Best Dog-Friendly Camping near McClellan Creek National Grassland

Absolutely loved our stay here. Booked it on the day of our stay on the app. Having to flee bad weather and horrible prior stay. The staff was so helpful, friendly and provided awesome recommendations in the area. Sites are nice for plains. Hook ups, wifi and cable were great. Super clean bathrooms and laundry facilities. We got a 4 night stay, even though they usually cap stays at 3 nights. Small clean dog park, and pool (not open yet). Must see Palo duro state park in the area. Only negatives: train and airport noise. Had to level rig a bit, but not bad. Even prairie dogs close to property. Which was cool to see.

We were in site #12. We had Full hook- up with a gravel pull-through. We travel towing a 14 foot trailer and were able to fit both in our pull through site along with my jeep.

The site was easy to level.

Our site was not shaded with limited trees. This was a smaller lot with our neighbors very close.

The lot does not have a concrete patio or fire ring but has a picnic table.

It is an easy access to the campground from highway -(approximately 1 mile from highway).

There is free WiFi. They do not offer Cable TV but there are many channels.

They do not sell wood since fire burning is not permitted (only charcoal).

They do not provide garbage service at your site so you must walk to garbage dumpster (located through out the park).

You are allowed to ride personal golf carts. They do not provide golf cart rentals. There is really not a need to have a Golf cart because it is a smaller campground.

They do have a heated Swimming pool.

There is a Playground. There are not any additional play areas like Bocce ball, shuffleboard, basketball sport court, or volleyball courts.

They have a great general store. They sell limited food & alcohol as well.

The streets are gravel so not great for riding bikes. There is not really anywhere to ride bikes outside of campground.

They have cabins for rent and tent areas.

They have 2 shower houses. The shower house has the typical stalls. These are kept very clean.

There is a laundry facility. It is a cash only facility, but they have a change machine. There are approximately 6 washers and 3 large dryers. It is approximately $2 to wash and approximately $2 to dry a load.

They have two side-by-side fenced in dog parks.

There were no trails to hike in the campground.

Some fun things to do outside of the campground are Cadillac Ranch, Palo Duro Canyon state park (a must do - also stop at the Sad Monkey Mercantile for wine, beer, pizza) and Route 66 Motor Speedway (quite entertaining). The Texan Steak Ranch was delicious and a fun experience (reservations can be made on OpenTable). Also visit the Paramount Social Club (a speakeasy). This is located in the basement of the Barfield Hotel (pull the lever on the cigarette machine to access the secret door).

I stayed here for several days and had an absolute blast with my dog. Met several new friends who were all boon docking since the full hookup campsites were not done yet. I even took my GMC 2500 HD off roading which I had never done before. What an experience even though I couldn’t get off the beginners trails. They have truly fantastic views everywhere you look as it’s the “Grand Canyon of Texas.”  The staff is exceptional in every way. If you’re into off roading bring a true rock climber vehicle. This place is for you but it has walking paths also.

McDowell Campground is a pleasant little campground on the shore of Lake McClellan right in the middle of the Texas panhandle. Signs on the interstate direct you to the exit for the recreation area, but after that don't expect any other signage to help you find the campground, the only other sign you will get is the National Grasslands sign when you reach the area. Use your GPS or Google Maps to find you way and you will not have any trouble. After entering the Grassland do not take the first entrance you see on the left(dirt road leading to East Bluff#1 campground), but take the second paved entrance. Neither have a sign. The road is paved all the way to the campground. Once you turn off the main road their will be a road to the right which leads to the dump station. Just past this is a fork in the road with a sign for Lake McClellan. Take the road to the left for McDowell Campground, going to the right will take you to Lake McClellan Campground. Pay station will be on your right as you drive in.

This is a nice pleasant quiet campground next to the lake. A few campsites sit on the shore of Lake McClellan. Very nice wooded sites through out the campground. The campground has hook up sites with electric and water($15), and non-hookup sites($10). Two vault toilets serve the campground, located on each end. Each site has a picnic table and metal fire ring, some sites also include pedestal grills as well. All sites are nice and level. This is a very pleasant campground and located away from the ATV trails so should be quieter that the near by Lake McClellan Campground. If you want a hot shower then head over to Lake McClellan Campground. Only a few other campers were here mid week in October. In true Texas still a working oil well can be seen right at the edge of the campground.