Best Tent Camping near McClellan Creek National Grassland

I had passed through the Texas panhandle so many times on my bi-yearly drives to Scottsdale Arizona from central Illinois, but had not stopped at this park until June of 2017. I found this on the Internet and having been to the Grand Canyon several times I wanted to compare it to this one.

The canyon is amazing and I saw a wild boar, a roadrunner, an armadillo, 7 turkey's and 2 white tail deer. In the morning after spending just one night here. It cost $16 for a site with no electricity and I reserved it online for another $4. The tent campsites all have covered pavilion structures that shade the picnic table and many people hang hammocks in them. There are fire pits with grates and porto potty's that were disgusting, so I dug a cat hole in the morning, which was a much better option. I tent camped and intended to hike some after my long day driving, but was held up in a two hour traffic jam making the hike impossible before dark. The people I found having a Birthday party in my campsite said the hiking is great here and treated me to a hamburger, a beer ( not allowed ), some great conversation and a piece of Birthday cake.

The RV campsites had shower houses and much better restrooms, so if I return here with my wife I will spring for the more deluxe campsite. I was in awe of the scenery in this canyon but surprised by the lack of groundskeeping, restroom maintenance and park management not knowing what people were doing in the campgrounds. Although I found 10 people in my reserved campsite after driving all day, I made the most of it and was happy I met this group of people.

Unexpected beautiful canyon in northern Texas! Beautiful views and clean, well maintained tent sites! Many trails walking distance from your camp and shared water spigots near sites. Come for the canyon and stay for Texas the musical! That exceeded my expectations too!

Beautiful campground down a windy road. Tent site doesn't get much of the expansive views, but it is much easier to set up shade shelters. Beware of the heat, even when headed into fall. Pleasant morning temperatures don't last long.

Great little campground circle inside Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

Sites have water and electric hook up with a dump station nearby.

This state park is massive with many campgrounds to choose from. You really can’t go wrong with any of them. Some are great for RV’s, some are better for tent camping!

Nice visitors center and camp store nearby.

I went last summer and the campsites were nice with a covered area, tent site, table, and firepit. However, there was no controlling the noise of nearby campers. Quiet time wasn't enforced and there wasn't a number to call to get someone out there, so there was a group partying loudly until midnight. Made it incredibly difficult to sleep.

Excellent tent camping location inside Palo Duro Canyon. Winter camping is excellent here. The temps were really cold, but no bugs and no sweating made for a great Thanksgiving trip.

There is a nearby camp store with a simple menu restaurant. The also rent propane fire pits sonde there is usually always a burn ban.

Lots of nearby hiking trails. This campground is very close to the popular and usually full Trailhead for the Lighthouse.

You have a lot of campground variety options. Some campgrounds can handle giant monster RVs and have hookups while others are tent only and then you have group and hike in sites.

The tent sites are drive up and have tables and fire rings, some areas have (shaded tabled, which you may need because it's pretty open) You have some water nearby, but depending on which campground you're at you might want to make sure and pack it in.

This also goes for restrooms and showers, as they are not everywhere....

Location: You’ll probably not stumble across this location. It’s remote and you’ll need to be looking for it to find it. Once we arrived the flat farmland opens up before you into an amazing canyon. The first time you descend into the park it is breathtaking and a huge change from up on the rim. summer trips can be extremely hot and winter trips can be extremely cold, it may seem obvious, but temperatures in Texas are usually on the warmer side for the seasons.

Campsites: The sites are broken up into standard RV sites and tent sites with no access to sewer for the RVs. The tent sites are standard car camping sites with a pull-in at each site for your vehicle. Depending on the terrain you may be close to other sites. They also offer cabins on a few sites that were built in the 1930s by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp). They have been fitted with window AC units and microwaves. It is a single room with full sized bunk beds. The fireplaces rely on airflow in the cabin to ensure the smoke goes outside rather than filling the cabin. Instructions for building fires appropriately are provided.

Activities: There are a lot of hiking trails for various skill levels. Mt. Biking is great fun in the canyon as well. We have been on several of the trails. They are all relatively short at around 4 miles round trip. They do offer back country hiking and camping, but you’ll want some experience before attempting that in this area. There are many great rock formations to explore, but you could get lost quickly if you go off trail.

My husband and i were here in late august,2018 and the flies and bugs were so awful we could do nothing outside at our campsite. The tent campsite was poor compared to others. The bathrooms were horrible, no hot water in the shower, no water pressure, and simply nasty, not sure when they had been cleaned. The views are amazing and the hike we completed was challenging due to the heat (108). We recommend coming in spring or late fall.

If you are looking for lots of hiking and mountain biking in the beautiful Texas panhandle.  2nd largest canyon in the U.S.  Great amenities and a well cared for state park.  We spent 5 days there and still didn't get to cover all the trails and sights.  Plan to go back.  We went in April to beat the heat, but it was still pretty warm on the trails, near 90 in the days and high 50's at night.  Next trip will be likely in the fall (October-ish).  All the trails warn to bring water and they mean it!  Lots of wildlife; deer, hogs, numerous birds, reptiles.  Sudden storms can pop up and bring quick winds and rain, so be prepared!  Sites are large, but not isolated from each other (not many trees), so be ready for some openness.  Flat pads with good water and electric.  There are numerous primitive tent sites and some pack-in sites as well.  Park store is run by a 3rd party vendor, so Texas Parks pass doesn't give you discount, but the store is large and has bistro-type eating.

This campground is only .5 miles from the park. It was really convenient. It’s pretty basic but sufficient. There are bathrooms in a hard sided building next to the store. I was car/tent camping and when I reserved online I booked site 3, however when you receive your welcome email it explains that all the field area around the RV pads are open for camping so choosing a stir is not necessary unless you’re in an RV.

They have tiny cabins that looked nice and we’re occupied. The grounds are very dark at night, could use some security lamps.

Wind coming off the canyon is STRONG, keep that in mind when you choose your site.

Has some really nice views of the canyon and I saw some deer roaming around the camps.

There is not a lot of shade, I found the only tree and claimed it.

It’s a good spot!

We visited Palo Duro the week after the Winter Apocalypse and I think because of that, the park was a lot less crowded than usual.  It was our first trip in an RV, so we weren't sure what to expect.  (We normally back country tent-camp and are used to a bit more space.)  We booked Sagebrush site 126, and we drive into the campgrounds, we're literally the only people there.  We plug in, get settled, enjoy the gorgeous views from inside the canyon.  There's a nice structure for each campsite over a picnic table, and a fire ring (which we couldn't use due to the burn ban.)  Not 10 minutes after we get set up, a ginormous RV pulls in right next to us.  The way that the sites are set up, our site was facing their picnic table directly, and there was no barrier between our site and theirs.  Some of the sites closer to the entrance of the campgrounds had more privacy, but then you have the lights of the general store to contend with.  We moved around night-to-night, based on the most peaceful section of the campgrounds, and I think because it was so deserted that week, the authorities never gave us any trouble.  Overall the park is absolutely gorgeous and we went on some wonderful hikes.  Highly recommend!!! [But don't stay in site 126 if you like privacy :) )

Wow, this place is incredible! It’s a state park but could easily qualify as a National Park based on the natural beauty and park programs. This is a major state park with hundreds of camping sites for all levels of camping from large RVs to simple tent campers. The canyon is huge on covers hundreds square miles. It’s about a one day drive from Austin and located near Amarillo in the Texas Plains. This area can get very cold in the winter and extremely hot in the summer. The campgrounds are down in the canyon which is normally hotter. We visited in July on the way back from Colorado. It was 93 degrees at 10pm at night. So tent campers need to plan carefully. They have some of the Best facilities for a state park. The amphitheater is very popular and puts on great programs. We canyons are breathtaking and the red variations of the canyon walls are fantastic for artists and photographers alike. The visitors center staff were very helpful and were able to accommodate a couple of special request. They are open until 9pm which is great. The restrooms and other facilities are some of the best we have experienced. The hiking trails here are a highlight and popular for hiking and mountain biking. We saw eagles and roadrunners during our stay. The area has some interesting history and worth learning more. I would highly recommend for those looking for a campsite in Northern Texas near Amarillo. This has to be one of the best Texas State Parks on our list.

Our primitive campsite was a dream! It had a covered picnic table which actually was much appreciated in the Texas heat & in the spontaneous Texas thunderstorms. There were no trees at our site, so we hung hammocks from the posts of the pavilion. The ground was a little uneven, but the tent was still stable. Watch out though; that red Palo Duro dirt will get on everything! The park itself is amazingggg. We drove ten hours just to come for two days & it was 100% worth it. Going in July though meant that the weather was insanely hot. When the storm hit, we were grateful for the lower temperature! The Lighthouse trail was long & so so hot, but getting to see the rock formations was incredible. This place compares to any national park!

We camped one night here on our way to Colorado over Labor Day weekend and I’m SO glad we did! We stayed at the tent only campground, Cactus Camp, and it was perfect - short walk or quick drive to the Mesquite camp bathrooms & showers. It was hot during the day of course but for the beginning of September, it was surprisingly cool and comfortable at night! The stars at night, were big and bright... We hiked Rock Garden just before sunset and woke up at 5:30am to hike the Lighthouse Trail for sunrise (highly recommend getting an early start for coolers temps and an awesome sunrise at the lighthouse!). If you’re visiting Texas or have lived here your whole life, this is a bucket list state park! Go ahead and add it to yours :)

Campground Review: Palo Duro Canyon State Park is approximately 20 miles east of Canyon, TX, which is a moderately populated city that gives you access to fuel and other necessities, if you happen to forget something. We stayed at the Sagebrush Camp Area, which ended up being perfect for our group. As we had the maximum number of people on our campsite, we needed more space for vehicles (which you can see from the photos had two of our roof top tents on them). The reason for our visit was predominately for mountain biking and hiking, and while the hiking was good (not great like Big Bend or multiple place in Colorado), the mountain biking was top shelf. The trails were mostly well maintained single track, offering options for both the new and experienced rider. Tip: At the entrance to the Hackberry Camp Area, there is an entrance/exit to one of the best MB trails in the park. It doesn't appear on the map and runs all the way back to Mack Dick pavilion.

We visited during Memorial Day, and the temperatures were just about perfect. A little warmer than we would have liked during the day, but the temperatures fell rapidly after sunset, which allowed us to sleep comfortably. Tip: If you're not used to West Texas weather, you need to be prepared for the occasional night time wind storm.

Overall, this is a must-do in Texas. I would hands-down recommend Big Bend before Palo Duro, but Palo Duro is 100% worth the trip.

Gear Review: I received the HellaGood Belmont Blanket through TheDyrt.com gear review program, and put it good use during our trip to Palo Duro. After "ordering" the blanket, it was promptly shipped and arrived at my doorstep in just a few days. After opening, you could tell immediately that Belmont was trying to do things a little different. The blanket rolls down to a nice size, comes with a leather retaining strap that can be used to keep the blanket in a storable form, and also has a small riveted hanging strap (perfect!). Once you open the blanket up, you can get a feel for the quality, and type, of fabric that was used. The outer layer is a full shell-type 100% waterproof material, which feels soft to the touch and sturdy, while the liner is a soft fleece. The construction is straight forward and appears to be bombproof.

We ended up using the blanket quite a bit at night around the fire, in our ENO hammock, and in our roof top tent. Around the fire, and in the cool mornings, the blanket was perfect, light and comfortable. In the roof top tent, we used the blanket as an extra layer; starting off with the Belmont Blanket, then adding layers as the night cooled. Where the blanket really shined was in the hammock. Once you got settled in the hammock, you could throw the Belmont Blanket on top of your sleeping bag as a waterproof layer, either for the morning due, or any unannounced showers. My only critique of the blanket is that, due to the materials used to make it waterproof, it feels like you're wearing a giant technical shell. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just a bit different that I'm used to.

Overall, after using, we'll definitely be keeping the Belmont Blanket in the truck. Either as a light blanket, an emergency rain shell, or as an addition to our camping supplies, it makes sense to keep this thing around. If you're interested in the blanket, you can check it out over at the Belmont Blanket website.

Some of the other camping areas seemed less spacious and private, but we really liked our site in the tent-only Cactus Campground. It had a shade shelter, a picnic table, and a dirt tent pad. There was also a fire ring with a grill grate, but a burn ban was in place. The water faucet was just across the street and there were clean restrooms (with hot showers) up the road at the next campground. Even with some light pollution from town, the stars were beautiful.

We only stayed for two nights--not nearly enough to explore this incredible park. We're hoping to go back before it gets too warm.

your choice of camping areas, tent, camper and primitive outback hiking . Lots of trails, slots to find. I’ve been several times and have never seen it over crowded.

I stayed here in college back in 2013 during a class trip to Palo Duro and absolutely enjoyed it. Great hiking trails. The place we camped was nice. It was a group campground, but the only bad thing that happened during the trip was the wind picked up at night and nearly blew a few of our tents away. Some people couldn't sleep in their tents any longer and moved to our group van we drove out to Palo Duro. The next morning, the wind had died down, and I took a little morning hike to enjoy the sunrise. Definitely a great time. My friends and I used a Dutch oven to make some apple pie at the campground.

The scenery is spectacular top notch amazing. Must be seen to be believed. It was cold (being December) and the stars shone so clear and bright.

The sites in Hackberry are difficult for newer people to back into, with narrow roads and angled sites with trees and bollards aplenty. Major frustration here. There were some pull through sites but all were marked reserved— however maybe only one was actually even occupied. Perhaps COVID related but perhaps not.

There were tent campers in many of the sites. Deer were eating their food. Several tent campers had large dogs that were roaming loose.

Bathrooms smell due to being some sort of unusual plumbing (no sewer) but are recently remodeled (no mirrors installed yet). We winter camped and they were very warm and with hot clean showers.

Steep grade of 10% to enter the park itself. No full hookups.

There are three different camping units to the park. Dry camping on one side of the dry lake. Two sections for camping on the other side of the lake RV section for OHV traffic. And then a tent RV section on the other side. Only one full bathroom with showers the rest are pet toilets. The upper campground is quite charming you need to know the lake is dry though and has been for quite a while.