Best Tent Camping near Rusk, TX

Tent Camping Reviews near Rusk, TX

205 Reviews of 7 Rusk Campgrounds

• 

  Napunani

  Legend

  Jun. 27, 2022

  Tyler State Park Campground

  One of our Texas Favs

  PROS 

  Texas State Park Pass discount saving $49 

  Reserved 151 days prior to arriving 

  Not charged a fee to make my own on-line reservation 

  Big Pine site #308 very shady site 

  Extra wide asphalt parking pad 

  Concrete slab that locked down the wooden picnic table 

  Metal fire pit with cooking grate which was cleared of ash upon our arrival 

  2 hook lantern pole 

  Dark sky friendly 

  Trash dumpsters near the toilet/shower building 

  Tyler Rose Garden features over 30,000 bushes and is open free to the public from sunrise to sunset…very beautiful and serene 

  CONS 

  Had to sweep for nearly an hour to clean debris from site 

  No entrance gate locked overnight 

  Never saw any rangers patrolling campground during our entire stay 

  Dogs on leashes not enforced 

  Unable to move picnic table 

  Big Pine site #308 way out of being level but manageable 

  Big Pine site #308 close to campground road 

  Big Pine site #308 tight fit for 28 ft 

  Only pine firewood for sale in Park 

  No WiFi 

  1 bar Verizon 5G

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• 

  Adam H.

  Guide

  Jan. 10, 2019

  Neches Bluff Overlook Campground

  quiet and very primitive

  There's not much to this campground, although it is very beautiful with enormous loblolly pines. This is a primitive campsite. There's no water, no electricity, not bathrooms, etc. Just an area you can use to set up tents or hammocks. We met a nice older fella who said he comes there every day and builds a fire at dusk, stays for a little bit, then leaves.

  We bikes from the Ratcliff Recreational Area and we had to cache water.

• 

  David T.

  Guide

  Feb. 9, 2020

  Alazan Bayou

  Good camping area

  At least 14 sites with picnic tables on concrete slabs. Fire rings and Lantern poles. Very well kept and mowed. There is a loafing barn for horses. No bathrooms or water. Would be a 5 with just water. You need a Texas parks Limited use permit. It costs as little as $12 a year. If you want to fish or hunt the price goes up a little. Can be used to stay at any National Forest or Wild Management area.

• 

  Napunani

  Legend

  Nov. 18, 2021

  Tyler State Park Campground

  Great Lakeside Campsite

  Reserved on-line 153 days prior to arrival. 

  Pros 

  Area 2 campground night sky friendly with good dark sky viewing

  Site 211 has fantastic views of the lake

  Mid afternoon Sunday check in at entrance station very busy but processed quickly Utility hookups in good condition 

  Sites with grass neatly maintained 

  Campground mostly quiet except for Interstate 20 traffic noise 

  Showers were individual entry on opposite side of the building from the toilets 

  Campsite and entrance fee discount with Texas State Park Pass 

  Not charged a fee to make my own on-line reservation 

  EXXON station directly outside of State Park sold oak firewood 25 pieces for $20 

  Cons 

  Raccoons very aggressive and tried to take food that we were eating from our hands!!! Area 2 Lakeview sites require leveling side-to-side 

  Area 2 campsite parking pads are narrow with trees and large boulders close to parking pad. 

  ery narrow roadway in Area 2 with limited space to maneuver into backin sites. 

  One pull-thru site was so tight to the roadway, their trailer was partially on the road! Area 2 campground sites have no privacy from any other camp sites 

  Site 211 table, fire pit with cooking grate and lantern pole are located opposite side of the trailer door 

  Area 2 restroom/shower building serves 58 campsites and it shows it! Restroom facility badly needing some TLC, cleaning and maintenance Women’s restroom had 3 toilets and 2 sinks; men’s had 2 toilets and 1 urinal 

  Firewood for sale in Area 2 was only pine wood

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• 

  Heather S.

  Traveler

  Apr. 27, 2025

  Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area

  Convenient. Clean enough. But underwhelmed.

  We came to tent camp and wanted to be on a lake shoreline. We stayed at #11 on Lakeside Loop.

  The positive:

  • The tent pad was nice and level and the site was very roomy (we had a tent & canopy) with tons more room to stretch out.

  • We were about 200 yards from the bathroom facilities and about 30 feet from potable water for washing up.

  • The traffic was minimal because it’s off the main road, and would have been peaceful if the group of campers at #9 had been courteous and acknowledged quiet hours.

  • We had incredible weather with a wonderful steady breeze.

  Negatives:

  • We did have a lake view, but the shoreline is so incredibly overgrown making it difficult to fish. Lots of rotted wood and brush blocks a great deal of the view and access.

  • The burn circle had a grate welded at an angle to the top, so it couldn’t really be used for building up a big fire or cooking.

  • No one drove around/checked to make sure visitors are keeping to the quiet hours, which meant we were kept awake until about 12:30 am from yelling and loud music.

  • The restrooms, while near, had not been cleaned before we arrived—toilet paper on the floors and in the shower area with lots of dead june bugs and spiders on the floor the whole weekend.

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• 

  Heidi R.

  Guide

  May. 31, 2018

  Martin Creek Lake State Park Campground

  Screened Shelter - BEST EVER! and oddly, no mosquitoes !?

  There are many options to camp at this state park. There’s RV sites, tent sites (both primitive and “cushy”), cabins, cottages and screened shelters. my past experience with screened shelters were always dusty, dank, spider-filled shacks that I would only store my cooler and belongings in (tightly sealed) but these at Martin Creek were IMMACULATE to say the least! They seem cob-webby from the outside but once inside, the concrete floor is smoother up the edges of the walls about 2.5’, reducing entry of insects via cracks in the joints of floor and wall. The park employees vacuum these areas, as observed when I passed others that had recently vacated. The rafters in these shelters were spaced out far enough for me to hang my hammock. 4 people slept inside without air mattresses or camp pads and slept wonderfully (flat surfaces are good for our spines sometimes) not a big in sight. There is an electrical outlet inside as well as a light, and there is an outlet outside as well. Small lock on inside, watr spigot and doIble lantern hook nearby as well as a wooden/metal picnic table (good condition). I slept in Shelter #6 and it was a few yards away from the water’s edge. Great views of a small lilly-pad laced bay and we caught 7 catfish using normal nightcrawlers as bait. Fried them up for lunch the next day and they tasted like heaven! But, everything tastes better when you’re camping. We had also set up 4 tents around the area (not disturbing local flora/fauna) and we slept to the deafening croaks of frogs. Only 1 raccoon came upon our camp area to a spot where someone had thrown a corn cob, otherwise, we take all the necessary steps to avoid crossing paths with those relentless nighttime furry bandits. Shelters 7-9 are also located in great areas of the lake nearby, there is the power plants across the lake and for some reason, we like to believe that it was the reason we had ZERO mosquitoes! Many house flies and the non-biting ants were everywhere but not to the point of insanity... they list this ant as an issue on their website I do believe. I’d take this shelter over a hotel stay ANY TIME!

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• 

  Missy S.

  Scout

  Apr. 26, 2019

  Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area

  Quier, beautiful space to relax.

  The campground is located in the Davy Crockett National Forest, with spots located around the edges of a small lake. Although we could occasionally hear noise from the highway, it was mostly peaceful and quiet. The campgrounds are spacious, with tent platforms, poles to hang trash, and large picnic tables. The bathrooms were amazingly clean and with camp hosts and park rangers on site, we always had help with anything we needed. We hiked and kayaked (with our own boats) and it was all just lovely. I would go back for sure!

• 

  Chantyl

  Traveler

  Mar. 14, 2024

  Rusk Depot Campground

  Family trip

  First & foremost, This park is not well-maintained, and the camping sites are right off of the highway. The splash pad does not work, and the bath house was terribly dirty and freaked of sewage. The group sites are basically a big parking lot- zero grass space between site numbers, although there is shared grass areas along the rows. We moved site numbers within the group sites so that our kids would not be playing right beside the highway (there is a gate, however it’s still concerning), and to slightly distance ourselves from the traffic noise. Beware there is also a large wedding venue directly across the highway & our kids were woken to the sounds of fireworks at night on the weekend. There were large fire ant mounds all along the concrete, and we had to purchase fire ant killer ourselves, as well as deal with some broken glass & the trash can for our site that wasn’t emptied before our stay. I spoke with the staff member working in the office and all she could say was “i will let management know.”

  As far as the good: we had 6 kids and 4 adults staying, so despite the concerns and annoyances, we still were able to relax enough and enjoy our break from the daily grind. The kids played outside all day- making walking sticks, fishing a lot, catching bugs (spotted some really neat moths, too), and making up games.

  The best: the nearly-daily trains coming right through the campground for various reasons (loading new cars or taking passengers on a local trip). My son is an avid train-lover and this was the main reason we booked our stay here.

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• 

  James_TrueZoneCoaching

  Guide

  Sep. 19, 2021

  Tyler State Park Campground

  Great camping 2 hours from Dallas

  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.

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