RV site. to avoid this just stay in a pull up tent spot. $16 is a lot a night for the basic spots. think i saw a cougar so be mindful at night. hot af but the lake is cooling. good shade. bathrooms and showers have AC!

Lake Thunderbird is always a go to fun spot! We spend most summer days here swimming and relaxing. There are so many great spots for putting up a hammock and enjoying the great outdoors. We stayed at Hog Creek Campground for our Questival 2017 challenges at a tent site. There were a ton of deer, fox, squirrels, and other wildlife to help us complete our quest challenges. The park ranger was very helpful in finding us a last minute late night camp site.

Was passing through the area and needed a place to land since I couldn’t find any BLM out this way. I paid $16 for a tent site at Hog campground, which had a fire ring and picnic table. Pulled in at night so it took me a while to find it but all tables note the campsite which helped. Bathrooms were meh, but worked. Didn’t use the showers but they aren’t free. They are quarter showers. Clean site and felt safe. Had 2 bars of LTE AT&T service.

Showers and toilets were under construction so a car ride was required to reach the next closest. Tent sites were overgrown with grass and ticks were abundant. Signage was not good. Good luck finding your site if you arrive after dark. Lots of traffic once it got dark with people circling to look for their sites. Boat traffic in the lake plays loud music late into the evening. Voices carry throughout the campground. Be aware that the park address might be far from your camp site....check your area before plotting your course.

Great bass fishing here! The dams were cool to see. It was easy to walk in and get a permit for camping and fishing. Friendly staff. The tent site was good. Nothing special but nothing wrong with it. My wife found it a bit boring but she isn't as into fishing as I am. She just enjoyed the water. She went swimming and said the water was nice. There were some people skiing on the lake. I had the best luck for bass in a little inlet near McCloud Rd. There is a playground and picnic pavilion which would be good for families. The areas around the lakes are wooded and pretty natural.

Nice campspots as we are passing through Oklahoma, near Norman and restaurants/grocery stores. Quiet with decent shower and bathrooms.

The spot we found was level, but has pulled into the spot next door first and it was not very level. You can't beat the price for $26 a spot for electric. They also don't tack on non-resident fees like some states wish is appreciated. Tourism brings additional money into the state. Thank you!

Thunderbird has a lot of camping. Our favorite is Little Axe. You can reserve spaces (which Is fabulous) and because you have to pay $5 just to get in (if you aren't camping), there is less traffic and it is quieter. Other sites have loud parties and such… Little Axe is nice for families and quieter groups. Also, it's a peninsula by the dam, there's a quiet cove for fishing, good beaches and lake access, a play gym for kiddos and clean bathrooms. Bonnie, the camp host, and Ron (I think) are lovely and attentive. I absolutely love this site… As far as camping in Norman this is my favorite. If you're camping in Norman, try here. We've been in every season and it is always beautiful.

Avid tent camper here, camped from California to South Carolina. Wanted to spend the weekend close to home. And honestly just embarrassed to be from Oklahoma City with the way Thunderbird was. Stayed at Little Sandy 17. First every campsite we reserved had people on them so we had to kick people off multiple sites so we could set up. The bathrooms were a disgrace. Even after being “cleaned”. Will never go back to this place.

Hadn't been to Lake Thunderbird since I was a kid (40+ years ago) and all I could remember is that we always called it Lake Dirtybird because of the water. As far as that is concerned nothing has really changed. Typical central Oklahoma red water. 

We stayed a couple of nights at Little Sandy Campground. There weren't any full hookups and we had to stay at a spot that was water and electric only ... and boy were we glad. The full hookup sites in the next campground over -- Hickory Hill -- were packed in like sardines. Our site on the upper loop of Little Sandy was away from all the hubub but also away from the water, so there was that. If you don't mind being right up against the next camper, Hickory Hill has some full hookup sites right on the water. However, the upper loop of Little Sandy was nice with all the trees and the better-spaced sites. In my opinion spot 36 is the best one. No one can camp behind you and there's a lot of space to the south. The dump site it up on the main road about a quarter of mile north from the campground entrance and easily accessible.
We stayed the first weekend of May 2020 ... the first weekend some of the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. The place was PACKED, especially with tent campers. No judgment, just saying there were a lot of them. It was tough finding a path to the water without walking through someone's campsite. The water pressure was pretty low at the site and my guess it was due to all the sites being in use.
All in all it was a nice weekend, but I've stayed at nicer and quieter places.