Best Tent Camping near Bluff Dale, TX

Nice camping spot for families. I chose to camp in the north primitive hike-in sites across the river. It was pretty hot but I still had a good time exploring the hiking trails. If you go hiking, take a map and of course extra water. My map came in handy a couple of times as I was hiking as the actual trails led me off track a few times.

I stayed in the primitive camping area. You hike between 1-2.5 miles across the river to sites. If the river is too high these sites may be closed. Water is only available at the trailhead. These sites are primitive so they do not have showers, restrooms, picnic tables or water.

Other sites available:

• Campsites with electricity (Picnic tables, water hookup, electric, fire ring)
• Walk-in campsites (Fire ring, lantern post)
• Group camp (fire ring, water nearby, three picnic tables)

Generally I’ll stay at a KOA for a night when traveling through. They are like McDonald’s, nothing special but you know what to expect. This one was below par even for a KOA. We arrived just at 5:00 pm but the office was already closed. Didn’t see any staff before we left in the morning. Out checking information was available on the bulletin board. A sign said there were no more available sites, but there were clearly over 40 empty spaces. Many of the sites need new picnic tables, and the trees are full of dead branches. However the grass was mowed. Sites are very close together. Closer than most. There is a grassy dog park. There is also the a playground- a swing set! Also a pool which appears functional. Bathroom and showers were adequate. !

There is an RV repair facility next door.

Reserved 159 days prior 

Pros

No reservation fee charged for marking online reservation 

50% discount with National Park Pass 

Roadways easy to maneuver without any low-hanging branches 

Quiet except for middle of the night party animal noise and distant trains 

Good dark sky viewing as there are NO street lights in campground 

Concrete treads where RV wheels land were level requiring no additional leveling efforts 

Metal cover over concrete picnic table 

Entrance gate closed10pm-6am so exit only without any reentry until 6am

Saw 1 squirrel and 5 deer 

Nice Golf Course next to campground 

Nice fishing piers 

Plenty TP in toilet/shower rooms 

Very nice large group picnic pavilions 

3 bars 3G Verizon 

Cons

Site consist of sandy gravel which high winds created a dust storm making a gritty mess of everything inside and out

Site water hookup below ground 

Campsite had unusual amount of trash and cigarette butts 

Campfire ring full of ash and trash upon arrival and there has been a county burn ban for the last 6 months

Campground toilet/shower facility lit up at night like a Christmas tree 

County Burn ban, which we discovered ourselves and confirmed by calling park prior to arriving with campfire wood

Upon check-in, friendly woman at gate told us one thing then a man at the gate contradicted the woman regarding charcoal fires

Quiet hours not enforced. 4 toilets for 24 campsites for possible 8 people per campsite PLUS boaters and fishermen. Phew! 

Half of park closed during winter so 37 campsites only open April-September

The park 3 dumpsters were overflowing; 1 was over flowing upon our Thursday afternoon arrival and the other 2 were overflowing Sunday morning so we had to pack out our trash

No number sign on our site

No patrolling host or ranger. 

No privacy from one campsite to another

No playground, basketball or tennis courts 

No campsite BBQ grill 

No hiking trails 

No soap or hand towels in toilet facility 

No trash cans in or outside toilet facility so people threw trash on floor 

No WIFI

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Eat at Granny Clark’s in Dublin TX. Blue plate special and buffet. Brookshires Grocery and Tractor Supply in Comanche Stephenville 30 miles from campground has Walmart, H‑E‑B, CVS, Walgreens, but no Lowes or Home Depot.

We had limited weekends to take the grandkids camping. It has been raining non stop all over Texas. I began to look for places within 2 hours of Fort Worth. Texas State Parks are a great. I settled on Lake Whitney. They have these shelter sites that are awesome. For $30 per night ($10 per night more than normal e&w site) plus $5 per adult gate fee. That may not be economical for everyone, but $40 for an overnight camp was fine. The shelters are very clean and well kept. Inside is a picnic table and enough floor space for another plus some. So if your tent fails in you go. The top of walls are screened and bottom solid. I set up my camp kitchen and we ate meals inside due to weather. We set up our large tent behind the shelter to block wind from the lake. The site also had it's own parking, another table outside and fire ring. We had site 4 right across from the lake and swimming area. The bath house was very clean and only a short walk. You can fish license free from the shore. There are 5 or 6 moderate hiking trails. Also the park is home to plenty of woodland animals. The 4 yo and I took a 2 am bathroom break and saw a herd of dear about 30 head.

The park is very good for families and fishing.

There are also a boat ramp, small airstrip and day use areas.

The staff is awesome.

My wife, dog, and I headed here for an impromptu overnight. We did not know what to expect, though. We were tent camping, and the campground is pretty small and quite. We loved the place. We got one of the Shinnery Ridge West "primitive" sites which means no water faucet nearby, but it was right on the lake and had a nice picnic table and grill. We had plenty of room and the site could have held two tents.

We hiked two trails: the Shinnery Ridge trail made about a 2 mile loop from our campsite. The first quarter mile or so was paved like a sidewalk to be ADA accessible. It then went up a ridgeline and looped back down. There weren't any great views, but there were lots of rabbits.

The Bosque hiking trail looped the entire lake in about 2.5 miles. You get to see areas of the lake filled with lilly pads and walk across the dam. On the far side of the lake from our site was the swimming area & boat ramp, and we were able to get more water to drink as we went by.

The swimming area was pretty good. It isn't sandy, but the lake isn't very rocky and it gently slopes down to allow you to wade out and splash and play. You can rent kayaks and SUPs by the hour here. The lake seemed sheltered enough to make these great options, but we did not take advantage on this trip.