Best Tent Camping near Albany, TX

We have been camping here for about 35 years.  Started out tent camping and now prefer a RV.  Love this park.  Many of the campsites are directly on the water, the wind coming off the water will keep you cool in the summer.  We camp here year round.  We camp to relax and this is great place for this.

The Cedar Grove tent camp area was well wooded with sites that were decently spaced. The sites had a fire ring/grill with a lantern post. There was water spigot close to my site. The restrooms were clean and the showers hot but the heater shower was slow to heat up. Decent views of the stars at night

As a kid we would come out here several times a year. We would boat, float, cliff jump, cookout, and enjoy each other's company. Twenty years later we are still enjoying these traditions.

If you like primitive, tent sites, cabins, or RV sites, there are plenty of options.

You should check out Hell's Gate while you are here.

There are also a few hike and bike trails, but this is mainly a park for boating and fishing.

Tent camping areas in all 5 with shelters, grill, and picnic tables, many waterside. Public Area 4 and 6 have RV pads (which they do charge $10 to use in the Summer) with shelters, grill, and picnic tables, and many are waterside. Public Area 5 has grass pull thru RV parking. All 5 have bathroom facilities with running water and flush toilets. We parked at #5, also known as Bug Beach and we had the place to ourselves, with the exception of a herd of deer late afternoon. Beautiful scenery and exceptionally clean campground facilities.

Tent sites are walk-in to the other side of the end of the lake, and can be pretty rickety with loose rocks getting there. Was good practice for backpacking, since parking is closeby, but not very convenient. P008 is probably the only site suitable for hammock camping. Everything else is flat and exposed, next to the shore.

We were woken up by loud boats trolling the shore and men shouting around midnight both nights we were there, and could hear conversations from the RV area.

We stayed in a tent only spot for 8 days in Dec. Really quiet even with a trail behind us. Lots of winding beautiful trails. One of the cheaper Texas State Parks so the trails aren't very long.

BUT the real hidden gem was in the bathroom by the yurts. They have a disabled shower. So it's within reach and the showerhead is lower. Awesome to use to clean my toddler without getting drenched.

Felt very safe, even walking around past dark. We saw feral hogs a few times at dusk. Really loved it.

The playground isn't very good but you are 20 minutes from Abilene with oodles of great parks and a small zoo.

This park was definitely out in the middle of nowhere, with a long peaceful drive full of wildlife. We made it to the park entrance, check in was quick. We arrived on a week day and they ranger informed us the camp store was closed until weekend and no firewood. Closest store with firewood was 30min away. They lake was beautiful. We were right beside the restroom and shower facilities which was great! We came to stay for one night, we had a roof top tent so the site we had was nice and would make a perfect side for a RV but for us it could’ve been wider for our ladder but we were close to the restroom which we wanted. The restrooms were clean, could use a little update, and water was warm but not hot. Lots of wildlife around! I would stay again but I don’t think it’s the best place to go for a winter camping trip. Thank you Texas state parks!

Abilene State Park is an interesting park to visit in the middle of Texas. The park is a short drive from the City of Abilene so it receives quite a few visitors on the weekend. During the weekday, you'll find considerably more peace and quiet. 

You can pick up supplies in the city and there is also a small store within the park office with some snacks and souvenirs.

The park has a nice grove of trees scattered around the open spaces and the campsites which can provide sanctuary shade from the summer sun. The campsites have clearings for tents, picnic tables, fire pits and water. There are restrooms nearby which have sinks, toilets and shower, all of which could stand some updating. There's a swimming pool which is often the main attraction of this park. 

When I was planning a visit to the park I thought that it would be nice to be right on the shores of Lake Abilene. However, I discovered that the main park area and campsites are in one area and the access point to the lake is in another area. You actually need to drive outside of the park, down the road and enter into another part of the park. There's a dirt road to access the lakefront and once you are at the lakefront there is a little beach. I guess that this is one reason why so many people appear to prefer hanging out at the swimming pool. 

The arrangement of the facilities is a little strange and many of the facilities could use an update. For this reason I only rate this park 3 out of 5.

One week stay during the first week of December D&D south. Weather: highs in the 60s, lows in the 40s. Covered picnic tables, grills, fire pits, trash cans at most sites. Restrooms spaced throughout the park. Massive trail system throughout the area. Excellent service for school/remote work. Ideal for tents, vans, truck campers, and small trailers. No cost during May-September. No water or dump in the parks, but there are showers. There are sites directly on the water and up in the hills. Would return!

We had plenty of space to spread out and relax. Rented a pontoon and saw Hell's gates worth the stop. Spent most of the time swimming and fishing from shore. This is one of the clearer lakes in Texas.

This Texas state park was really nice, lots of shade for my dog and lots of friendly people. During the day lots of squirrels running around and at night raccoons and armadillos. The park is kept up with its cleanliness. Also there is restrooms and showers here.

I usually visit this lake for the fishing. There is dispersed camping around the lake, and there is also an RV park on the north side of the lake, off highway 485, but I have never stayed there. I have visited the store in the park for bait, and everything looked clean and in good repair. 
There are a few camping sites around the boat ramp, and along the north side of the water. The road across the damn is gated, and I believe the south side of the lake is private farm land. 
Still a great lake to visit if you like to fish, and want to throw down a tent for small camper. Full size RV's will probably have trouble getting around some of the narrow dirt roads.

We stayed here January 26 -31, 2021 on the first stop of a 3 month escape from Northern Wisconsin winter. I’m guessing it’s great when it’s warm and you have a boat. It was always windy. Concessions store closed for remodeling. Construction on cabin near our site. Nice bathrooms, shower water not super hot. Nice trails and tons of birds. A bunch of guys cleaning their catfish at a cleaning station near our site. Left a ton of carcasses that the rangers cleaned up. If you plan to use Texas state parks, get the pass as it will save you lots of money!

If at first you don’t find something you like– keep driving! You’ll find it! This place is Texas big with more recreational activities than I have ever seen, and I have been on the road for quite a while. The only thing I didn’t see was a bocce court! There are multiple camping opportunities so take your pick. The Wagon Circle was a trip-- 17 sites with water and electric in a circle around the facilities, see the photos. There are two pools– a kiddy pool and a full size(25 yards) lap pool. The pool area is in great shape, but many of the other activity areas are a bit dated. I was relying on my Verizon hotspot because of issues with Starlink and the signal was not great. I ended up dry camping in a picnic area because it was the only place I could get two bars LTE.