Best Tent Camping near Whitney Lake

The shorelines and wooded areas surrounding Whitney Lake, Texas offer several tent camping options for outdoor enthusiasts. Cedar Creek Park Campground, located in Whitney, provides walk-in tent sites with mature oak tree shade and open fields. De Cordova Bend in Granbury, managed by the Brazos River Authority, offers primitive tent camping with lakeside access. Both campgrounds accommodate tent campers year-round and feature basic amenities suited for those seeking a more natural camping experience away from developed facilities.

Most tent campsites in the Whitney Lake area include fire rings and picnic tables, though amenities remain minimal. Cedar Creek Park provides drinking water at most sites, while De Cordova Bend has more primitive facilities with no water hookups. Vault toilets are available at both locations, but neither offers shower facilities. The terrain typically consists of natural surfaces with minimal site preparation. Tent campers should arrive early to secure spots with shade, particularly during summer months when temperatures can rise significantly. Sites operate on a first-come, first-served basis at Cedar Creek, while De Cordova Bend allows stays up to 10 days.

In early July, De Cordova Bend becomes a "mid-week haven" according to one camper, with only a few tent sites occupied despite busy day-use traffic for boating and fishing. Cedar Creek Park visitors report "quiet surroundings with lots of wildlife" and appreciate the mature oak trees providing essential shade for tent camping. Both locations offer access to water activities, with Cedar Creek featuring a boat ramp and dock. Hackberry Hills and Constantino Farms provide additional walk-in tent sites in the broader region, with Hackberry Hills offering just two tent-only campsites in a more secluded setting. Backcountry tent camping opportunities exist for those willing to venture further from developed areas, providing greater solitude and a more immersive natural experience.

Best Tent Sites Near Whitney Lake (7)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Whitney Lake

6 Photos of 7 Whitney Lake Campgrounds


Tent Camping Reviews near Whitney Lake

522 Reviews of 7 Whitney Lake Campgrounds


  • Napunani
    Nov. 18, 2021

    Oak Park Campground

    Landscape Timber at Fire Ring Created Trip Hazard

    Reserved on-line 184 days prior to arrival. 

    Pros Site in large oak tree grove, so heavily shaded 

    Campground night sky friendly with good dark sky viewing NO STREET LIGHTS in campground., but toilet facilities had exterior lighting 

    Crushed granite surrounding site and bordered with landscaping timbers 

    Metal roof shelter over concrete slab where picnic table is located 

    Metal picnic table 

    Cooking grill on metal fire ring 

    Campground mostly quiet except for Hwy 31 traffic noise 

    Friendly camp host 

    Security gate closed nightly 

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

    Campsite discount with America the Beautiful Pass 

    Cons 

    Entrance gate not manned upon arrival at 2pm Tuesday so had to go back around after unhitched 

    Our site 14 was not marked. Most sites have site number on site picnic table. Even those are tough to see in the daylight and impossible to see in darkness. Absolutely no roadside site number posts 

    Campsite 14 entrance driveway was 90 degree angle to park road with a steep ditch on opposite side of road. T

    rees close on both sides tight to site 14 driveway. Made back in challenging, but not impossible. 

    Campsite 14 entrance/driveway 10% grade from park road 

    Campsite 14 not level side to side 

    Site fire ring was up against landscaping timber preventing space for chairs 

    Landscaping timbers trip hazard at fire ring

    Fire ring should be relocated to side or back of site to facilitate safe movement around it Fire ring was completely filled with ash upon arrival No privacy from other campsites Shower/toilet facility near playground had padlock on mens entrance, so males were using the womens restroom. This facility in extremely poor condition and desperately needs renovation. 

    No campsite lantern pole 

    No park Wifi 2

     bars AT&T 

    Never saw any park rangers or park security driving through campground 

    Wildlife sightings of grey squirrels and two dozen buzzards that constantly circled over campground

  • GoWhereYouAreDraw N.The Dyrt PRO User
    Apr. 30, 2019

    Dinosaur Valley State Park Campground

    Family camping

    Nice camping spot for families. I chose to camp in the north primitive hike-in sites across the river. It was pretty hot but I still had a good time exploring the hiking trails. If you go hiking, take a map and of course extra water. My map came in handy a couple of times as I was hiking as the actual trails led me off track a few times.

    I stayed in the primitive camping area. You hike between 1-2.5 miles across the river to sites. If the river is too high these sites may be closed. Water is only available at the trailhead. These sites are primitive so they do not have showers, restrooms, picnic tables or water.

    Other sites available:

    • Campsites with electricity (Picnic tables, water hookup, electric, fire ring)
    • Walk-in campsites (Fire ring, lantern post)
    • Group camp (fire ring, water nearby, three picnic tables)
  • Heather P.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 18, 2018

    Meridian State Park Campground

    beautiful lake views

    We camped at site 31 which is a primitive tent only site. The sites are HUGE!!! tons of space between you and the next site. Sites are level and easy to find a spot to pitch your tent.

    Set up a camp chair, bust out your fishing gear and kick back and relax while watching the amazing sunset over Lake Meridian.

  • Napunani
    Dec. 13, 2022

    COE Navarro Mills Reservoir Oak Park

    Clean-up on Site #11

    Pros 

    Discount with National Park pass 

    Shady

    Quiet 

    Dark sky friendly

    Nice metal roof cover over concrete picnic table 

    Saw park ranger drive thru during daylight 

    2 bars T-MOBILE 

    Successful streaming with T-MOBILE hotspot device 

    Cons 

    So day #2 without any TP in men’s restroom.  Went to front gate to report it and was told they would call it into the Army Corps of Engineers as gate volunteers have no stock of TP on hand.  Never saw any TP before leaving on third day

    Toilet facility #1 women’s had raw sewage throughout deep enough to cover your foot. Site 11 has electrical hook up at rear on the door side of the camper 

    Site 11 water connection is centered at the rear of the parking pad. 

    Site 11 unlevel. 

    Numerous piles of charcoal ash throughout site 11 campsite not in the fire pit. 

    Concrete picnic table needs degreased as surface has lots of large greasy stain 

    Site numbers are painted on the concrete picnic table so extremely difficult to see in the dark. 

    No WIFI

  • Napunani
    Apr. 19, 2022

    Airport Park - Waco Lake

    Lots of Aircraft Noise - Bring Ear Plugs!

    Pros 

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

    Friendly gate attendant 

    Level asphalt site surrounded by crushed granite 

    Grass neatly mowed throughout campground 

    Large aluminum picnic table that is moveable from site concrete pad

    BBQ grill, metal fire pit and lantern pole 

    Night sky friendly. No street lights 

    Spacious-space between each site but no privacy due to lack of vegetation 

    Very quiet Sunday thru Wednesday nights except for Waco airport aircraft approach and Space X rocket testing 

    Entrance gate locked 10pm-6am. Exit only permitted 

    Clean toilets and showers 

    Plenty of TP in restrooms 

    Trash can in toilet/shower facility 

    Sufficient trash dumpsters throughout park 

    Deer sightings at Park entrance only 

    2 LTE Verizon bars signal 

    Cons 

    Exterior restroom doors desperately need repaired. Have to move rock away from door to gain access. 

    Sewer connection at rear of parking pad. Bring the looooong stinky slinky! 

    Waco airport aircraft departing/arriving as early as 6am and as late as 11pm. One night we counted aircraft performing touch and go manuvers 42 times. Approach was directly over our campsite. 

    No patrolling host or ranger 

    No soap or hand towels in toilet facility 

    No playground, basketball or tennis or volleyball courts 

    No lake swimming area 

    No park WIFI 

    No hiking trails

  • Napunani
    Mar. 24, 2021

    Airport Park - Waco Lake

    Filthy women’s restroom

    This park is a short drive to all of Waco attractions including the famous Silos. We stayed Friday and Saturday nights. 

    Pros:

    • Very friendly gate attendant

    • Extremely quiet park except for arriving/departing aircraft at Waco Regional Airport

    • Great view of the lake as trees/shrubs are minimal

    • Clean campsite

    • Very clean campfire pit

    • Most sites had a nice distance from neighbor sites

    • Crushed granite surrounds the site’s asphalt parking pad so no muddy mess after rain

    • Pedestal BBQ grill, fire pit with grilling grate and aluminum picnic table at each site

    • Some sites had aluminum roof pavilion over picnic table

    • Some sites had lantern pole

    • Park roadways in good condition

    • Entrance gate locked at 10pm

    • Plenty of TP in women’s restroom

    • 4 bar signal AT&T 

    Cons:

    • Filthy women’s restroom. Human feces on floor. Two of the three stalls locked for days. One remaining stall the door would not close and latch. Sign posted on door that restrooms were cleaned Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, but the human feces were on the floor Friday night, Saturday all day and Sunday morning. Exterior door would not close completely.

    • No water to sinks in women’s restroom

    • No soap dispenser and no hand dryer in women’s restroom

    • Men’s restroom door locked Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning

    • Exterior door to one shower room was unable to be closed

    • Extremely low water pressure to campsite

    • No site privacy due to minimal trees/brush throughout the park

    • Low hanging tree branches over roadway and campsite pad

    • Our campsite pedestal BBQ grill was extremely corroded

    • No wildlife sightings- not even a squirrel

    • NOT A DARK SKY FRIENDLY CAMPGROUND! Boat launch lights across the cove lit up most of the campground. Large lights on the toilet/shower building that made it nearly as bright as daylight!

  • Napunani
    Jun. 9, 2023

    Mother Neff State Park Campground

    Texas First State Park

    PROS 

    Saved $24.50 with Texas State Park Pass 

    No fee charged for making on-line reservations 

    Got a call the morning of arrival from park headquarters confirming my arrival 

    Site 3 was immaculate upon arrival, even the crushed gravel raked. 

    Site 3 level 

    Site 3 has aluminum picnic table, metal firepit with cooking grate and 2 hook lantern pole all in good condition 

    Site 3 afternoon shade 

    Campground loop toilet/shower facility immaculate 

    30 minute drive to Waco attractions

    2 bar T MOBILE 

    CONS 

    20 total campsites but 2 are used for camp hosts 

    Picnic table chained to ground so not moveable and it was 30 ft from camper 

    Lots of road noise from TX236 

    One toilet/shower facility for the entire park for both day users and 20 campsites 

    Men’s toilet had urinal and toilets out of service during our 3 night stay 

    Toilet/shower facility not climate controlled 

    Lots of feral cats throughout campground 

    No fire wood for sale in park 

    No WIFI

  • Sean B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Mar. 7, 2025

    Cedar Creek Park Campground

    Beautiful clean and free

    Only a small amount of campsites, big open fields and mature oak tree shade. Water at most and firerings are provided next to covered picnic tables. Quiet, lots of wildlife, has boat ramp and dock as well as large shelter house with bbq for days use by larger groups. First come first served and free. No showers and only a vault toilet.

  • George B.
    May. 24, 2021

    Mother Neff State Park Campground

    Secluded and quiet

    The other reviews sum up the area around the cg, so I thought I'd share an opinion of the cg itself. The pads are level concrete with a gravel patio area, a metal picnic table, a nice fire ring and a lantern pole. The front gate locks at 8:30 but they give you a pass code to get in with. Verizon cell service is pretty good here. We have seen a number of deer here along the outskirts of the camping area, and a rattlesnake crossing the road in front of camp. We didn't use any of the facilities, so I have no opinion there.


Guide to Whitney Lake

Tent camping near Whitney Lake in Texas offers a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying a range of amenities and activities.

Some prices for tent camping are free

  • Camping at Cedar Creek Park Campground is free and provides a clean environment for families looking to relax.
  • At De Cordova Bend, you can camp for free with a maximum stay of 10 days, making it a budget-friendly option.
  • Constantino Farms offers a unique experience with farm animals and shaded areas, perfect for a quick getaway.

Tent campers like these nearby activities

  • Enjoy fishing, swimming, and hiking at De Cordova Bend, which features a public boat ramp and scenic trails.
  • Families can have a great time at Cedar Creek Park Campground, where kids can play in a clean, safe environment.
  • Explore the beautiful surroundings and wildlife at Hackberry Hills, which is ideal for nature lovers.

Tent campers should check out amenities at these campgrounds

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Whitney Lake?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Whitney Lake is Cedar Creek Park Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 3 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Whitney Lake?

TheDyrt.com has all 7 tent camping locations near Whitney Lake, with real photos and reviews from campers.