Best Tent Camping near Duncanville, TX

Tent camping options are limited but accessible within 30-45 minutes of Duncanville, Texas. While the immediate area lacks dedicated tent-only sites, nearby established campgrounds like Meadowmere Park and Cedar Ridge allow tent camping with basic amenities. Sycamore Bend Park offers more primitive tent camping experiences along Lake Lewisville for campers seeking a nature-focused stay without electrical hookups or modern conveniences.

Most tent campsites near Duncanville provide fire rings, picnic tables, and access to toilet facilities, though amenities vary considerably between locations. Erwin Park in McKinney features multiple tent-friendly sites with both drive-up and walk-in options, trash receptacles, and fire pits, though it lacks shower facilities. Seasonal considerations affect camping experiences, with Texas summer heat making shade a premium feature at most sites. Little Elm Park offers electric hookups for tent campers at $5 per tent with nearby restrooms but no shower facilities.

Tent campers frequently find more peaceful experiences during weekday stays when parks experience lower visitor numbers. Sites at Sycamore Bend Park, while primitive at $20 per night with a 3-night maximum stay, offer direct lake access ideal for water activities like kayaking and paddleboarding. Tree coverage varies across locations, with some sites providing ample shade while others offer more open settings with views of lakes or natural areas. According to one visitor at Sycamore Bend Park, "It's a short walk from where you park, but it's a really nice, secluded campground for being so close to suburbs. Great for hammocking, kayaking, paddle boarding." Erwin Park receives positive reviews for its tent camping experience with one camper noting, "Campsites are far enough apart that you have privacy yet close enough that you don't feel alone."

Best Tent Sites Near Duncanville, Texas (11)

    1. Northside RV Resort

    9 Reviews
    Waxahachie, TX
    14 miles
    Website
    +1 (972) 908-0040

    $50 - $60 / night

    "Level pads. Quiet. Dog park. Play ground. Wifi. Cable. Lake."

    "Each shower has its own toilet and vanity behind a lockable door. Our campsite (532) was a little awkward to get in because of the corner and the speed bumps, but not impossible."

    2. Cedar Ridge Mobile Home & RV Park

    1 Review
    Lancaster, TX
    8 miles
    +1 (214) 371-9818

    "Stayed there during our trip to Texas, after visiting Big Bend. Overall, pretty good spot for RVing."

    3. Meadowmere Park & Campground

    2 Reviews
    Southlake, TX
    26 miles
    Website
    +1 (817) 410-3939

    $35 / night

    "We really enjoyed this camp space. Peaceful, open, spacious and super nice management and staff. We stayed in spot 23 and although windy, I really enjoyed the scenery and quietness."

    "Close to Dallas, very clean and organized camp area."

    4. Sycamore Bend Park

    3 Reviews
    Lake Dallas, TX
    33 miles
    Website
    +1 (469) 645-9100

    $20 / night

    "The restrooms really stink, but are always clean and stocked in my experience. Max 3 night stay, no electricity, water, or showers. Nice fire rings, flag pole, and calm park."

    "No access to drive to the actual site so I couldn’t use my RTT but it’s a short walk from where you park. Really nice park right on the lake, but it does get a bit crowded."

    5. Erwin Park

    8 Reviews
    McKinney, TX
    45 miles
    Website
    +1 (972) 547-2690

    "Erwin Park is a great place to visit if you're looking to spend a few days running or biking trails. Campsites are far enough apart that you have privacy yet close enough that you don't feel alone."

    "I’ve had many great experiences at this park it’s a ways out of the way of the city noise. The only sound other than bird song is the occasional moo and some coyote yips in the distance"

    6. Little Elm Park

    1 Review
    Little Elm, TX
    35 miles
    Website
    +1 (972) 731-3296

    "Electric hookups for RV generally a small area first come first serve.... 5 dollars per tent....restrooms and park lights.... stores nearby..... no showers"

    7. Collin Park

    1 Review
    Wylie, TX
    35 miles

    8. De Cordova Bend

    4 Reviews
    Granbury, TX
    49 miles
    Website
    +1 (817) 573-3212

    "Has several picnic tables, grills and a public boat ramp. Free to camp with a 10 day max. It was very clean and there were many deer in the area all night."

    "Bathrooms are closed, but there is a Porta potty that was knocked over by the wind.

    Lots of sun and just a little shade, arrive early for a treed spot or bring shade awnings."

    9. Brockdale Park

    1 Review
    Lavon Lake, TX
    37 miles
    Website
    +1 (972) 442-3141
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Tent Camping Reviews near Duncanville, TX

433 Reviews of 11 Duncanville Campgrounds


  • Napunani
    Nov. 18, 2021

    Oak Park Campground

    Landscape Timber at Fire Ring Created Trip Hazard

    Reserved on-line 184 days prior to arrival. 

    Pros Site in large oak tree grove, so heavily shaded 

    Campground night sky friendly with good dark sky viewing NO STREET LIGHTS in campground., but toilet facilities had exterior lighting 

    Crushed granite surrounding site and bordered with landscaping timbers 

    Metal roof shelter over concrete slab where picnic table is located 

    Metal picnic table 

    Cooking grill on metal fire ring 

    Campground mostly quiet except for Hwy 31 traffic noise 

    Friendly camp host 

    Security gate closed nightly 

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

    Campsite discount with America the Beautiful Pass 

    Cons 

    Entrance gate not manned upon arrival at 2pm Tuesday so had to go back around after unhitched 

    Our site 14 was not marked. Most sites have site number on site picnic table. Even those are tough to see in the daylight and impossible to see in darkness. Absolutely no roadside site number posts 

    Campsite 14 entrance driveway was 90 degree angle to park road with a steep ditch on opposite side of road. T

    rees close on both sides tight to site 14 driveway. Made back in challenging, but not impossible. 

    Campsite 14 entrance/driveway 10% grade from park road 

    Campsite 14 not level side to side 

    Site fire ring was up against landscaping timber preventing space for chairs 

    Landscaping timbers trip hazard at fire ring

    Fire ring should be relocated to side or back of site to facilitate safe movement around it Fire ring was completely filled with ash upon arrival No privacy from other campsites Shower/toilet facility near playground had padlock on mens entrance, so males were using the womens restroom. This facility in extremely poor condition and desperately needs renovation. 

    No campsite lantern pole 

    No park Wifi 2

     bars AT&T 

    Never saw any park rangers or park security driving through campground 

    Wildlife sightings of grey squirrels and two dozen buzzards that constantly circled over campground

  • j
    Jan. 3, 2022

    Hickory Creek - Lewisville Lake

    Spacious campground near town

    Lewisville TX Hickory Creek Park COE on Lewisville Lake Open year round. Just over 100 paved sites most with lakeviews. Also have primitive walk in sites by lake. May 1 to Sept 30 14 day max stay other times can extend 14 more days!Be ware that gate closes from 10pm to 6am and there is no code access! Sites are w/e and all have new 50 amp. Grills and fire rings along with covered picnic tables. Modern bathhouse with large shower stalls. Nice boat ramp and boat trailer parking. There are several nature and walking trails as well as paved roads for bike riding. I have Verizon and was able to call and text but not use internet in camp. Town is short 5 minutes away. There's restaurants, shopping and theater close by.

  • S
    Jan. 21, 2022

    Isle du Bois Campsites — Ray Roberts Lake State Park

    Great venue for first camping trip in four decades

    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.

  • Napunani
    Dec. 13, 2022

    COE Navarro Mills Reservoir Oak Park

    Clean-up on Site #11

    Pros 

    Discount with National Park pass 

    Shady

    Quiet 

    Dark sky friendly

    Nice metal roof cover over concrete picnic table 

    Saw park ranger drive thru during daylight 

    2 bars T-MOBILE 

    Successful streaming with T-MOBILE hotspot device 

    Cons 

    So day #2 without any TP in men’s restroom.  Went to front gate to report it and was told they would call it into the Army Corps of Engineers as gate volunteers have no stock of TP on hand.  Never saw any TP before leaving on third day

    Toilet facility #1 women’s had raw sewage throughout deep enough to cover your foot. Site 11 has electrical hook up at rear on the door side of the camper 

    Site 11 water connection is centered at the rear of the parking pad. 

    Site 11 unlevel. 

    Numerous piles of charcoal ash throughout site 11 campsite not in the fire pit. 

    Concrete picnic table needs degreased as surface has lots of large greasy stain 

    Site numbers are painted on the concrete picnic table so extremely difficult to see in the dark. 

    No WIFI

  • Ray & Terri F.The Dyrt PRO User
    Apr. 2, 2021

    Isle du Bois Campsites — Ray Roberts Lake State Park

    This is a big camping area, lots of campsites near the lake

    The campground is nice and well maintained and sites are fairly well spaced with lots of grass, trees and open areas. The park staff were very friendly and helpful. We were in site 78 for 5 days. Only a few of the sites in the Deer Ridge campground loop looked level, fortunately ours was one of them, but we saw one 5th wheel with the wheels on one side off of the ground by several inches and one Class A whose front wheels were 8-10 inches off the ground. AT&T coverage was fairly good here, generally between 1-3 Bars of LTE service, with speeds up to 4.5 MB/s. There is no WiFi, cable or sewer hookup and the dump station can get a little busy around checkout time. Restrooms and showers were clean and the shower was nice and hot. 

    If you don’t already have one, you do have to purchase a Texas State Parks Pass for$70, which did add considerably to the cost of our stay. 

    There are quite a few trails in the area.

  • Ray & Terri F.The Dyrt PRO User
    Mar. 26, 2023

    Isle du Bois Campsites — Ray Roberts Lake State Park

    This is a fairly big camping area, lots of campsites near the lake

    The campground is nice and well maintained and sites are well spaced with lots of grass, trees and/or open areas. The park staff were very friendly and helpful. This was our second stay in site 78, this time for 4 days in late March. There is no WiFi, cable or sewer hookup at the camp sites and the dump station can get a little busy around checkout time and is a goodly distance from the CG if you plan to use a portable waste cart. Restrooms and showers were clean and the shower was nice and hot. There is a nice paved 2.25 mile trail through the CG and the surrounding area.

    AT&T coverage was not as good as the last time we stayed here a couple of yeas ago, with generally 1 Bar of 5G service and speeds up to 1 MB/s. We had an unobstructed view of the sky and so we were able to receive all 3 SW Dish satellites and good Starlink coverage with speeds between 2.5 and 4 MB/s. We didn’t try to load any OTA channels. 

    You do have pay a daily$7/person entrance fee or purchase a Texas State Parks Pass for$70 if you don’t already have one, which did add considerably to the cost of our stay.

  • R
    Nov. 27, 2020

    Hidden Cove Park & Marina

    Not just for camping!

    Clean and spacious RV sites in two areas, about 100 total and several with water view. Open and tree covered sites in both. Cabins also available, again several with water views. Two designated tent camping areas separate from RVs. Dry storage and dump station on property as well. The park offers open activity areas and covered picnic tables by the water. A 3-lane boat ramp to Lewisville Lake, rental paddle boarding, full marina, and swimming area. Seasonal restaurant with indoor & outdoor eating areas. Privately owned so there is an entry fee, but 2 or 3 levels of yearly membership passes available saves a lot! Currently upgrading to full hookup for all RV sites and wifi.

  • Taylin B.
    Jun. 1, 2023

    Sycamore Bend Park

    Great PRIMATIVE stay.

    The price has gone up from $7 to $20, but that’s about average it seems now. The restrooms really stink, but are always clean and stocked in my experience. Max 3 night stay, no electricity, water, or showers. Nice fire rings, flag pole, and calm park.

  • WThe Dyrt PRO User
    Mar. 29, 2023

    COE Bardwell Lake Mott Park

    I appreciate this location.

    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.


Guide to Duncanville

Tent camping around Duncanville, Texas requires some travel, with most sites located 30-45 miles from the city. This North Texas region features gently rolling terrain with elevations between 450-700 feet above sea level. Weather conditions shift dramatically between seasons, with winter nights often dropping below freezing and summer days regularly exceeding 100°F.

What to do

Lakeside activities: Little Elm Park offers direct access to Lake Lewisville for swimming and boating. The park charges only $5 per tent and provides electric hookups for tent campers. "Electric hookups for RV generally a small area first come first serve.... 5 dollars per tent....restrooms and park lights.... stores nearby..... no showers," notes Joshua O.

Mountain biking trails: Erwin Park in McKinney features approximately 9 miles of maintained trails through wooded areas. "Great easy spot for day camping or easy car camping with family. Good fire pits and great pavilion at the group site if you can get it. Best mountain bike single tracks around with lots of built features," shares Brian.

Fishing opportunities: At De Cordova Bend, campers can fish directly from the shoreline of the Brazos River. "Fishing, swimming, camping, and a boat launch. Park is often very clean. Bathrooms are not always very clean. Well lit at night. Nice hiking trail to the bottom of the dam. Far enough away from town to be a peaceful quick getaway," writes Alejandro G.

What campers like

Weekday tranquility: When planning tent camping near Duncanville, many campers appreciate visiting during weekdays. "Decordova bend park is managed by the Bravos River Authority. Has several picnic tables, grills and a public boat ramp. Free to camp with a 10 day max. It was very clean and there were many deer in the area all night," reports Jason.

Secure locations: Northside RV Resort provides gated access for increased security, which appeals to solo campers and families. "The park was very clean with four bathroom/shower rooms and laundry room as well. We visited in November and it was quiet with a nice view of the water. The park also has a gate with a code needed to enter," shares Iris A.

Proximity to suburbs: Despite being near urban areas, many tent camping spots around Duncanville offer surprising natural settings. "We really enjoyed this camp space. Peaceful, open, spacious and super nice management and staff. We stayed in spot 23 and although windy, I really enjoyed the scenery and quietness," writes Melanie G. about Meadowmere Park & Campground.

What you should know

Seasonal concerns: Summer heat affects camping comfort significantly at tent sites near Duncanville. "Been told by a local, off season is best as July and August are typically overful. Lots of sun and just a little shade, arrive early for a treed spot or bring shade awnings. Large open area great to fly kites," advises Sean B.

Bathroom conditions: Facilities vary widely between campgrounds, with some offering minimal amenities. "Only a few tent areas left since erosion has left several falling into the lake. Easy access, plenty of tree coverage, and each area has a picnic table, grill, and fire pit. Bathrooms were centrally located but the women's restroom was flooded with an unknown liquid," notes Aaron C. about Collin Park.

Reservation requirements: Most tent camping sites within 45 minutes of Duncanville operate on a first-come basis rather than reservations. This makes weekday arrival advisable for securing preferred spots, especially at the more popular parks during peak seasons.

Tips for camping with families

Playground access: Several campgrounds near Duncanville feature play equipment for children. "We stayed in the month of November. It was cold and rainy but the park did not disappoint. The bathrooms as so clean. The park itself is gated and secure. Each shower has its own toilet and vanity behind a lockable door. There is a pond with a fountain and a HUGE fireplace (not fire pit) for relaxing," reports Angela R.

Privacy considerations: Family tent camping benefits from selecting sites with adequate separation. "Erwin Park is a great place to visit if you're looking to spend a few days running or biking trails. Campsites are far enough apart that you have privacy yet close enough that you don't feel alone," shares James.

Wildlife viewing: Many parks around Duncanville offer opportunities to spot deer, birds, and small mammals, especially at dawn and dusk. For children, bringing binoculars and wildlife identification guides adds educational value to the tent camping experience.

Tips from RVers

Extended stay limitations: Most campgrounds restrict consecutive nights. "The price has gone up from $7 to $20, but that's about average it seems now. The restrooms really stink, but are always clean and stocked in my experience. Max 3 night stay, no electricity, water, or showers. Nice fire rings, flag pole, and calm park," notes Taylin B.

Weather impacts: Rain can significantly affect camping conditions at tent sites near Duncanville. "When it rains stay on the pavement as the mud is nasty and gumbo. The road is very loud and there are train tracks with train horns blaring all night long - make sure your bedroom faces away from the road for the best sleep," advises Tex B.

Amenity trade-offs: Most sites offer basic facilities rather than full-service options. When tent camping in the Duncanville area, plan for limited shower access and bring portable power solutions for electronic devices.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Duncanville, TX is Northside RV Resort with a 4.1-star rating from 9 reviews.

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

TheDyrt.com has all 11 tent camping locations near Duncanville, TX, with real photos and reviews from campers.