Best Tent Camping near Salt Flat, TX

The tent camping sites are all private making it a very peaceful experience! The views are beautiful with access to several hiking trails. There are vault toilets at the tent sites with flush toilets at the rv lot. There are no other facilities but if you are looking for remote primitive camping this is a great option!

Visiting Guadalupe national park was very surprising, after finding out that no reservations are required to camp I was a little worried that the location was going to packed but going in the middle of February it was just right. The tent camping side has a total of 19 tent sites which have benches as well as a prepared area for your tent which was nice the site had a bathroom nearby and trash cans very close to every site. The rv side had multiple spots for rvs (didn't count the spaces) but outside of the parking lot were flush toilets and a dish washing station, the trail heads were right by the parking lot so very convenient.

The trail the main trail guadalupe peak was breath taking (literally) the climb up takes about a 2 and half hours but the view up top is amazing! My only complaint of this place is that the amount of trails is lacking (only about 5) and after a day or two your pretty much done but if your in the are the hike up top is unbeatable.

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As other reviewers have noted, the RV sites are basically a parking lot. I was able to get one on the outskirts so I had stunning views. The tent sites appear to be spaced nicely. All sites require reservations. The visitor center and trailhead rangers were very friendly and helpful. This is very wild Texas.

Clean basic amenities. We used a RV site with our Campervan. The RV site could be more charming (it is basically a parking lot). Prefer the tent site.

The tent sites are clustered together near the vault toilet (smelly) and they are all walk in sites. Only tents are allowed in this area. The RV parking lot is by flush toilets and sink area. No tents are allowed. The flies were terrible! It is really hot right now and shade is limited.

Stayed here nights 1 and 2 of a road trip and had zero problems with the site. Tent camped both nights and made it pretty far back in 2WD Ford Fusion with low clearance so if you're just looking for a great spot to post up for Guadalupe Mountains National Park or Carlsbad Caverns National Park, this is it.

Campers should know that despite being small and “unknown” this campground fills up without warning. The pit toilets are NOT smelly and there is a water source. You will need to hike a short distance in to your tent site but it is totally worth it!

This is a great campground if you have an RV, or are car camping. There isn't much privacy, and very little cell signal (Verizon). Other carriers reported better on Recreation.gov. Great for one night, but if I was to stay here longer, I'd prefer the tent sites.

The place is amazing. Awesome views.

The sign says only camping in designated spots, so no side camps.

There's 6 RV spots and 6 tent sites.

The road getting in is really rough. I did fine with my 32ft fifth wheel. I came in at 8mph. It's rough with embedded rocks.

General: small campground (four “RV” sites and nine tent sites (plus one group tent site). Access is remote (only one 60-mile paved option and one 30-mile dirt road alternative) so you need to make sure you have filled up with gas in Carlsbad as there are no services within many miles of the campground. No cell reception at all (not unexpected). Be aware that the park is on mountain time but close enough to the central time zone border that your smartphone/watch may not display the correct time!

Site Quality: The “RV” sites are just a gravel parking lot. Each site has a picnic table and while the sites are spaced a decent amount of distance apart, there is no physical separation between the sites. No hookups. The tent sites are walk-in. 

Bathhouse: We were expecting a pit toilet in such a remote location but there is one men’s and one women’s bathroom with a flush toilet and sink. They were very clean. Soap dispensers but no paper towels. Although there was no hot water, the restrooms were heated, which was a nice bonus. 

Activities: There is a .6-mile nature trail and several more challenging hiking trails. There was a horse corral behind the RV sites, but we did not see any horses while there. About 25 miles away is Sitting Bull Falls, a spring-fed waterfall that is a nice side trip. 

We camped here because we were not able to get reservations in the other more popular campground in Guadalupe Mountains NP. Access between the two sides of the park is long (about 60 miles) so while this was a nice, comfortable campground, it is not easy to get to.

We got here as the bins were being emptied. Very well maintained. Each spot has a shaded picnic table and grill. Limited spots though, 6 RV sites and 6 tent sites. We got the last spot when we got here, so it can be full even on a weekday. RV sites are all pull-through.

We first pulled up to the main campground and ranger station. The bathrooms were very dirty and not well kept. The campground for rv’s was just a parking lot. I held out hope for this campground and after a 2hr drive it was another parking lot for rv’s. Right next to each other. Luckily after the first night everyone else left and we were there all by ourselves until that night. Tent camping looked nicer.

Decent level sites for the tents off one loop with the RV off to another loop (i like that you're not surrounded by an RV when in your tent). The tent sites are much nicer than the parking lot for the RVs. Sites are decently spaced out with your normal table and fire ring, you then also have nice clean restrooms and potable water. You're right up against the Guadalupe Mountains which are a wonderful sight.

Late December

Stayed 1 night in camper van. Tent sites were full so stayed in RV parking lot. Sites were painted lines on the concrete but big enough to have some space to yourself if you park correctly. Had a couple more secluded sites tucked in the corner. Free water pump, no electric. Bathrooms and dish station conveniently located. Trailheads in parking lot. Great location and $15. Would stay again

I stayed at the Pine Spring campground before hiking to Guadalupe Peak over Thanksgiving weekend. I got one of the last campsites so be sure to arrive early as they are first come, first serve. The campground is great and there is sufficient spacing between tent sites to allow you to have some privacy. There are minimal facilities but there are water spigots near the road and composting toilets. There is a bathroom with flush toilets near the RV parking including an area where you can wash your dishes. I highly recommend visiting the park and the hike to Guadalupe Peak is a must!

This National Park is a gem for its rugged beauty and isolation. The “campground” is a paved parking lot conveniently located at the head of several trails in the park. The parking lot can accommodate cars up to larger RV’s in the pull through spots. There are envelopes located in 2 different locations. The kiosk by the restrooms are for the campground and the kiosk by the trail head are for the trail. You have to pay for access to the trails, but if you pay for camping, then you’re good. When I camped here there was a park ranger on site. There are also tent camp sights adjacent to the parking lot campground. Quiet camping under beautiful starry skies with awesome hiking!

Only 20 minutes from Carlsbad Caverns NP and about 30 minutes from Carlsbad NM! Slaughter canyon trail is 20 minutes down the same road the campsite is on. This is a great spot off the highway. You can hear some noise throughout the night. Also, it can be noisy if neighbors are loud.

The area is a fenced-in level gravel lot with pit toilets, trash, picnic table sites, and tent sites. Each site has a grill and campfire area with a covered picnic table. Sites fill up quickly, but there are plenty of spots to park next to the fence. Easy to get here with any kind of camper (RV, trailer, ect). Views are great, and the area is maintained well.

The campground allows five consecutive nights of camping. Verizon service was good!

Just like others have said, the RV camping is a parking lot. But when we were there in mid September, there only maybe 6 or 7 "RVs" camping. Most of the traffic was people parking for the trail head. Speaking of trails, the hiking from this campground is spectacular! Guadalupe peak was the trail everyone came to do, but there are multiple others that are just as beautiful. On those trails we were the only people our hiking. There is a nice restroom facility and potable water. You cannot hook your RV up to the water pump so bring a large jug to help fill up your water tank if needed. There is also a water bottle filler in the restroom building. The tent camping area is nice, with defined sites, not a parking lot 😉 You can run your generator until 8pm, although not many did. It cools down in the evening in mid September which was good for sleeping. There is no dump station. The views from the campground are great and the sunrise and sunset light is phenomenal.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is seriously underrated. And their developed campground, Pine Springs, is a gem in the NPS.

Pine Springs is located near the visitor center and main hub of the park, making it a great base camp for epic day hikes in the park.

When we first arrived at the park, we felt adventurous and got a backcountry permit (free) for several overnights we planned to do throughout the park. However, since there is no road running up and over the huge ridge, and most of the trails don’t easily connect, we quickly realized that our plans would require a lot of hauling our packs up and down 3,000-foot elevations changes and camping in sub-freezing temperatures each day. Our first night was spent up along the ridge in the “Bowl,” but our other three nights were spent in Pine Springs.

Pine Springs checked off most of our requirements for an awesome campsite: cheap (only $8/night for a tent site), close to the highlights (the classic Guadalupe Peak trail leaves from the parking lot) and scenic, spacious sites (check, check). Amenities were the basic flush toilets and picnic tables, but for the cost, that was more than understandable.

There is a lot the Guadalupe Mountains offers, including the hikes we mentioned: The Bowl loop, Guadalupe Peak (highest point in Texas!), McKittrick Canyon hiking, and some of the greatest sunsets of our entire trip.

You can read much more about our four days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Guadalupe Mountains)

General: There is a tent section and an RV section; RVs of any kind (including our van) are not allowed in the tent sites. We pulled into what we thought was an overflow parking lot to discover it WAS the campground! 

Site Quality: Diagonal paved parking spaces along the perimeter - each large enough to fit a camper and additional vehicle; these have picnic tables but no hookups or other amenities. The sites in the middle are suitable for larger RVs (Class A) but they don’t have picnic tables. On the upside, the sites are level and there is a gorgeous view of the mountains. 

Bathhouse: Decent bathhouse with flush toilets and sinks. Soap dispensers and air dryers but no paper towels. No showers. 

Activities: Lot of hiking trails, many of them strenuous; the most popular one is the Peak trail. We opted for McKittrick Canyon; the trailhead for this hike requires a drive.

Other: This is the FIRST place in all of Texas (and we’ve been in the state for over a week) where we have seen recycling receptacles! There is also a dishwashing sink, a nice bonus. Be aware that your smartphone/watch may not give you the correct time (my Apple watch and my husband’s Garmin displayed different times!) The park is on mountain time although it is close to the border of central time so expect confusion.) Quiet hours are 8 pm– 8 am, longer than usual but not a problem for us. Limited cell service with Verizon. This was not what we expected for a campground, and we were dismayed that it was paved; with the views, it could have been a much nicer campground if more natural.

Dog Canyon RV area: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(71 yr olds in 17’ trailer.)

Overall Rating: 3.5 Price 2024: $ 10 winteragency pass Security: No Usage during visit: 50 to 100%, however there are more no shows than usually experienced elsewhere. Site Privacy: No Site Spacing: Close Pad surface: Gravel Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Quiet Outside Road Noise: This campground is the end of the road. Through Traffic in campground: Hiker parking area across from the RV sites Electric Hookup: No Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: No Potable Water Available: Yes. I didn’t notice the hand pump to the left of the trailhead the first couple days here. Generators: Allowed Bathroom: Flush toilets are a short walk, located in the tent camping area. There is also a heated bathroom at the visitor center which is a short distance further.
Showers: No Pull Throughs: All 4 sites are back in Cell Service (AT&T): No bars. There is WiFi at the visitor center. We were able to periodically pick up WiFi at our campsite, RV- D. Setting: Surrounded by ridges. Recent Weather: Very windy and cold nights.
Solar: Excellent.
Insects: None Host: Not filled.
Rig Size: i cannot imagine that these sites will accommodate rigs over 25’. Sites: RV-A, and RV-D are on the ends. These are the best sites. RV-A door faces horse trailer parking area. No horse there trailers during our stay. RV- D is the best site if you can park your RV nose first. This makes sitting area more private . In RV- D and RV-A sites the occupant can spread out more.

A visit to Guadalupe Mountains National Park is not complete without a hike up to Guadalupe Peak which the highest point in Texas at 8,751 feet (2,667 m). This trip was better and brighter because I had the opportunity to test a new light system by HeadSpin Outdoors. 

On your way into the park fill up with gas and pick up supplies either in the towns of Fort Stockton, Pecos or Van Horn. The route passing through Pecos is more direct, but the road is often crowded with large trucks traveling to the oil fields. The route that passes through Van Horn is longer, but more relaxing and scenic. I advise taking the route through Van Horn.

Campground Review: 

Guadalupe Mountains National Parks operates on a first come first served basis and does not take campsite reservations. If you are driving to the park from one of the major Texas cities such as Houston, Dallas, San Antonio or Austin you must leave early in the morning (4am) to arrive early at the park (1pm) in order to secure a campsite. The drive is typically 8 to 10 hours. We elected for a different plan. We left after work at 6pm on Thursday, drove 5 hours and camped at Monahans Sandhills State Park. Reservations can be made at almost all of the Texas State Parks, so we made a reservation at Monahans Sandhills SP.  We knew that we could arrive late and still have a reserved campsite. Then the next day we continued to GMNP at a leisurely pace. We arrive by 1pm and secured one of many available campsites - #12.  

Arriving by mid-day allowed us the option to choose between a number of short trails to acquaint ourselves with the park and acclimatize to the higher altitude. We had the options to explore The Devils Hall trail, The Smith Spring trail or The Pratt Cabin trail. We elected to hike the Pratt Cabin trail. 

The Pratt Cabin trail was a nice introduction to the park for the first time visitors in our group. The trail is a 4.8 miles long out and back hike, relatively flat and the leaves were just starting to change colors. There was water in the creek. And at the turnaround point of our hike there was a historic stone cabin - Pratt Lodge. We returned to camp and had a nice meal. Campfires are not allowed in GMNP so we brought a propane camp stove.The night was cool, but pleasant.

The next day we woke up early and set off for the hike up to Guadalupe Peak. The hike typically take about 4 hours up and 3 hours down. We left early at 8am so that we could avoid the potential crowds. Our group summited without any problems in about 3:30 hours. We celebrated at the top, took some photos, signed the log book and took in the views. We then descended the trail. On our way down the wind picked up and at one corner the wind was whipping around at what I would estimate 40 mph. We reached our campsite by early afternoon and relaxed. At the Pine Springs campsite the winds picked up speed and for the rest of the day and into the night. Many tents in the campground were collapsing or blowing down. Luckily we had secured our tents with extra cordage and rocks. 

Overall, this is an excellent park to car camp or backpack. On previous trips to this park I've backpacked up to Guadalupe Peak as well as Pine Top. There are many good trails with trailheads near the Pine Spring campsites. There are latrine toilets near the tent camping sites and normal toilets near the RV camping sites. There are no showers in the park so be prepared to embrace nature.The true beauty of this park is not really the summit of Guadalupe Peak, but the rustic nature of the high desert trails and views.

Product Review of HeadSpin Light System 

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, from time to time I am provided products to test. For this outing I was provided a HeadSpin Light System.

For more info: www.headspinoutdoors.com

I was immediately impressed with the HeadSpin Light System when it arrived in the mail. When I unboxed the product I discovered that it was contained within a sturdy semi-hard case. There were five easily identifiable pieces within the kit - the light head, a handle, a headband, a bicycle mount and a wall charging plug. There was also an instruction manual, sticker and USB cord. The system is very intuitive to use.

The light head is the primary unit that can be combined with the accessories to form multifunctional lights. I'm a fan of good design and I liked the rounded square form of the light head. It has four buttons on top. One button turns on the unit. One button increases or decreases the intensity of the light. One button switches the light pattern from wide to spot. And one button switches the light to a flashing strobe. 

I received the light system just prior to my trip, so I wasn't able to charge the unit at home. One of the great advantages of this product is that it is a rechargeable light with a lithium ion battery. I took the entire kit in the car and charged it with the included USB cable plugged into the car socket. The USB cable can also be plugged in to any portable power bank. By the time that we reached our destination, the unit was charged. This came in handy as we set up our tents in the middle of the night.

The next day we hung the HeadSpin light in a tree above our camp kitchen and used it like a lantern to cook. The soft wide light provided great lighting for camp chores.

I also used the light for walking on some trails. Typically I used the lowest setting, because this light is bright. I played around with the higher settings but my friends kept asking me to turn it down because it was too bright. Hahaha, too bright. See the demo video.

I only used the light system with the headband accessory. I didn't use the handle nor the bike attachment. I think that the handle would be useful around the house. I think that bike attachment plus the headband attachment would be great for a bike packing trip. One could attach the light to the bike's handlebar when riding. Then disconnect it and spin it onto the headband for other activities.  

So who might like this light system? Anyone that likes multi-functional lights. I think that I'll find use for it around the house. It would also be useful to keep within a vehicle. This would be ideal for bikepacking. Hunters might like the intensity of the light, but I'm guessing that they would like a red light added. And of course it would always be useful for camping. If you are in to overloading where you need a reliable, rechargeable bright light this product would be a no brainer. The ability to charge the light from a variety of sources makes this a game changer for me. 

Likes:

Super bright light

Super soft light

Multifunctional

Outlet and USB rechargeable 

Nice design

Quality construction

Dislikes:

I'd like to see a red and maybe a green light

I'd like the buttons to be a little more tactile

Overall I am very impressed with the HeadSpin Light System. I have the feeling that I am just starting to discover all of the functions, features and uses. If you'd like to find out more about the light system or buy one visit their website at: www.headspinoutdoors.com

Guadalupe Peak trail was an awesome hike to the highest point in the state of Texas.

Camping at the base, next to the trail head was not as awesome. It was super windy, completely exposed to the sun, no privacy, and I got stuck with an RV spot despite being a tent camper since that was the only thing available. I had to shift around all of my gear and sleep in my trunk.

The redeeming factor was the nice, clear night and incredible stargazing.