Best Tent Camping near Mabank, TX

We went to check this place out to reserve for a family camp trip. The grounds are clean and spacious. They have wonderful cabins and RV sites. The only have 5 tent sites. There are no tent pads and the sites are on a small hill. The picnic tables are limited and not every tent site has one. There are no fire rings so it’s a little unnerving building a fire on the grass. The lake and marina is wonderful and clean. They have all sorts of thing to do there. Kayak rentals, fishing charters, a cute little cafe. This is a place I would come to rent a cabin but not to tent camp!

Overnighted here returning home from a longer trip. It was okay for what I was doing, but I would never choose to camp here as a destination as a tent camper.

Activities: looking at the lake, bringing a boat to put in the lake, fishing. Seemingly nothing else to do.

Accommodations: clearly geared towards RVers. Each of those sites have water, electricity, and a sewer connection, with a covered cement pad with a grill, a table, and other relevant features. The few tent camp sites were shoved seemingly randomly between and around the RV sites. At my particular site, the concrete pad and picnic table were cracked and seriously damaged, and few grill was rusty enough to be almost unusable. The fire pit and ground of the rest of the site were littered in bits of trash ranging from things like food wrappers, pieces of plastic hangers, and my personal favorite - a construction nail.

The only bright light of this camp experience for me? The bathrooms. Each bathroom ( 2 per building) was a single occupant bathroom with a locking door. In the bathroom was a sink, a toilet, a hand dryer, and a shower with two nozzles at different heights (tall and short). The appliances were stainless steel, and the bathrooms were clearly excellently maintained. The bathrooms also had automatic lighting, an exhaust fan, and what appeared to be a tiny space heater for colder months. The showers had hot water, and the drains in the floor were sufficient at getting all the excess water out of there quickly.

In summary, if you have an RV and/or a boat and love to do things on the water, this is probably a fine campground. If you are taking a tent, I'd avoid this campground.

Absolutely stunning Texas state park located along the Texas Forest Trail that showcases the rolling hills of pine trees that dubbed this region the name “Pineywoods” of East Texas. Clean lake with available kayaking and canoeing, and even paddle boats. RV hookups or tent campgrounds.

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.

Camping amongst the llamas was a dream come true! It was everything we hoped for- and more! You can tell Judy does this for the love of llamas. We got a tour of the pasture, and met all of the llamas by name. We got to feed the llamas, and they hung around our camp for almost our entire visit. We. Had. A. Blast. 

Multiple fire pits and picnic tables per site. Big, shady trees to escape the beating Texas sun. And we felt safe enough to let our boys camp in their own tent for the first time. Not too far from the city, but definitely feels like you're in the middle of nowhere. Tent sites aren't secluded, but they aren't close-by either, and our neighbors were never bother. 10/10 we will definitely be back.

Hear me out :D The Park itself is very beautiful and the staff there are some of the nicest hosts you will encounter at a SP. Bathrooms were clean, and the showers were nice as well. Our issue was that Tent camping is primarily offered on the south side of the park. Which as the crow flies is about 1 mile from I20. So throughout the night the constant rumble of cars on the highway can keep you up most of the night. Then you have the local Emergency Services. Sirens down the park road and on i20. This is the perfect day use SP for the Trails and water sports. Also looks like it would be prefect for RV camping.

I visited the Shortleaf camping area in the Tyler State Park for the weekend to participate in a 50k trail race. Each campsite in this area has a sheltered cabin, picnic table, fire pit and 2 parking spots. Tent camping is also permitted on the site but I used my iKamper Roof Top Tent as my primary place to sleep. The sheltered cabin has screens on the windows to keep the bugs out and electricity. I used this area primarily for storage of the food & gear that I used during the weekend. My campsite was located at the bottom of a hill and had a path to the restrooms and showers. These facilities were very clean and had 2 shower stalls and 3 toilet stalls along with 2 sinks. This location had access to the lake via a short hike. This type of camp site is the best of both worlds, you can camp via tent/car and still have a cabin like experience via the sheltered cabin. 

In September it is still pretty warm in Tyler, humidity was 100% when I visited without rain. I'll visit again in October when the cooler temps arrive and undoubtable have an even better experience.

Typical clean and safe for a texas state park. No public drinking. Very little wildlife. We did have some squirrels get into out tent, my bad for leaving sweets out.

No feral pigs which are common these days. Nice sized spaces with tent areas and tables spread out.

Bonus in the loop bathroom they have individual rooms that have toilet and shower with a high lock. Really awesome if you are using shower with toddlers.

We saw signs about the ants bit we didn't see them. We were here over Christmas so that's probably why.

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.

Sites are spread out for tent and RV's best times to visit is fall or spring

They have sites for all campers,tents etc. Full hook-ups to water only. Paddle boats to rent. Swimming hole, several lighted fishing docks. boat ramps. You and your family will love this park

This park is beautiful with lots of areas to explore. The camp sites are all in one location and are very close to one another. Some sites are awesome while others are kind of awful, unfortunately. We were in site 004 and it wasn't great. There wasn't a good spot for a tent or a hammock. However, site 005 was much better. The sites that are listed as next to the bathrooms are RIGHT next to the bathrooms.