Best Tent Camping near Athens, TX

PROS 

Texas State Park Pass discount saving $49 

Reserved 151 days prior to arriving 

Not charged a fee to make my own on-line reservation 

Big Pine site #308 very shady site 

Extra wide asphalt parking pad 

Concrete slab that locked down the wooden picnic table 

Metal fire pit with cooking grate which was cleared of ash upon our arrival 

2 hook lantern pole 

Dark sky friendly 

Trash dumpsters near the toilet/shower building 

Tyler Rose Garden features over 30,000 bushes and is open free to the public from sunrise to sunset…very beautiful and serene 

CONS 

Had to sweep for nearly an hour to clean debris from site 

No entrance gate locked overnight 

Never saw any rangers patrolling campground during our entire stay 

Dogs on leashes not enforced 

Unable to move picnic table 

Big Pine site #308 way out of being level but manageable 

Big Pine site #308 close to campground road 

Big Pine site #308 tight fit for 28 ft 

Only pine firewood for sale in Park 

No WiFi 

1 bar Verizon 5G

We went to check this place out to reserve for a family camp trip. The grounds are clean and spacious. They have wonderful cabins and RV sites. The only have 5 tent sites. There are no tent pads and the sites are on a small hill. The picnic tables are limited and not every tent site has one. There are no fire rings so it’s a little unnerving building a fire on the grass. The lake and marina is wonderful and clean. They have all sorts of thing to do there. Kayak rentals, fishing charters, a cute little cafe. This is a place I would come to rent a cabin but not to tent camp!

Made my reservation on line just a few spots were available. Spot 04 with a water view space is slanted. They had the parking pass ready to pick up so it was not necessary to speak with anyone. The view, electricity, water, and showers was very nice at such an affordable price. Take your cleaning supplies into the bathroom as a precaution, I did not see trash can in the bathrooms. Leave No Trace is not really practiced by other campers so feel free to pick up after someone else this space is beautiful and deserves respect. I enjoyed the rain and the view it was very relaxing and I appreciated a shower as well as powering all my extras before heading on the road to Minnesota. $14 for the space very appreciate.

Reserved on-line 153 days prior to arrival. 

Pros 

Area 2 campground night sky friendly with good dark sky viewing

Site 211 has fantastic views of the lake

Mid afternoon Sunday check in at entrance station very busy but processed quickly Utility hookups in good condition 

Sites with grass neatly maintained 

Campground mostly quiet except for Interstate 20 traffic noise 

Showers were individual entry on opposite side of the building from the toilets 

Campsite and entrance fee discount with Texas State Park Pass 

Not charged a fee to make my own on-line reservation 

EXXON station directly outside of State Park sold oak firewood 25 pieces for $20 

Cons 

Raccoons very aggressive and tried to take food that we were eating from our hands!!! Area 2 Lakeview sites require leveling side-to-side 

Area 2 campsite parking pads are narrow with trees and large boulders close to parking pad. 

ery narrow roadway in Area 2 with limited space to maneuver into backin sites. 

One pull-thru site was so tight to the roadway, their trailer was partially on the road! Area 2 campground sites have no privacy from any other camp sites 

Site 211 table, fire pit with cooking grate and lantern pole are located opposite side of the trailer door 

Area 2 restroom/shower building serves 58 campsites and it shows it! Restroom facility badly needing some TLC, cleaning and maintenance Women’s restroom had 3 toilets and 2 sinks; men’s had 2 toilets and 1 urinal 

Firewood for sale in Area 2 was only pine wood

PROS 

Saved $62 with Texas State Park Pass 

NO fee to make online reservation 

Very friendly Spring Point Loop camp host 

Very quiet 

Site 77 concert parking pad level 

Site 77 some shade 

Site 77 had an aluminum picnic table (brand new), pedestal BBQ grill, metal fire pit with cooking grate and lantern pole 

Firewood vending machine at park headquarters 

Security gate locked with a pad lock at 10pm with combination provided 

Very clean toilet/shower facility that are near Spring Point Camping Loop which are also used by park day visitors 

Friendly squirrels that ate from our hands 

Saw lots of deer 

CONS 

Cigarette butts all over our campsite and parking pad upon arrival 

Firepit nearly full of ashes upon arrival 

Pedestal BBQ full of ashes and trash upon arrival 

Picnic table bolted to concrete so not moveable and it was not close to parking pad 

Saw lots of feral cats roaming the campground 

Mostly 1 bar T MOBILE 

No park WIFI

Set up your basic base camp near a picnic table and fire ring the. Go out into the park to hike, bike, horseback ride, frisbee golf, kayak and observe nature. The site itself is not attractive per-se but there are some basics and an outhouse. The park also has an RV/Equestrian trailer area near the highway and some even deeper woods camping for equestrians or backpackers. No frills at all in those spots and too dark to enjoy IMO. Greer Hill is the best balance. Also there is an incredible winery on premises too. Grand Oaks Winery https://www.gowinerymineola.com

Arrived late, office closed. Confused by all of the red "reserved" signs throughout the campground- even thoug8h there were hardly any campers there. Too late to make an online reservation for the night. Sites 1 thru 4 are available for late arrivals; only one stays are allowed. Paid for site 4 at self pay station. Then changed to site 21 the next morning which is closer to the restroom, and paid in the office. $20 per per site, plus $5 per day per person for a day use fee (which annoyed me). Campground is clean & well maintained. Sites are not close together and have some shade. Concrete pad for parking an RV, plus a tent pad. Fire ring, table, light pole, water & electric included. Easy access to Lake Towakani, which is a typical north Texas man made lake. Nice hiking trails. Clean restroom/shower facilities. Lots of deer.

We don't stay at too many TX State Parks because of the added day use fee. We decided on this park due to its proximity to family in this area. The site was level and on a concrete pad with a parking spot right next to it. We did have a neighbor, so the space between us was fair. Our cell signal with Verizon was poor, so it made work difficult. Our site had W/E and there is a dump station. We did have a picnic table and fire ring. There are some sites that back up to a part of the lake. Noise level was pretty low. Unfortunately, we only spent 1 full day here, so we didn't really get to enjoy any of the hiking trails or do any fishing. We will definitely have to stay again in the future.

I visited the Shortleaf camping area in the Tyler State Park for the weekend to participate in a 50k trail race. Each campsite in this area has a sheltered cabin, picnic table, fire pit and 2 parking spots. Tent camping is also permitted on the site but I used my iKamper Roof Top Tent as my primary place to sleep. The sheltered cabin has screens on the windows to keep the bugs out and electricity. I used this area primarily for storage of the food & gear that I used during the weekend. My campsite was located at the bottom of a hill and had a path to the restrooms and showers. These facilities were very clean and had 2 shower stalls and 3 toilet stalls along with 2 sinks. This location had access to the lake via a short hike. This type of camp site is the best of both worlds, you can camp via tent/car and still have a cabin like experience via the sheltered cabin. 

In September it is still pretty warm in Tyler, humidity was 100% when I visited without rain. I'll visit again in October when the cooler temps arrive and undoubtable have an even better experience.