South Prong Primitive Camping Area — Caprock Canyons State Park

First evening came it as it got dark. Pretty easy to navigate the site by moonlight and get set up. However, Bison roam through the area and aside from hoofprints they will leave reminders of their presence. There is plenty of room between campsites/ neighbors and during our stay all visitors were pleasant, and courteous. Our first night encounter was hearing what may have been a mountain lion and purred what seemed to be right next to our tent. During the night it had bedded down in our vicinity and had moved on by morning. 2nd night you could hear the bison moving around the campsites. Easy access to trails for hikes. Beautiful skies and amazing views throughout the canyon.

When I camp, I like to go primitive! I do not want neighbors that talk through the night. While the campground was out in the canyon, it was not dispersed. In my campsite, I was 10 feet from the next campsite. The canyon is definitely the great outdoors with near perfect stargazing, good fires, and a relaxing visit though. Be careful of sudden wind gusts, free roaming bison, families of coyotes in the area, and the occasional rattlesnake. I am going back to camp at the other sites sometime later.

Good location, plenty of good hiking trails. Views from each pitch are awesome

We stayed in the South Prong Tent Area, not to be confused with the South Prong Primitive area (which you have to hike into).

We stayed on site SU037. There is no tree cover, which is ok if you want that morning sun warmth, but know that if it gets super windy (which apparently happens a lot here), your tent will need to be stable. Gusts up to 53 mph were reported when we stayed.

The view is outstanding at this site. You are not able to drive into the site; there are parking strips blocking the way. So you have to walk your gear in about 60 feet. To me, this is suitable for a ground tent but not a roof top tent or camping trailer.

There is easy access to great hiking trails, which this area is known for. If you want to see some great views, be sure and pack a lot of water and snacks and start early.

There are also free roaming bison everywhere. We even had one come into the camp ground while we were making pancakes, but he just observed from a distance and moved on.

In site SU037, there isn’t a huge distance from each site, so if it was fully booked, expect to hear your neighbors.

There was plenty of small trails and area for the kids to explore, but be mindful of the small cliff about 70 ft from the back of the campsite.

TP was not stocked in the vault bathrooms, so bring your own.

Overall we would stay here again. The view was amazing, great hiking, clean air, geological interest, quiet.

My son and I spent a night here and it was great! I’d recommend south prong primitive sites. Got to sleep right at the base of the canyon and there was plenty of space between the campsites.

My only problem was that some of the trails were not very well marked. It took us a while to find the right trail heads and even longer to find some of the more scenic sites (You’ll walk right over the natural bridge without realizing it!).

Overall, was very happy and will definitely come back.

Oh! And there are bison everywhere! Super cool.

Stayed at South Prong Tent Camping area, site 37. Star gazed at the Milky Way for hours. Heard coyotes yipping at night and the bison herd walked through our site around five in the morning. Was the most amazing experience to be so close and hear them. Front desk staff were very nice as well. 10/10 coming back soon to spend a long weekend.

Caprock Canyon South Prong primitive camping area

The Caprock Canyon South Prong primitive camping site is about a 1 mile hike from the South Prong Tent camping area and the trailhead.

You’ll hike up and down some ravines and up a hill to reach it. If you’re able to camp at this site you’ll be rewarded with great views of the mountains and the valley. The red rock formations in this park are amazing.

I highly recommend hiking the Upper South Prong trail to the Fern Cave and then returning via the Haynes Ridge Overlook Trail.

Other highlights at this park include watching the prairie dogs and bison roam freely on the plains.

The only downside for this park is that to see some of the attractions you might need to drive because they are located far apart. The bison tend to gather on the open plains. The prairie dogs are located near the Honey Flat campground. Both of these attractions are far from the South Prong Camping Area. 

This park is located in the panhandle of Texas so it’s likely that you will have to drive a long distance to reach this park. if you would like to breakup the drive consider stopping over in Abilene to grab a bite to eat, see the worlds largest buffalo skull, or see the worlds largest paper airplane.

I'd actually like to rate this park a 4.5. It earns a 4 for facilities and a 5 for things to do. Take a trip back in time with a visit to Caprock Canyon State Park. The bison, canyon and red rock formations will remind you of an old western movie. Add in a few prairie dogs for fun. There's lots to do at this park from hiking, camping, backpacking, fishing, watching wildlife and exploring old railroad tunnels. The highlight for me was spending an afternoon just watching the bison wander on the open plain. They are such peaceful creatures. We stayed at the South Prong Primitive Campsite #48. There was a fire ring with a grill and a lantern pole. We purchased our own firewood in town and had a nice campfire. We did not have a restroom nearby, but took advantage of the restroom at the ranger station and cafe. We hiked the South Prong trail to the Fern Cave and took the Hayes Ridge Overlook trail back to our campsite. We hiked a little bit of the Eagle Point trail in search of the natural bridge, but were unable to find it. I'll have to go back when I have more time.

I went with a couple buddies this past weekend (1/18-1/20) and had an absolute blast. We stayed in the south prong tent campsite (primitive but not hike in). Saturday we hiked the South Prong trailhead and cut across the Haynes Ridge cutout, and it was amazing. It’s a 7 mile loop with an elevation of around 3000 feet. It’s a good 3.5-4.5 hour hike, but the views are amazing. The other fun thing we saw were bison. They roam at this park so they warn you to give way. We only saw one, but it was incredible.

Highly recommend Caprock Canyons State Park if you are considering. As soon as we passed through the entrance gate, we were greeted by a small herd of bison. When we checked in, the ranger notified us that the primitive camping we had reserved did not allow ground camp fires, so we switched over to regular camping at South Prong. She was extremely helpful and gave us her personal favorite site #55 due to its privacy.

The site is indeed very private and allows very easy access to the trail system. We did a 7.5 mile loop in the park, and the next day did a simple day trip over to Palo Duro (entrance fee included in overnight Caprock Canyons pass).

I’ve camped here by myself for 8 years as a small single female. always felt absolutely safe. the park rangers are really on it. they keep track of everyone on the trail and make sure you’ve got enough water.

some of these trails are particularly difficult in terms of drastic elevation change in a short time. the trails can be a bit tricky to follow and after significant rains parts of the trails can be washed out on the backside of the south prong/canyon rim trail.

I usually camp in the south prong primitive tent camping area. there a “primitive bathroom” which is fine. if you camp up closer to the showers there are a ton more people and children.

best to camp here in the fall and even winter. I try to shoot for day lights savings weekends. then it’s not too hot or cold but it can be brutal in the summer. if you’re prepared for it and you can rent camp during a good storm though, it’s pretty awesome.

dogs welcome. watch out for the buffalo. they are not to be messed with. they will jack you up, especially the pack of single bulls haha for obvious reasons. but give them a wide birth and don’t let your dogs bark at them and you should be ok.

Great views, easy to get to, cheap sites. I highly recommend this site!