Best Tent Camping near Palo Pinto, 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.

This place was amazing! The hiking is so much fun. You could spend days here and not hike all of the trails. There is also so much to do. The camp sites are very nice and quiet. We were tent camping during January and the bathrooms had heaters. The park rangers are always planning something new. We will definitely be back!

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.

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.

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.

I remember going here as a kid and going back some 20 years later the park doesn’t disappoint. With a new pavilion that hosts multiple picnic tables great for an afternoon lunch after visiting the track sites or swimming in the river. At the time that I visited camping still wasn’t open yet but there is tent camping sights set back from the main parking area. The property has multiple grills, picnic tables and even a pavilion that you can rent out with an outdoor fireplace that overlooks the river.

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.

This was our family’s first tent camping trip. We have two young kids (6 and 3), so we wanted to go somewhere with which we were already familiar.

Check-in was easy, the bathrooms and showers were very clean and in excellent condition. The sites are close, but not too close together, and it was very quiet (despite being full!). We felt very safe the entire time. At one point, our 3-year-old got sick (most likely due to the heat and over exertion); the park ranger on duty was so helpful.

It ended up being one of the hottest weekends in June and the tracks were not visible due to recent flooding, but we still had the best time. We still got to swim in the river, go hiking, and make a trip to Fossil Rim. Our kids were begging to go back as soon as we left! We’ll be back for sure.

"Dinosaurs may be extinct from the face of the Earth, but they are alive and well in our imaginations."

This Texas state parks is one of favorites. I have been quite a few times since I was a kid and it never gets old. It is just inside of Glen Rose, Texas, located along the Paluxy river. This park will bring out your inner child.

Let's start with the facilities. Sosome of the bathrooms are old, but they are well maintained even with all the traffic. This park gets very busy in the summer. So we tent camped but we stayed at an RC site because they don't have water only sites and with a 4 year old and my grandmother, I didn't want to have a walk-in (no bathrooms nearby) or a backpack site. There is quite a bit of shade around the campsites, and there are awesome playgrounds for children.

Now there are a LOT of trails. They will give you a map that is very helpful and let's you know where all of the track sites and overlooks are. The main track sites are along the river and are so cool see! There is also information things everywhere that tell you about the tracks that were excavated so make sure to check those out!

The one problem I had was that we went during a drought, so the river is very low and makes it hard to view some of the tracks, also swimming was a bust. So make sure you check the river advisory on their website to see what your getting into. Especially in the hotter months you definitely want to get in the river to cool off.

This place is larger than life, so make sure you plan your hikes beforehand. My favorite trail is the Buckeye trails. It is about 2 miles, so good for kids, and it is up through the woods. Lots of shade and variety in the path. Don't miss out on this adventure.

This is absolutely one of my favorite State Parks and campgrounds I’ve ever been to. I have been visiting this park & campground since I was a child. I’ve camped, tube rafted the river, played in the water, found all the dinosaur tracks (yes, real actual dinosaurs were here) and hiked all the trails numerous times. I have never had a bad experience here. Always lots to do and I end up finding at least one new thing every time I go. The campsites are pretty secluded by trees for privacy. They are clean, well maintained and each have a fire pit and picnic table. There are tent sites as well as full hook-up sites. The public restroom & showers are always clean & well kept. The absolute best thing about this place is that you can actually touch and stand on a REAL dinosaur track!!! There are signs explaining which dinosaur left each particular track and giving all the information about the individual dinosaur and the time frame they lived there. It’s really cool, even for an adult. The water is always clear and cool. There are several swimming “holes” that are very refreshing, one even has a cliff you can jump off of into it because it’s deep & safe. The hiking is superb, with nice groomed trails and beautiful scenery. Easy enough for children but still challenging enough for the adults due to the elevation changes. The outlooks are spectacular views. I see why the dinosaur’s chose to live there. The town of Glen Rose is right down the road and they have stores for anything you might’ve forgotten or need. Also, the town has several good restaurants if you want a night off from cooking. You can’t go wrong with this State Park & campground. I can’t find one negative thing about it. Pure Texas Perfection!!

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!

Best camping ground ever! Bathrooms and restrooms are newly remodeled, everything is clean and organized. Every camp spot has its own water source and electricity hookup, makes a huge difference at the hot Texas summer days and perfect for spending the nights not in a complete dark in case you’re using only a tent without a generator. The trails are great even in the Texan summer as many of them are beside the river where you can cool off. Highly recommended for families with kids all ages!

From website:

Find dinosaur tracks, camp, picnic, hike, mountain bike, swim, fish and paddle in the river, watch for wildlife, look for a geocache, ride your horse, or visit our interpretive center.

Stay at one of our campsites. Explore 20 miles of trails. Shop our park store for souvenirs, camping and fishing supplies, books and much more.

Discover dinosaur tracks It’s easy to find dinosaur tracks in the park – just head to the river!

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.

Primitive camping was a mike hike in. Once we got there camping was in a field with other tents and be careful cause voices carry. The park itself was fun. Loved being able to walk where dinosaurs left their footprints.

Great park and fun pool for the summer. Park offers activities. Facitllies were nice. Better as an RV site but we visited as tent campers - still enjoyed the trip. Nice location in Glen Rose across from Big Rocks in the river and near the square.

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!

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 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.