Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Mentone, TX

We actually stayed here for a week, part of relocating from Texas over to the desert for the winter. 

The Pros:

• Easy in and out.  You can actually just go right to the back of the gas station there and cut left, big entrance area, though going to the right of the Saloon and restaurant does put you going the right way for....

• Large, long spots.  Now, some have a cone in them, I'd guess some problem with one of the three hookups, but I don't know.  Some of them are also overgrown.

• Plenty of room, really.  This isn't a place people stay for long, being next to the highway, I would guess.  So when you're trying to "reserve" a spot on the phone, it'll pretty much be "just come on".

• During our stay we had reliable power and water, no issues.  Decent water pressure as well.  We did hit some freezing overnights so I just filled the tanks and we ran off that until we left.  I didn't actually hook up to the sewer at all.

• The onsite bar and restaurant isn't bad.

The Cons:

• Not really a problem for me, but you ARE next to a truck stop and a highway, but honestly, I didn't hear them really at all during the night unless I was listening for it.

• There was someone with loose dogs.  As a former traveling-with-dog RVer, that annoys me to a VERY great deal.  I don't know your dog, mine always seemed to get attacked.  Keep your dog on a leash, please.

• Again, not a problem for me, but the bar/restaurant is very right wing Republican.    F*** Biden flags, Trump Won, etc.  Just warning you.  The patrons and staff didn't say or do anything untoward, but if this kind of stuff bothers you and you're easily offended, just be aware.

• It took me second time to realize that my chicken fried steak wasn't just awesomely tender, but rather I'm pretty sure it was hamburger.  The batter and gravy was good, really, all the food was good.  (Though we did feel a little ripped off at 5 or 6 small onion rings for $6.99.)   There is a great Mexican restaurant in town (as much as there is any town to Balmorhea), too, be sure to check hours and such.  It's called La Cueva de Oso.

A must stop at this unique place in west Texas. Beautiful sunsets and well kept campground.

We loved staying here for a night on our drive through West Texas, the perfect midway stopping point. This state park is a nice natural respite from the noise and lights of oil country and towns. 

Easy pull-through sites and well-maintained bathrooms. Sunsets and sunrises here are stunning. Feels like you're in a foreign desert.

I stayed here five nights in site number three, which is a pull through and a great view of the windmill and the day use parking lot.. In January, it gets pretty cold at night around freezing, but warmed up nicely every day. One day was so windy. It was rocking my fifth wheel like it's never rocked before. Yes, I live alone. It was very quiet with little noise from I 20. I did hear a train whistle, but then you can hear a train whistle just about everywhere in the entire state of Texas in the morning. I did see very small prints in the freshly blown sand. Watch out for rodents getting into your RV.

Guy was nice even though we parked in the wrong area, price was good,

This park has all the bad qualities of a KOA. The sites are crammed together with barely enough room for a table between the rows. No fires here. Traffic as expected on a Friday was busy. The managers(owners?) line everybody up from sites 1 through 11 in a row. Close to 200 sites in this park and ALL the short term stays are in this row. I can see acres of sites across the park with many vacancies but they are not used. Theres a community center right across the street and a bar with a band making their presence heard till after dark, but not louder than my Youtube. The laundry has one(1) working wash machine. By 9:30 Saturday the whole row from my site NE(5-11) was empty again. Price is good as an Escapee,$30. The whole park is a typical high desert natural gravel parking lot with some trees, chain link fences and the pedestals demarcating the travel lanes which are plenty wide for the biggest RVs. I was offered site 11 on the very end so no one would billboard my view but I decided I would stick it out just one night with neighbor within spitting distance. I wonder(worry) that the rest of the weekend could be just as disruptive. Turns out I had the place mostly to myself the whole time I was there We camped at Tra-Park RV Park- Escapees Rainbow Park in a Fifth Wheel.

You can pay at the courthouse or just see the county commissioner who works at the maintenance shed at the park.

We stayed one night, on our way to Big Bend from Dallas. Great “no frills” stopping point. Easy to miss the turn in but I’m sure there will be a sign soon. Very new and still being developed. It’s a big rock parking lot with full hookups. Helpful host. Close to Monahans Sand Hills State Park where you can sand sled!

The air is so dry and it's so far from light pollution that the milky way reaches down and embraces you at night time. I have never seen the stars so bright, and so purple a swath of contrasting colors in the midnight sky.

Some of my best photos of our road trip happened here at this state park. But it was one of my least favorite places to camp. Just because of the sand. But that is what you get when you camp at a place called Sandhills.

The sites are pretty close together and there is nothing to break up the view between you and the other sites. Covered picnic tables but if it's windy, the sand is everywhere. Also when it's hot out the sand just adds to the temps.

Now on the plus side, the sunsets and sunrises are amazing. Because of the sand you get clear views of the horizon.

There was a lack of wildlife, matter of fact we saw zero critters.

Monahans was a blessing on our trip down to a different park near El Paso. It is in the Midland/Odessa area and should not be missed!!!! We stopped there in September and there were sunflowers EVERYWHERE! It was the most amazing site considering that there is sand covering most of the park! Be forewarned, sand gets into everything while your camping here so come prepared! And don’t miss out on the Sand Dune sledding!!!! It was such a treat! The hike up is a little hard (and if it’s super hot wear closed toe shoes so you don’t burn your feet!) but the ride down is a blast! High recommendation! And, the bathrooms were clean :)

If you have a problem with everything you own being covered in sand, this may not be the best place. Lots of birds and wildlife. Very hard to set up tents unless you get those paddles they use in snow camping. During the summer you will need the spf 50. If the wind is blowing it will get dusty. Lots of photography opportunities. You can hear the traffic on I20 at night in a tent. Expect to be visited by skunks and raccoons.

It gets very cold in the winter, which was terrible when tent camping but the sand dunes were a unique experience and we would’ve stayed longer if we could have. There’s a drop box for late arrivals and it isn’t busy in winter at least. The sand is very hand to stake into, you will need extra long stakes and a good technique.

My friends and I made a short stay at Monahans Sandhills State Park on our way to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. We made a reservation online because we knew that we would be arriving late considering that we were leaving after work at 6pm and out drive would be at least 5 hours. It is possible to pick up supplies or eat in the town of Ozona or Fort Stockton.

Upon our arrival, it was fairly easy to find our assigned campsite because all of the campsites appear to be located along a loop road.

Each campsites has water and electric hookups. There are also a sun shade, picnic table and grill. The bathroom was located a short distance from our campsite and contained sinks, toilets and showers. 

The main attraction of this park is definitely the sandhills. One can explore the sandhills freely, but I think that it might be a good idea to not venture too far from the main campground unless you are familiar with desert navigation or are equipped with a GPS. One can walk up the sandhills, roll down the sandhills or just stand in awe within them. I was surprised to find a variety of flowers thriving amongst the sandhills. How does that happen?

There are not any marked or designated trails at this park. There are not many facilities or activities to do. The main attraction is the sand, the sandhills and the sunrises. Even though our stay was short, I really enjoyed staying at this park and watching the sunrise in the morning.

This was a great place to stop on our roadtrip out West! We have actually been here twice, it's so convenient and right off I20 near Odessa! The workers are so friendly and we all five loved sand surfing!! There are pull through sites with electric/water hookups, picnic table, fire ring, grill and a shade shelter! There is also a bathhouse with showers and restrooms! So much fun, don't pass it by!

**UPDATE: We have been here 4 times now! Always great!!!

Great place to stop. I would feel safe here as a woman traveling by myself. The showers and bathrooms were clean and really convenient. We camped in a tent here for a couple nights and really enjoyed the place.