Best Tent Camping near Graham, TX

A few times a year, the City of Jacksboro opens its arms to an influx of campers and schools from around the state eager to see one of the unique reinactments at the historic location of Fort Richardson.

While you can visit during other times of the year, these times make for some of the most popular and thus most busy camping experiences.

7 different types of campsites are available including group sites, equestrian sites, full hook up and primitive sites for RV and tent campers. Sites range from $10-$25 depending on the area and amenities.

For someone like myself who prefers primitive tent camping or less amenities I found $10 tent sites were about a 3/4 mile hike in and $20 limited amenity campsites were my best options. The benefits to the $20 North Loop site was pretty obvious in restrooms and typical state park fire rings and picnic tables. Primitive sites include only fire rings and because of their remote location in warmer months can be more of a questionable location as taller grass can Harbor more snakes, specifically in this area Rattlesnakes and Copperheads.

These fees were in addition to standard park admission which is $3 per day for adults. All of these fees are due upon entrance at the entry station where you will be greeted by a park ranger and given a map.

While there is a lake, hiking and areas for horseback riding my focus upon my visit was one of the reinactments events held near Christmas. “Ghosts of Christmas Past” is an event set to showcase the period of the fort days and tell the story of how soldiers spent the time, what it might have been like on those cold winter nights and create a vision of fort life. It was a great educational visit and a great way to see a bit more of the State Park.

With this being a short drive for me from my home, I find this campsite and full facilities to be very exciting to return for other events. Well maintained and with friendly staff it is well worth the trip.

This is another one that is great to take the kids to. Water to play in, trails that are easy to navigate and the option to tent camp or use a shelter. The rock gorge near the lake is a wonderful place to explore. There are miles of trails and plenty to see.

We have been camping here for about 35 years.  Started out tent camping and now prefer a RV.  Love this park.  Many of the campsites are directly on the water, the wind coming off the water will keep you cool in the summer.  We camp here year round.  We camp to relax and this is great place for this.

Tent camping areas in all 5 with shelters, grill, and picnic tables, many waterside. Public Area 4 and 6 have RV pads (which they do charge $10 to use in the Summer) with shelters, grill, and picnic tables, and many are waterside. Public Area 5 has grass pull thru RV parking. All 5 have bathroom facilities with running water and flush toilets. We parked at #5, also known as Bug Beach and we had the place to ourselves, with the exception of a herd of deer late afternoon. Beautiful scenery and exceptionally clean campground facilities.

As a kid we would come out here several times a year. We would boat, float, cliff jump, cookout, and enjoy each other's company. Twenty years later we are still enjoying these traditions.

If you like primitive, tent sites, cabins, or RV sites, there are plenty of options.

You should check out Hell's Gate while you are here.

There are also a few hike and bike trails, but this is mainly a park for boating and fishing.

Tent camped at site 104. Good amount of space on this site, but do your research. Some of the sites there are fairly small. Sites are spaced out well. Clean restrooms and showers. Saw a few deer and could hear coyotes in the distance at night. There is rock climbing and a small swim beach on the other side of the lake and lots of places to go fishing. The trails are very rocky and not always easy to navigate, but there is so much there to explore.

Tent sites are walk-in to the other side of the end of the lake, and can be pretty rickety with loose rocks getting there. Was good practice for backpacking, since parking is closeby, but not very convenient. P008 is probably the only site suitable for hammock camping. Everything else is flat and exposed, next to the shore.

We were woken up by loud boats trolling the shore and men shouting around midnight both nights we were there, and could hear conversations from the RV area.

Lake mineral wells state park was great for biking, hiking, swimming and fishing. We had something fun for all 6 of us. My husband and I stayed in our tent, while rest of family stayed in their RV. It has been a very rainy month in Texas so some trails were closed. The camp store was awesome.we didn’t take advantage of the kayak or canoe rentals, but the prices were reasonable. Bathrooms, while a little dated were clean and had soap!

This park was definitely out in the middle of nowhere, with a long peaceful drive full of wildlife. We made it to the park entrance, check in was quick. We arrived on a week day and they ranger informed us the camp store was closed until weekend and no firewood. Closest store with firewood was 30min away. They lake was beautiful. We were right beside the restroom and shower facilities which was great! We came to stay for one night, we had a roof top tent so the site we had was nice and would make a perfect side for a RV but for us it could’ve been wider for our ladder but we were close to the restroom which we wanted. The restrooms were clean, could use a little update, and water was warm but not hot. Lots of wildlife around! I would stay again but I don’t think it’s the best place to go for a winter camping trip. Thank you Texas state parks!

Sent me to a tent spot that had a concrete pad 3" under the soil.  No fire pit, no table, no electricity.

Been to this park a couple of different times it has rock climbing boating,fishing, trails for walking, hiking. separate camping loop for tents and also separate one for horses. We have camped there in February, in June and also October

We LOVE MW State Park!  The lake is awesome and great for fishing and kayaking.  We stayed at the Post Oak Campground over Valentine's Weekend 2019.  The campsites are really nice and include water, fire ring, picnic table, grill, parking for 2 vehicles, lots of trees.  Campsites on the south side of the loop back up to the lake.  There is a bathroom (no showers) at one end.  Showers are available at other campgrounds within the park.  We tucked our tent into the trees and had a very nice time.  The first night, we did hear coyotes chattering super close to our tent.  There are many trails to hike and several to ride bikes or horses on.  Staff at the park are great!  The only negative:  The Boy Scouts love this campground!  Late into our first night, 4 Boy Scout troops rolled in.  We were awakened the next morning to lots of kids yelling and 1 even playing a bugle.  By the end of the weekend, we knew all the kids names just from hearing them yell to each other.

One week stay during the first week of December D&D south. Weather: highs in the 60s, lows in the 40s. Covered picnic tables, grills, fire pits, trash cans at most sites. Restrooms spaced throughout the park. Massive trail system throughout the area. Excellent service for school/remote work. Ideal for tents, vans, truck campers, and small trailers. No cost during May-September. No water or dump in the parks, but there are showers. There are sites directly on the water and up in the hills. Would return!

We had plenty of space to spread out and relax. Rented a pontoon and saw Hell's gates worth the stop. Spent most of the time swimming and fishing from shore. This is one of the clearer lakes in Texas.

I've camped at several Texas State Parks recently. They're very nice places to camp at. Restrooms are well kept. Some are free and can stay up to 14 days.

Beautiful little spot, only stayed a night. Walk right up to lake. Spots to our right had kayaks to put in right at campsite. Dump site on the way out. Spotted a Texas bobcat.

One of my favorite Texas state parks. Ve RT y nice campground on a lake. But do NOT miss the penitentary. Cliffs forming a prison below used during the civil war. Amazing rock structure with rock climbers.

We stayed at the Group campground at the top of the dam, and it was a very nice, level site for our tents. It has a wind-break on one side that we were thankful for when the windstorms rolled through. Accessible by 2WD. 

Easy access to the docks and to deer blinds to watch the deer come out (no hunting). Carol, one of the ranch managers, gave us a grand tour of the property - there are some beautiful primitive sites in the back of the ranch, including one that is "ideal for backpackers". 

One thing to note if you are camping around the lake - sound travels. If there are guests at the lodge, you WILL hear them. Luckily, when the kids at the lodge woke us up at 2am with loud music and shouting, the managers were very quick to get them to quiet down.

Stars are bright out here. Coyotes sang us to sleep.

The rock climbing is so fun to watch! Really unique rocks for Texas. Worth going to this park just to check that out, but then the kayaking is top notch too. I didn't find it, but apparently there's a little creek you can paddle up off the far left side of the lake. I wasn't a huge fan of the trails in the back section. Very open to the sun.

We stayed here January 26 -31, 2021 on the first stop of a 3 month escape from Northern Wisconsin winter. I’m guessing it’s great when it’s warm and you have a boat. It was always windy. Concessions store closed for remodeling. Construction on cabin near our site. Nice bathrooms, shower water not super hot. Nice trails and tons of birds. A bunch of guys cleaning their catfish at a cleaning station near our site. Left a ton of carcasses that the rangers cleaned up. If you plan to use Texas state parks, get the pass as it will save you lots of money!

I took my daughters camping here since it is one of the few parks within an hour of DFW. Getting there was a breeze since it is mostly freeway and highway. I made a reservation since the nice weather seem to be filling up most parks. While this one was almost at capacity, we did not feel crowded. We took a self guided tour of the grounds and visited the hospital, morgue, bakery, bridge, officer quarters and the nature center. Most of the building had interesting things to see. The hospital has some preserved critters like giant centipedes while the nature center has taxidermied animals you can touch (carefully of course). Also, make sure you make the hike to the rumbling spring. It's beautiful. If you need food, there is a grocery store just down the road. If you enjoy alcohol though, you'll need to bring your own. My only complaint about the park was the ground is very rocky, but there were no pads to put your tent on which made staking very difficult.

When getting ready for summer fun, one of the most simplistic adventures you can go on is a trip to the lake.  We loaded up the car on a random Tuesday with intention of hitting the lake and taking some time to sleep under the stars once again as we traveled to Amon G. Carter Lake in North Texas and found Selma Park.

Nestled just outside of Bowie, TX the camping area services both the night camper and also the day use explorer.  Facilities offer a boat ramp, camping, swimming pier and beach area as well as fishing areas.  Public toilets are located on property that include flush toilets and public showers and throughout the facility are awnings with picnic tables for those using camp facilities.  Partial hook ups are available for rvs as well making the campground assessable to adventurers of all kinds.

When we arrived friends were already at the facility and had found a location perfect for our night of camping on a peninsula jutting out into the lake.  The area was well maintained and with the exception of a few broken glasses that were present the area was clear.  We just made sure to steer clear of these during our stay as the pieces were to small to be picked up.

The camp host drove to our site after we began assembling our tent, as we had missed his location on the way into the facility and made sure to collect our fees for the night.   Only $5 for the night on a lake front property is more than reasonable.  

Our location was a short drive from the public restrooms that are centralized on the property.  Bathrooms were a bit dim but overall served the purpose.  Gates to through traffic closed at 10 p.m. in the attempt to keep late night traffic away from the facility and provide additional safety, which was a nice touch for those camping.

There were both shaded sites as well as those more open to the elements.  Ours being on the peninsula was more open, great for lakeside views but unfortunately a bit windy at night without additional cover.  Still the sites were nice and pleasant and well patrolled. 

We enjoyed swimming in the lake, grilling and even a campfire by night at this location, which was not busy on the quiet Tuesday evening.   

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I would give this site 4 of 5 Bunnies for its easy access, variety of campsites and overall conditions of the facilities.  The only areas of improvement I could see would be additional maintenance to bathrooms including additional lighting for safety. Otherwise price point was great for a simple outing and will for sure be going back!

This is the closest place to us to go hiking. We absolutely love it here. Everything you could want is at your fingertips. We love the penitentiary hollow trail and the trail that leads to the backpacking camp sites. Both trails are fun hiking. It doesn’t feel like Texas at this park. So beautiful. My husband loves to climb and there are many opportunities to do different types of climbing here. You can repel or boulder at the Penitentiary Hollow trail. There are trails for horseback riding, mountain biking, and regular hiking trails. We hike here all year long and we have camped many weekends here as well.

Late in the day we stopped at Lake Mineral Wells State Park, TX. We weren't sure where to go as the gate was unmanned at our arrival. We missed the turn to the campground, but a friendly and helpful Texas State Park Officer directed us how to get there. He helped us with how to make payment as well. 

The campground was beautiful. It was quiet, the bathrooms were clean, and the lake was serene. There are at least 3 campgrounds, including shelters, equestrian, a loop for tenters, and a loop for larger rigs.  We stayed in the Plateau loop. Even though we only stayed one night, I would go back.