Best Tent Camping near Amarillo, TX

I had passed through the Texas panhandle so many times on my bi-yearly drives to Scottsdale Arizona from central Illinois, but had not stopped at this park until June of 2017. I found this on the Internet and having been to the Grand Canyon several times I wanted to compare it to this one.

The canyon is amazing and I saw a wild boar, a roadrunner, an armadillo, 7 turkey's and 2 white tail deer. In the morning after spending just one night here. It cost $16 for a site with no electricity and I reserved it online for another $4. The tent campsites all have covered pavilion structures that shade the picnic table and many people hang hammocks in them. There are fire pits with grates and porto potty's that were disgusting, so I dug a cat hole in the morning, which was a much better option. I tent camped and intended to hike some after my long day driving, but was held up in a two hour traffic jam making the hike impossible before dark. The people I found having a Birthday party in my campsite said the hiking is great here and treated me to a hamburger, a beer ( not allowed ), some great conversation and a piece of Birthday cake.

The RV campsites had shower houses and much better restrooms, so if I return here with my wife I will spring for the more deluxe campsite. I was in awe of the scenery in this canyon but surprised by the lack of groundskeeping, restroom maintenance and park management not knowing what people were doing in the campgrounds. Although I found 10 people in my reserved campsite after driving all day, I made the most of it and was happy I met this group of people.

Palo Duro Canyon reminds me a lot of Southern Utah with it's mountain biking and hiking trails. It’s a 20 minute drive from Amarillo, Texas.

We did the hike to the Lighthouse and it was a great hike for experienced more experienced hikers. This park is a real gem that deserves more than the one day we spent here.

During this trip, we stayed the night in the park at mesquite campground and it was a great spot. Nice nights stay despite the heat. Dogs are welcome and allowed on all trails with leash.

Unexpected beautiful canyon in northern Texas! Beautiful views and clean, well maintained tent sites! Many trails walking distance from your camp and shared water spigots near sites. Come for the canyon and stay for Texas the musical! That exceeded my expectations too!

Beautiful campground down a windy road. Tent site doesn't get much of the expansive views, but it is much easier to set up shade shelters. Beware of the heat, even when headed into fall. Pleasant morning temperatures don't last long.

Great little campground circle inside Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

Sites have water and electric hook up with a dump station nearby.

This state park is massive with many campgrounds to choose from. You really can’t go wrong with any of them. Some are great for RV’s, some are better for tent camping!

Nice visitors center and camp store nearby.

I went last summer and the campsites were nice with a covered area, tent site, table, and firepit. However, there was no controlling the noise of nearby campers. Quiet time wasn't enforced and there wasn't a number to call to get someone out there, so there was a group partying loudly until midnight. Made it incredibly difficult to sleep.

Excellent tent camping location inside Palo Duro Canyon. Winter camping is excellent here. The temps were really cold, but no bugs and no sweating made for a great Thanksgiving trip.

There is a nearby camp store with a simple menu restaurant. The also rent propane fire pits sonde there is usually always a burn ban.

Lots of nearby hiking trails. This campground is very close to the popular and usually full Trailhead for the Lighthouse.

This was a good spot to stop on our road trip - easy to navigate to, easy to reserve, very level spots, hookups. But we probably won’t return. It was very windy, so I wouldn’t really want to tent camp here. The lake looked nice but it’s very flat so not as geologically interesting as our recent stops on Utah and New Mexico. Could smell the oil/gas industrial sites nearby at times, but overall I wouldn’t say it was a deal breaker.

This is the perfect place for quiet, secluded tent camping. The sites were spread apart a nice distance, each with a picnic table. Pit toilets centrally located. Grills And fire rings at some (but perhaps not all) of the sites.  The best part of this campground is the quiet. We were the only ones at the campground the weekend of our visit - we literally had the campground to ourselves. Just a short drive/hike further up the canyon on the dirt road for some beautiful views.

You have a lot of campground variety options. Some campgrounds can handle giant monster RVs and have hookups while others are tent only and then you have group and hike in sites.

The tent sites are drive up and have tables and fire rings, some areas have (shaded tabled, which you may need because it's pretty open) You have some water nearby, but depending on which campground you're at you might want to make sure and pack it in.

This also goes for restrooms and showers, as they are not everywhere....

Location: You’ll probably not stumble across this location. It’s remote and you’ll need to be looking for it to find it. Once we arrived the flat farmland opens up before you into an amazing canyon. The first time you descend into the park it is breathtaking and a huge change from up on the rim. summer trips can be extremely hot and winter trips can be extremely cold, it may seem obvious, but temperatures in Texas are usually on the warmer side for the seasons.

Campsites: The sites are broken up into standard RV sites and tent sites with no access to sewer for the RVs. The tent sites are standard car camping sites with a pull-in at each site for your vehicle. Depending on the terrain you may be close to other sites. They also offer cabins on a few sites that were built in the 1930s by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp). They have been fitted with window AC units and microwaves. It is a single room with full sized bunk beds. The fireplaces rely on airflow in the cabin to ensure the smoke goes outside rather than filling the cabin. Instructions for building fires appropriately are provided.

Activities: There are a lot of hiking trails for various skill levels. Mt. Biking is great fun in the canyon as well. We have been on several of the trails. They are all relatively short at around 4 miles round trip. They do offer back country hiking and camping, but you’ll want some experience before attempting that in this area. There are many great rock formations to explore, but you could get lost quickly if you go off trail.

My husband and i were here in late august,2018 and the flies and bugs were so awful we could do nothing outside at our campsite. The tent campsite was poor compared to others. The bathrooms were horrible, no hot water in the shower, no water pressure, and simply nasty, not sure when they had been cleaned. The views are amazing and the hike we completed was challenging due to the heat (108). We recommend coming in spring or late fall.

We visited Lake Meredith recently with plans to camp at Sanford-Yake. There were many FREE sites available during the week. Each site has a shaded picnic area, grill, and fire pit. We were able to find a spot away from other campers and fairly close to the bathhouse. We tried to find a trail to the water, but the most distinct path had washed away once we got closer to the lake. After a couple of hours of sweating and nearly being blown away at the same time, we decided that this was not a good fit for us and tent camping. Not even the gorgeous views and bathhouse could keep us there. All but one of the other campers had RVs.

The bathhouse was nice. I liked that the toilet and shower were together which would make shower time easy for families.

If you are looking for lots of hiking and mountain biking in the beautiful Texas panhandle.  2nd largest canyon in the U.S.  Great amenities and a well cared for state park.  We spent 5 days there and still didn't get to cover all the trails and sights.  Plan to go back.  We went in April to beat the heat, but it was still pretty warm on the trails, near 90 in the days and high 50's at night.  Next trip will be likely in the fall (October-ish).  All the trails warn to bring water and they mean it!  Lots of wildlife; deer, hogs, numerous birds, reptiles.  Sudden storms can pop up and bring quick winds and rain, so be prepared!  Sites are large, but not isolated from each other (not many trees), so be ready for some openness.  Flat pads with good water and electric.  There are numerous primitive tent sites and some pack-in sites as well.  Park store is run by a 3rd party vendor, so Texas Parks pass doesn't give you discount, but the store is large and has bistro-type eating.

This campground is only .5 miles from the park. It was really convenient. It’s pretty basic but sufficient. There are bathrooms in a hard sided building next to the store. I was car/tent camping and when I reserved online I booked site 3, however when you receive your welcome email it explains that all the field area around the RV pads are open for camping so choosing a stir is not necessary unless you’re in an RV.

They have tiny cabins that looked nice and we’re occupied. The grounds are very dark at night, could use some security lamps.

Wind coming off the canyon is STRONG, keep that in mind when you choose your site.

Has some really nice views of the canyon and I saw some deer roaming around the camps.

There is not a lot of shade, I found the only tree and claimed it.

It’s a good spot!

This campground, located on the bluff overlooking the dam and a large part of Lake Meredith, offers about 10 traditional RV sites with water and electric. There are also plenty of tent sites, each with a covered picnic pavillion. There is a sanitary dump, the bathrooms were very clean and are family-style (single use with toilet, sink, and shower). The water was hot with good pressure. The best part…this campground is FREE (unless you need hook-ups)!

The nearby boat launch is just down the hill, with a huge parking lot (our guess is that the lake gets busy in summer). The area offers some great fishing and water sport opportunities. There are a few hiking and mountain biking trails, though more seemed to be on the less developed, western shore of the lake.

The town of Fritch is less than 4 miles away with a few restaurants, a small grocery store, and gas stations. Be sure to check the Alibates Flint National Monument, just 10 miles south of town. It is worth a stop!

We visited Palo Duro the week after the Winter Apocalypse and I think because of that, the park was a lot less crowded than usual.  It was our first trip in an RV, so we weren't sure what to expect.  (We normally back country tent-camp and are used to a bit more space.)  We booked Sagebrush site 126, and we drive into the campgrounds, we're literally the only people there.  We plug in, get settled, enjoy the gorgeous views from inside the canyon.  There's a nice structure for each campsite over a picnic table, and a fire ring (which we couldn't use due to the burn ban.)  Not 10 minutes after we get set up, a ginormous RV pulls in right next to us.  The way that the sites are set up, our site was facing their picnic table directly, and there was no barrier between our site and theirs.  Some of the sites closer to the entrance of the campgrounds had more privacy, but then you have the lights of the general store to contend with.  We moved around night-to-night, based on the most peaceful section of the campgrounds, and I think because it was so deserted that week, the authorities never gave us any trouble.  Overall the park is absolutely gorgeous and we went on some wonderful hikes.  Highly recommend!!! [But don't stay in site 126 if you like privacy :) )

Wow, this place is incredible! It’s a state park but could easily qualify as a National Park based on the natural beauty and park programs. This is a major state park with hundreds of camping sites for all levels of camping from large RVs to simple tent campers. The canyon is huge on covers hundreds square miles. It’s about a one day drive from Austin and located near Amarillo in the Texas Plains. This area can get very cold in the winter and extremely hot in the summer. The campgrounds are down in the canyon which is normally hotter. We visited in July on the way back from Colorado. It was 93 degrees at 10pm at night. So tent campers need to plan carefully. They have some of the Best facilities for a state park. The amphitheater is very popular and puts on great programs. We canyons are breathtaking and the red variations of the canyon walls are fantastic for artists and photographers alike. The visitors center staff were very helpful and were able to accommodate a couple of special request. They are open until 9pm which is great. The restrooms and other facilities are some of the best we have experienced. The hiking trails here are a highlight and popular for hiking and mountain biking. We saw eagles and roadrunners during our stay. The area has some interesting history and worth learning more. I would highly recommend for those looking for a campsite in Northern Texas near Amarillo. This has to be one of the best Texas State Parks on our list.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Amarillo Texas boosts where the Comanche Indians lived Where Coronado traveled and where John Goodnight brought in Cattle ...full of history and great views, Including Observation Point Los Cedros Ranch and ofcourse the famous play "TEXAS"..a must see for history buffs. Plenty of campsites and you can call ahead for reservations Check out their web site..you won't be sorry!

I live in Amarillo and visit this area often. Great area to hike, camp, and mountain bike. It does get hot in summer months.

An oasis in desolate west Texas. Amazing views and world class hiking and mountain biking. The Trading Post has food (burgers, fries and ice cream) and souvenirs as well as basic camping gear and supplies in case you forgot something. This is the home to the Texas outdoor musical if your into that sort of thing. Due to the low humidity you’ll find some of the best star gazing in the world here. It does get hot in the summer so bring plenty of water and sunscreen but it cools off nicely after the sun goes down. As of the time of this review it was 101 degrees for a high with a low of 65 tonight. Th RV campsites are water and electric only. If you RV camp at Mesquite or Juniper campground be aware that it is a looooong way to the dump stations if you’re using a portable dump tank. Overall, this is possibly the best state park in Texas. You’ll find plenty of attractions nearby like Cadillac Ranch and the Big Texan in Amarillo. We absolutely love this campground and highly recommend it all year-round!