Gilmer, TX is a great camping destination for adventurers of all types. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in, as well as sights to see and explore. Find the best campgrounds near Gilmer, TX. Read reviews from campers like you and find your perfect campsite.
"Campgrounds provide water and electricity; in the heat, you'll need a fan. Even on the river, there is limited air circulation due to the dense tree cover."
"Heavy tree cover means little air movement, even right on the water. Little popularity from the locals means this place is quiet and serene."
"Primitive camping. Restrooms have recently been torn down and are going to be rebuilt. It's a great spot for Kayaking and other water sports, or just relaxing in the water."
$44 - $150 / night
"We didn't trust our camper Prius to make it through a certain dip in the trail, so we found a nice level spot in the woods just off the trail."
$5 / night
"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."
$5 / night
"We got the best sleep we’ve ever had camping with the soft grass and our sleeping pad. Watch out for mud spots in the grass."
"Very quiet area with plenty of space to set up camp. Grass was freshly mowed when I showed up. Campground overlooks a good sized lake, as well as has a boat ramp. Great stay"
LegendPROS
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
LegendReserved on-line 152 days prior to arrival.
Pros
Pristine clean restroom/showerhouse. Seemed recently renovated
BIG PINE camping area only big rig friendly(longer than 20 ft) out of 40 FHU sites. Big Pine, Dogwood and Mountain View Campgrounds FHU so 40 FHU sites with no park dump station.
Aluminum picnic table and fire ring with cooking grate
Very quiet campground except for highway and train noise
4 camp hosts
Good night sky viewing in BIG PINE
Good view of lake in BIG PINE
Privacy from side neighbors
No leveling required from side-to-side
Asphalt parking pad heaved various places due to tree roots creating numerous tripping hazard
Campsite utility hook-ups in good condition with no problems encountered
Security gate that closes overnight
No street lights in BIG PINE
Campsite and entrance fee discount with Texas State Park Pass
Not charged a fee to make my own on-line reservation
CONS
Most FHU sites (other than BIG PINE) are extremely short in length. Barely room for single axle TT, so need to review site details carefully
Site 8 had an extreme amount of above ground roots causing tripping hazard
Picnic table approx 50 feet from Site 8 parking pad
Highway and train noise
BIG PINE sites barely off campground road, so therefore no privacy from campers across the road
Restroom/shower facility not heated
No lantern pole
No wildlife sightings
No park Wifi
1 bar AT&T in BIG PINE
LegendCamped at site #63 in the Mill Pond Camping Area - tent area. This site backed up onto Saw Mill Pond - beautiful cypress swamp. Bugs were not too bad. Gravel drive on site. Level tent pad. Water only; no electric. Clean fire ring. Lantern post. Large site, good separation from other sites. Campground is heavily wooded, lots of shade. Campground is clean & nicely maintained. One restroom is at the entrance to the Mill Pond camping area, just off of a day use parking lot. No shower in this restroom. A newer, nicer restroom/shower house is located in the Woodpecker camping area. Quiet campground; no issues. Good AT&T service. Despite saying it's allowed in the campground features list, alcohol is prohibited. Excellent T-Mobile 5G service.
LegendPROS
Saved $42 With TX STATE PARK PASS
No fee to reserve online.
No sales tax. U
pon arriving at Site 23, we had no power at the pedestal. Called Park Headquarters and 2 park personnel were at our site in 10 minutes and resolved problem
Site 23 level asphalt
Site 23 partial shade
Aluminum picnic table, 2 hook lantern pole and metal fire pit with cooking grate
Donation firewood available
Soap and hand dryer in toilet/shower facility
3 bars TMOBILE when not storming
CONS
No overnight security gate closure
Site 23 was 1/3 covered with poison oak and remaining living area covered with tall weeds.
Some highway noises.
Two PARK HOSTS occupy sites in Woodpecker Hollow. That reduces full hook up sites to 6. One of those sites were used as a temporary dump station due to out-of-service park dump station
Woodpecker Hollow toilet/shower facility needs some deep cleaning
11 windows in Woodpecker Hollow women’s toilet/shower and only 4 were open. Camp host said rest of windows were painted shut. Floors were continuously wet and slippery. What a mess! This place needs a fan or two.
Most pets we saw were NOT on leash
No privacy from surrounding campsites
No ranger drive thru Woodpecker Hollow
No park WIFI
LegendReserved 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
GuideSet 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
GuideThere are many options to camp at this state park. There’s RV sites, tent sites (both primitive and “cushy”), cabins, cottages and screened shelters. my past experience with screened shelters were always dusty, dank, spider-filled shacks that I would only store my cooler and belongings in (tightly sealed) but these at Martin Creek were IMMACULATE to say the least! They seem cob-webby from the outside but once inside, the concrete floor is smoother up the edges of the walls about 2.5’, reducing entry of insects via cracks in the joints of floor and wall. The park employees vacuum these areas, as observed when I passed others that had recently vacated. The rafters in these shelters were spaced out far enough for me to hang my hammock. 4 people slept inside without air mattresses or camp pads and slept wonderfully (flat surfaces are good for our spines sometimes) not a big in sight. There is an electrical outlet inside as well as a light, and there is an outlet outside as well. Small lock on inside, watr spigot and doIble lantern hook nearby as well as a wooden/metal picnic table (good condition). I slept in Shelter #6 and it was a few yards away from the water’s edge. Great views of a small lilly-pad laced bay and we caught 7 catfish using normal nightcrawlers as bait. Fried them up for lunch the next day and they tasted like heaven! But, everything tastes better when you’re camping. We had also set up 4 tents around the area (not disturbing local flora/fauna) and we slept to the deafening croaks of frogs. Only 1 raccoon came upon our camp area to a spot where someone had thrown a corn cob, otherwise, we take all the necessary steps to avoid crossing paths with those relentless nighttime furry bandits. Shelters 7-9 are also located in great areas of the lake nearby, there is the power plants across the lake and for some reason, we like to believe that it was the reason we had ZERO mosquitoes! Many house flies and the non-biting ants were everywhere but not to the point of insanity... they list this ant as an issue on their website I do believe. I’d take this shelter over a hotel stay ANY TIME!
LegendPROS
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
TravelerThis 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!
Tent camping near Gilmer, Texas offers a serene escape into nature, with a variety of campgrounds that cater to outdoor enthusiasts looking for a peaceful retreat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Gilmer, TX?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Gilmer, TX is Lake Of The Pines with a 4.3-star rating from 6 reviews.
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