Best Tent Camping near Stephenville, TX

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!

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 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.

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.

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.

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!!

Meridian SP is such a hidden gem. If you’re not a fan of the Texas heat they just added one limited use cabin in addition to RV, tent and screened shelter sites. The BEST place to stay is the shelters on the lake hands down! There is also a CCC building at this park that serves as a gathering area on the lakeshore. It has several well maintained trails and the lake is good for fishing. Wildflower season here is CRAZY!

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!

Reserved 159 days prior 

Pros

No reservation fee charged for marking online reservation 

50% discount with National Park Pass 

Roadways easy to maneuver without any low-hanging branches 

Quiet except for middle of the night party animal noise and distant trains 

Good dark sky viewing as there are NO street lights in campground 

Concrete treads where RV wheels land were level requiring no additional leveling efforts 

Metal cover over concrete picnic table 

Entrance gate closed10pm-6am so exit only without any reentry until 6am

Saw 1 squirrel and 5 deer 

Nice Golf Course next to campground 

Nice fishing piers 

Plenty TP in toilet/shower rooms 

Very nice large group picnic pavilions 

3 bars 3G Verizon 

Cons

Site consist of sandy gravel which high winds created a dust storm making a gritty mess of everything inside and out

Site water hookup below ground 

Campsite had unusual amount of trash and cigarette butts 

Campfire ring full of ash and trash upon arrival and there has been a county burn ban for the last 6 months

Campground toilet/shower facility lit up at night like a Christmas tree 

County Burn ban, which we discovered ourselves and confirmed by calling park prior to arriving with campfire wood

Upon check-in, friendly woman at gate told us one thing then a man at the gate contradicted the woman regarding charcoal fires

Quiet hours not enforced. 4 toilets for 24 campsites for possible 8 people per campsite PLUS boaters and fishermen. Phew! 

Half of park closed during winter so 37 campsites only open April-September

The park 3 dumpsters were overflowing; 1 was over flowing upon our Thursday afternoon arrival and the other 2 were overflowing Sunday morning so we had to pack out our trash

No number sign on our site

No patrolling host or ranger. 

No privacy from one campsite to another

No playground, basketball or tennis courts 

No campsite BBQ grill 

No hiking trails 

No soap or hand towels in toilet facility 

No trash cans in or outside toilet facility so people threw trash on floor 

No WIFI

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Eat at Granny Clark’s in Dublin TX. Blue plate special and buffet. Brookshires Grocery and Tractor Supply in Comanche Stephenville 30 miles from campground has Walmart, H‑E‑B, CVS, Walgreens, but no Lowes or Home Depot.

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!

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!

Sent me to a tent spot that had a concrete pad 3" under the soil.  No fire pit, no table, no electricity.

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.