Best Tent Camping near Denison, TX

Lake Murray is a large state park which is an easy drive north from the DFW area, so I stay in the SP frequently, but never at this campground. It’s located a bit off the beaten path on the South end of the park. It’s also a smaller campground which accommodates smaller RV’s. Also, there is boat ramp, but it is not large and has little parking, plus it’s not located down the road that leads to the campsites. This means there isn’t constant traffic and power boat noise. 

The campground is tucked into a cove of Lake Murray and is down the road from the dam.  There are some very nice walk in tent camping sites where you could walk down to the rocky lake edge and swim. There are also a few drive in tent sites. However, be aware that when I stayed here in spring of 2020, there is no bath house or toilet facilities. There was a nice playground and a little picnic area right on the lake.

The RV sites are scattered around a circular road and there are several right on the lake. These are the best in my opinion. One of them (site 17) is labeled “premium” and I would pay the extra $ to snag this site. 

• Site 14 - Water/Electric 50 and 30 amp, no sewer (dump on site)

• gravel pad, mostly level, has a tree on awning side so couldn’t deploy my awning, but really unnecessary because the site was nicely shaded

• Cement picnic bench, BBQ, fire ring

• Walk down from site to water with rock ledge to sit a chair on and dangle feet in the lake!

• Site is private on 1 side with forested creek/water run off area, but neighbor is fairly close on other side

• ***No bathhouse (gutted - see photo)

• Little cons: no trailheads within the campground, but Tucker Tower is a bike ride or hike over the dam and the trailhead to Ski Jump Campground the the Lodge connects here. (8.5 miles). Also Dump station at the campground is easy access, however the exit up the somewhat eroded gravel hill may require some maneuvering for larger rigs.

Definitely check out Tucker Tower when visiting and Lake Murray SP Nature Center is very well done! I’ll return again for the always good hiking and try to snag the premium site or site 9.

UPDATE 5/2021 - Marietta Landing Campground is being revamped.

Nice area to tent camp

Lots of good tent sites both on the water or a short hike to it.

Great Tent camping. The grills are combined with the fire pits. The RV area has showers that are separate from the toilets. There are no electrical outlets or hand dryers or soap dispensers.

This park is very large! There is camping for everyone here! Great marina, fishing, hiking, kayaking and camp fires! All types of RV and tent sites! The swimming beach is the best, but you have to walk way down a hill to get to it!

Loved our stay here in the tent section. Trees provided much needed shade, yet enough for solar to stay charged. Restrooms were close, showers were a little bit of a walk. Each tent site has a table and fire pit. Lovely views of lake Texoma. Great hiking and rock climbing opportunities. The marina store is a short walk away and you can rent kayaks and canoes!

I have camped here many times. The park is well maintained and offers beautiful hiking trails and scenery. It is also safe with plenty of staff making rounds to ensure everyone's safety. I have stayed at their pull through camper sites, shelters, as well as tent camping with no complaints. The park is also undergoing construction upgrades and new paved roads ATM but the areas are clearly identified on their website. Definitely a family friendly park with plenty of wildlife to enjoy!

We loved the proximity to north Dallas. It makes for a nice getaway weekend. We enjoyed exploring the different areas of the park. We noticed most of the trailer/tent sites are almost in pairs. So two sites, have a common grassy area. Makes this park great for camping with friends or for making new friends, as we did! The store are the marina was a great break for ice cream on a hot day. Our friends have a boat on Lake Texoma and their home was only a 15 minute drive from the park.

I tent camped here in December at the Hawthorn campground site 8. One thing I wasn’t expecting was that this was a walk in site. It was about 100 yards from the parking lot to site 8. Kind of a pain when setting up camp but it makes for a very quiet camping experience once you’re done. Water spigots are close by. The bathrooms were really clean and there are hiking and biking trails nearby. Unfortunately I didn’t get to explore the park much but it seems there is lots to do. There is a marina where you can rent boats and a swim beach nearby. I’ll definitely be going back for a longer stay.

We found a nice secluded tent site, despite it being fall break weekend. There are many campgrounds at Lake Murray to choose from. We chose this site which was conveniently located near a nature trail with a beautiful lookout point, as well as a hiking trail. Did not use the restroom facilities, but judging from the nature center, lodge and other park facilities I am sure they were nice. The recently built lodge is beautiful. The staff we met were friendly and helpful. Seems like a very nice and well rounded park even if you aren’t planning any lake or water activities. dog friendly. We will be back!

Was able to spend a night at Buzzards Roost campground while visiting Lake Murray State park.  Our tent site was at the point and provided us with great views of the marina, and Tucker Tower.  There is plenty of parking and the tent pads were nice and level with plenty of space for larger tents.  Each fire pit had it own grate that provides a cooking surface over the fire; however, must were damaged but still usable.  Bath house is a little older but the amenities were nice.  There are 4 showers that are available with great pressure and temps.  All but a few campsites were on the water so it makes it easy to put in a small water craft or even pull a larger boat up to your site.

 A very neat place for people that are interested in civil war history. Boggy Depot Park received its name from Clear Boggy Creek and was originally used as a depot for the Chickasaw and Choctaw people as they arrived in Indian Territory during the removal.Then a Confederate commissary and outpost depot during the Civil War. In 1972, Boggy Depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It even has a cemetary in the campground. It spooks me out. This is whats remaining of a ghost town. It was part of the Butterfield Stage Route, and a lot of old history. Looking around the park you will see signs and information about the various events and reasons of importance for Boggy Depot throughout the early years of American history. It is remote in the country nestled in very old oak trees which makes it beautiful. It is very shady with over a hundred camping spots. There was only 2 other campers staying there. It is a great place for hunters too. It even has a check in station. It has a fishing lake, pretty nature trails, a baseball diamond, a basketball court, a great playground, picnic tables, group picnic shelters, charcoal grills, and comfort restrooms with showers. A big campground, with over 100 campsites. including RV and tent camping. It also has a cool little creek. It's about 15 from Atoka, Oklahoma. The park almost closed because of state funding but some of our Native American Tribes saved it and is now ran and operated by the Chickasaw Nation. This is like a hidden gem to me.

PHYSICAL ADDRESS

475 South Park Lane Atoka, Oklahoma 74525

PHONE NUMBER

Main Line: (580) 889-5625

68 year-old solo camper getting ready to travel around the country, car/tent camping primarily. Haven't really camped since 1973, so I drove out to Lake Ray Roberts for a one-night trial for some new gear and knock off the rust. 

This was a terrific choice – Hawthorn Area #9, wooded area, 4th on the path from the Hawthorn parking lot to the other nine campsites on this loop (150 steps from campsite to car and restrooms, a little over 100 yards). As most (maybe all) of the campsites here, this was walk-in to the campsite from a common parking lot.

I walked around the rest of this loop and the adjoining one (16-40). Each campsite had a tent pad, picnic table, fire pit and lantern post. Mine was one of the more private in that I couldn't see another picnic table. However, with the trees and in some places tall grass, I would rate most of the sites as private. 

The next morning there were about half-dozen deer roaming around the area between my camp and the parking lot. There was only one other car in the parking lot overnight and they camped in one of the other areas. One of the lots (I think it was #13) actually had lake front. Others had views of the water. 

Depending on exact location you could see the dam and except for a few hours of the deepest night you could faintly hear the drone of road noise. But the near-full moon lit the area so well I walked to my car about 4:30 in the morning without a light and could see very well – it was really nice and bright. 

The Isle du Bois unit is at the far southeast corner of the lake, near the eastern end of the dam. The Hawthorn area is one of the first sites from the entrance, maybe a 5-minute drive.

If you are looking for special place at the lake that is a bit more secluded feeling this is the campsite for you at Lake Murray.  There is no swimming here so that is a big detour for a lot of those visiting with larger families looking to enjoy that aspect.  While there is boat access, it is not the most popular launch area so again, you will find it to be more wooded and peaceful than other areas.  

This campground is one of those you have to walk up and grab your spot first come first serve style.  With great sites for tents or RVs you would think that would mean it fills up rapidly, but I have seen this campground during various times of year and it always seems to be very relaxed and not over run, with the exception of course of the big lake holidays where every campsite is a little nuts at Lake Murray.

The restroom facilities here are nice but the improvements at this facility do not stop there with large concrete style picnic tables, an improved playground and nice pavement around camp for driving or bike riding.

Something that makes this place even more attractive to me is that they also allow primitive tent camping!!  I love not having to pay for amenities I am not typically using.  I can take advantage of nice facilities without having to pay for large amp hook ups which is a huge bonus for someone who does a travel blog about budget travel and cutting corners and being resourceful.   

After having been to this location several times previously I have noticed that following a holiday it can take a bit longer to get it all clean because people do not seem to understand honoring the trash in trash out policy of general respect, but in recent years I have notice a vast overall improvement of maintenance of all the facilities in this area.  They have made effort to continually improve and I look forward to seeing how far they come in the future!

We've wanted to check out Lake Murray since visiting there years ago. Didn't really think we'd be able to find a spot for Memorial Day Weekend, but apparently someone cancelled and one opened up a few days earlier. We stayed at Buzzads Roost without knowing anything about it and we we weren't disappointed. We didn't get a waterfront site but it was still a nice stay. The campgrounds were clean and quiet. It appeared that all the RV sites were level concrete pads with picnic tables, grills, and fire rings. Our was nice and wide. We don't have slideouts but they wouldn't have been a problem.

We were able to get out and kayak twice. On Saturday the boat ramp for the campgrounds was crazy busy so we drove up the road to Tipps Point and launched from there. They have a nice beach area along with some camprounds there as well. On Sunday we got up with the sun and beat everyone else to the boat launch area. If you're in the tent camping area there are plenty of places to launch a kayak but if you're driving down and don't want to walk throught people's campsites there is a small area on the left side of the boat ramp that is a easy place to launch and land a kayak. Parking can be tough at the ramp area. There's not a lot of spaces and many of them were taken by folks who have boats at the marina.

The trip over to Tucker Tower is quick and there are coves on both sides with glassy water. The tower has a dock if you want to take the tour (we were there before they opened, so no tour for us). Oklahoma is often known for its red/brown lakes, but Lake Murray is an exception. Green/blue waters that were clear enough to see the tip of my paddle when stuck straight down 4-5 feet. 

The water and surroundings were beautiful and even for a busy holiday weekend it didn't feel too busy or crowded. Lake Murray is definitely on our return list.