The Dyrt – find campgrounds for tents, RVs, cabins, glamping and more.
Open in App

Best Tent Camping near Cooper, TX

174 Reviews

Northeast Texas landscapes surrounding Cooper offer several tent camping options with varying amenities and experiences. Sleep Under The Pecan Trees provides 12 tent campsites across its 100-acre property, featuring walk-in and drive-in access options. The property includes scattered ponds, tall trees, and unique wildlife encounters. Harpoon Larry's Camping offers primitive tent camping with secluded clearings surrounded by pine trees, while Lake Winnsboro Park provides free tent-only sites approximately 30 miles southwest of Cooper. Rockin Bar B Ranch and South Sulphur Campground round out the tent camping options within a short drive of town.

Sites in the Cooper region range from basic to moderately developed, with most tent campgrounds providing fire rings and picnic tables. Lake Winnsboro Park features clean portable toilets but limited additional amenities. At Harpoon Larry's, high-clearance vehicles are recommended for accessing the main clearing, though walk-in options exist for those with standard vehicles. Sleep Under The Pecan Trees offers mowed tent sites with toilet facilities and trash service. Most tent-only areas permit pets, and alcohol is allowed at several locations including Lake Winnsboro Park and Harpoon Larry's. Firewood is available at select campgrounds, but water access varies significantly between sites.

Tent campers frequently note the peaceful atmosphere and natural settings throughout the region. According to reviews, Sleep Under The Pecan Trees offers unique wildlife encounters where "wild, yet docile horses will approach you" and can be hand-fed. Visitors also mention minimal mosquitoes and proximity to supplies, with a Walmart approximately 12 minutes away. At Harpoon Larry's, one camper reported finding "a nice level spot in the woods" when their vehicle couldn't navigate the trail, noting the main clearing is "completely secluded and surrounded by pines." Lake Winnsboro Park receives praise for being "quiet, clean, and free" with well-maintained facilities. Backcountry tent camping opportunities provide greater seclusion for those seeking primitive experiences away from developed campgrounds.

Map showing campgrounds near Cooper, TexasExplore the Map

Best Tent Sites Near Cooper, Texas (7)

Show More
Showing results 1-7 of 7 campgrounds

2025 Detourist Giveaway

Presented byToyota Trucks

Review Campgrounds. Win Prizes.

Enter to Win

Cooper Contest

Enter to Win

Recent Tent Camping Photos near Cooper, TX

2 Photos of 7 Cooper Campgrounds

Tent Camping Reviews near Cooper, TX

174 Reviews of 7 Cooper Campgrounds

  • M
    Sep. 30, 2016

    COE Pat Mayse Lake Pat Mayse Park East

    Pat Mayse East Campground

    I found this campground through a US army core website, and the details at that website did not turn out to be very accurate. Both loops at Pat Mayse East Campground showed to have bathrooms, which I assumed meant flush toilets and sinks, since the map also had an icon for vault toilets and this was not used. Both loops actually do have vault toilets and no running water. The campground seems set up pretty well for RVs; there were a lot of rv hookups for water and electric. There are also basic tent sites, picnic tables and metal fire rings. Water spigots are placed throughout so access is not difficult. You have your choice of sunny areas or more forested. Some spots are tightly packed in, but others are on the outside of the loop and seem like they'd be pretty quite. I wasn't overly impressed on the whole.

  • Rick G.
    Mar. 11, 2023

    Pat Mayse West

    Nice Lake front Campround

    This is a nice campground with decently wooded sites. The site I sated had water, electric, a picnic table, a fire pit and a lantern post. There was a flat spot to set up my tent. The campground had decent star views and was a short walk to clean pit toilets. The showers were a short drive away and were also clean.

  • Susan L.
    Nov. 1, 2019

    Deer Haven Campground — Cooper Lake State Park South Sulphur Unit

    Shaded lakeside camping in Deer Haven

    The South Sulphur campground is about half an hour north of Interstate 30. It’s under a 2 hour drive from the DFW area so, I find it’s a nice weekend getaway. I camped here on a Sunday to Monday and it was very quiet. I was one of only 5 campers in the Deer Haven section (aside from the 3 camp hosts). I’m giving the park 5 stars but this is based on my experience of having camped here when there were few campers around. I image this place could be loud and busy on a weekend.

    There are many shaded lakeside sites in the Deer Haven section. I stayed at site 68. The site was on a cul de sac so there was no campground to the one side. However, the site located on the other side was close. This would be a great spot for 2 camping families to share. The concrete pad at site 68 was level and shaded by a beautiful, mature oak tree. I could walk from the pad to the lake. It would be a great site to put out a kayak, but unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate on my stay. So I didn’t get to kayak. I did see deer who ventured in from the wooded area next to the campsite.  Deer Haven lived up to its name!

    Electric and water hookups were good as were the restroom/shower facilities, which seemed climate controlled because it felt cooler and less humid inside than outside. This usually isn’t the case in these buildings.

    A big storm blew in around dinner time. The wind was fierce and blowing out of the north across the almost 20,000 acre lake! I actually called the ranger to find out if I needed to evacuate. The ranger was very responsive and reassuring. Luckily, there were no tornados warnings, so I weathered out the storm and woke to a beautiful crisp morning.

    This park is huge and there is much to do. Cabins, shelters, primitive walk in sites, equine sites, a beach, several boat ramps, hiking trails, playgrounds and a fishing pier. I didn’t get to see a fraction of it, but I’ll be returning. 

    I stopped in the town of Sulphur Springs on my way back to DFW. The town has a nice historic town square and makes for an interesting side stop.

  • Napunani
    Jun. 9, 2023

    Lake Tawakoni State Park Campground

    Campsite A Mess!

    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

  • Napunani
    Jun. 9, 2023

    Walleye Park

    Unobstructed Lake View Campsite

    PROS 

    Senior discount saved $20 

    Each site has unobstructed lake view 

    Site 67 level concrete pad surrounded by sandy soil with afternoon only shade 

    Climate controlled toilet/shower facility 

    Clean toilet/shower facility which are cleaned every weekday morning 

    2 sand lot volleyball courts 

    Small pier shared by every two campsites 

    Metal picnic table, pedestal BBQ grill and concrete fire ring with no cooking grate. 

    Fairly quiet during daytime weekdays except for neighboring campers 3 sites away who had their INSIDE television blaring that we could hear every word. This went on for 7 hours daily. 

    Local police did regular daylight drive thrus 

    Hundreds of squirrels 

    Could hear whippoorwills after sunset 

    Had a float plane land and then take off right in front of our campsite (see video)

    Park had WIFI but didn’t use due to having 4 bars TMOBILE 

    CONS 

    Minimal pay/stay 3 nights

    $5 fee to make on line reservations 

    Had to email copy of Texas Drivers License to Water District in advance of making reservation in order to get Senior discount 

    No security gate closed overnight 

    No camp host 

    Campers let their dogs run thru campsites and poop everywhere 

    Big problem with day users and boaters walking thru campsites, even after dark, picnicking and partying late into evening in campsites where there were no campers/tenters, then leaving at all hours of the night 

    LOTS of middle of the night boat noise 

    Street lights throughout campground which hinders dark sky viewing 

    No privacy from any other campsite 

    Site picnic table anchored so not moveable

  • Krystal E.
    Sep. 30, 2021

    Wind Point Park

    Good Camping in a Controlled Environment

    If you’re looking for somewhere off the grid that is truly primitive, then this is not the place for you. If you don’t mind other people nearby, then you may enjoy your time here. Great docks for fishing. Beautiful water views, if you camp next to the water. Tent camping sites with electrical hookups are piled next to each other pretty close, so if you’re getting a tent electrical site you had better not mind getting friendly with your neighbors. Also, when it rains some of the tent electrical camp sites fill with water. However, if this happens the front office is more than willing to work with you and give you a refund or switch your site. There is a lot of wildlife roaming around - lots of deer! The primitive camp sites by the docks that overlook the water are beautiful. There is a concrete slab, picnic table, and fire pit at each primitive site. If you want to throw up a hammock, some of the primitive sites have trees that are the perfect distance apart for that - but be aware some of these trees are covered in poison ivy! The primitive sites are all close by to other types of campers, so it is never quiet and you can hear people at all hours of the day/night for the most part. Where we stayed by the water, we were next to an RV site. The other primitive camping sites also seem to be near RV sites and electrical tent sites, according to the map. If you camp near the water, it is very windy, especially at night, so make sure to bring plenty of blankets! Are you ever really on your own here: no. Are there beautiful views: yes. Is it truly primitive: no. Will you be taken care of: yes. All sites are open, with no big trees or shrubs to give privacy. You can see your neighbors and they can see you, even at the primitive sites. It would be a good place to bring a family or children for sure. I will say, the customer service at the main office is outstanding. They have anything you could think of for sale there, which is a huge plus. It is highly likely that you won’t need to drive into town for anything. Workers drive around with trash bags every day to ensure everyone is disposing of trash properly, and will give you free trash bags if you don’t have any, which is nice. All in all it depends on what you’re looking for, whether you choose to come to this camping location or not. We enjoy going here just to get away from the house and enjoy the beauty of the lake/nature for a bit. Although, I do wish there was more privacy. Everything is too close together, in my opinion.

  • Fred S.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jan. 5, 2022

    Lake Tawakoni State Park Campground

    Nice, quiet, uncrowded campground

    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.

  • J
    Apr. 6, 2021

    Lake Tawakoni State Park Campground

    Nice state park

    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.

  • M
    May. 16, 2018

    Walleye Park

    Beautiful lakefront campsites

    This is a beautiful park and every campsite is lakefront. 30/50amp, water and tent sites. They do have a dump station. They also have a large pavilion that can be rented that have picnic tables. There is a boat ramp in the park. The lake is great for skiing, ect. The only negative thing is that there are two buildings that have bathrooms on opposite sides of the park. Each have 2 bathrooms and a shower. The shower is motion controlled but the water is warm/hot quickly. If you don’t have a bathroom in your setup then make sure you’re close to the bathrooms. Otherwise, you’ll have quite a walk.

    All the sites have a picnic table, fire ring,plenty of shade and its own pier. I will be back!

Guide to Cooper

Tent camping near Cooper, Texas offers a delightful escape into nature, with a variety of well-reviewed spots that cater to outdoor enthusiasts.

Tent campers appreciate these amenities

  • Enjoy a serene experience at Sleep Under The Pecan Trees, where fires are allowed and picnic tables are available for family gatherings.
  • At Rockin Bar B Ranch, you can bring your pets along and take advantage of the natural setting with drinking water provided.
  • Lake Winnsboro Park offers a quiet atmosphere with clean facilities, making it a great choice for a peaceful getaway.

Tent campers should check out local attractions

Unique features of the campgrounds

  • Experience the charm of wild horses at Sleep Under The Pecan Trees, where you can interact with these gentle creatures during your stay.
  • Harpoon Larry's Camping is in development, promising exciting new features like a disc golf course for future visitors.
  • The secluded spots at Rockin Bar B Ranch allow for a private camping experience, surrounded by nature and away from the hustle and bustle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Cooper, TX?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Cooper, TX is Rockin Bar B Ranch with a 5-star rating from 1 review.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Cooper, TX?

TheDyrt.com has all 7 tent camping locations near Cooper, TX, with real photos and reviews from campers.

Keep Exploring