Sagebrush Campground — Palo Duro Canyon State Park

The Grand Canyon of Texas. Nice camping sites. Excellent trail system. Breathtaking views. No cell phone service with Spectrum.

Sites are pretty open. They are good for large rigs. Most if not all sites have shaded picnic areas. Bathroom/ shower is available. RV dump is nearby.

Absolutely breathtaking. This state park should be a bucket list of must-visit campgrounds. Honestly, we have no other words that would do this review justice. We were only there for 2 nights. There is a trading post where you can get supplies and grab a combo meal. Additionally, you can purchase firewood(they were sold out during our visit). A hikers and mountain bike dream destination. Make sure you stock up on groceries. Visit the trading post and the visitors center.

Palo Duro is a must see on the area. The campground is also nice. Lovely sites.

Palo Duro is one of the best State Parks we have visited. I love that they have so many campgrounds to choose from here instead of all being on top of each other.

Sagebrush is another great campground circle with some nice sites to choose from. This campground is the first campground you come to, so it is not as far of a drive like some of the others in the back of the park.

Here you are in walking distance to the Texas Musical and the campstore.

I love this state park! I've been here several times and it never disappoints. It has great hiking trails, mountain biking, a convenient, well stocked "camp" store that also sells good burgers and ice cream. 

First time I've camped in the Sagebrush Loop. Site 126 had a covered picnic table with metal supports. I was able to hang my hammock and have shade, because there is little to be had in this section. Mostly level site with 30 amp, water and a fire ring/grill. 

More firsts: saw bald eagles mating and a Texas horned toad. Lot's of animal sightings - lizards, dung beetles, turkeys, mule deer and the resident longhorns of course. 

Beautiful place!

Class A and C campers will have a tough time going down and back up the drive. Hairpin turns. Hope that u don't come across another camper or u will be stuck on the edge of a canyon. They should have a system for large vehicles coming and going so they can take turns. Canyon is beautiful cold at night in February I drive a semi and this drive made me nervous

Took a chance on this SP based on state guide book. Hard to believe there is a natural canyon in Texas!

I camped here for a week and it was absolutely gorgeous. Me and my dog had a great time and there were tons of hiking trails everywhere. It’s a very steep drop getting down to the bottom of the canyon from the rim so be prepared for that if you have a large rig.

This is a nice park, great hiking.

I love Palo Duro! It’s so gorgeous. Lots of noisy RVs so it’s hard to sleep in a tent with all the AC units going off and on all night.

Also the tarantulas were out like crazy for this trip. They were literally everywhere. There are also huge millipedes crawling around. The mountain bike/hiking trails are awesome but watch for those biting flies and mosquitoes. They are awful. While riding, those flies land on you and bite the sh*t out of you. I’m suffering with the itchiness now.

The Bathrooms with showers, water, electricity, and covered picnic tables are great. (Our water wasn’t working due to flash floods and a main break the day before.)

We visited Palo Duro the week after the Winter Apocalypse and I think because of that, the park was a lot less crowded than usual.  It was our first trip in an RV, so we weren't sure what to expect.  (We normally back country tent-camp and are used to a bit more space.)  We booked Sagebrush site 126, and we drive into the campgrounds, we're literally the only people there.  We plug in, get settled, enjoy the gorgeous views from inside the canyon.  There's a nice structure for each campsite over a picnic table, and a fire ring (which we couldn't use due to the burn ban.)  Not 10 minutes after we get set up, a ginormous RV pulls in right next to us.  The way that the sites are set up, our site was facing their picnic table directly, and there was no barrier between our site and theirs.  Some of the sites closer to the entrance of the campgrounds had more privacy, but then you have the lights of the general store to contend with.  We moved around night-to-night, based on the most peaceful section of the campgrounds, and I think because it was so deserted that week, the authorities never gave us any trouble.  Overall the park is absolutely gorgeous and we went on some wonderful hikes.  Highly recommend!!! [But don't stay in site 126 if you like privacy :) )

Location: You’ll probably not stumble across this location. It’s remote and you’ll need to be looking for it to find it. Once we arrived the flat farmland opens up before you into an amazing canyon. The first time you descend into the park it is breathtaking and a huge change from up on the rim. summer trips can be extremely hot and winter trips can be extremely cold, it may seem obvious, but temperatures in Texas are usually on the warmer side for the seasons.

Campsites: The sites are broken up into standard RV sites and tent sites with no access to sewer for the RVs. The tent sites are standard car camping sites with a pull-in at each site for your vehicle. Depending on the terrain you may be close to other sites. They also offer cabins on a few sites that were built in the 1930s by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp). They have been fitted with window AC units and microwaves. It is a single room with full sized bunk beds. The fireplaces rely on airflow in the cabin to ensure the smoke goes outside rather than filling the cabin. Instructions for building fires appropriately are provided.

Activities: There are a lot of hiking trails for various skill levels. Mt. Biking is great fun in the canyon as well. We have been on several of the trails. They are all relatively short at around 4 miles round trip. They do offer back country hiking and camping, but you’ll want some experience before attempting that in this area. There are many great rock formations to explore, but you could get lost quickly if you go off trail.

We will absolutely go back and stay for longer. We where on our way home from our long trip so we were only here for a day. We stayed in the sagebrush circle, site 136, and it was great!!! It was an awesome corner spot and was just a little walk off of the K trail. Great spot!!

We have always talked about going on this trip and finally went. We stayed in spot 125 of Sagebrush Campground. All the sites were nice, clean and had gorgeous views. The weather was fairly mild but cool. Our RV water froze up twice in the five days we were here but we kind of expected it...., it is January. We didn’t realize until we checked in that one half of the park was closed due to a several week hunting period. But the upper half of the canyon that we explored all week was breathtaking. If you love beautiful scenery this park is a must see destination.

Beautiful canyon. We loved riding our motorcycles through. Camp ground is great make sure and get reservations during the peak time.

Amazing camp ground, wonderful hikes get out and explore the canyon and find some hidden gems like a slot canyon!

I stayed here in college back in 2013 during a class trip to Palo Duro and absolutely enjoyed it. Great hiking trails. The place we camped was nice. It was a group campground, but the only bad thing that happened during the trip was the wind picked up at night and nearly blew a few of our tents away. Some people couldn't sleep in their tents any longer and moved to our group van we drove out to Palo Duro. The next morning, the wind had died down, and I took a little morning hike to enjoy the sunrise. Definitely a great time. My friends and I used a Dutch oven to make some apple pie at the campground.

The bathrooms and camping grounds were clean and tidy. I usually find trash on the ground but our site here was trash free. The hiking trails are wonderful. Saw wild turkey and a fox. I reccomend going in spring. Not too hot and flowers are in bloom. This was our first stop on our roadtrip from Dallas to the grand canyon. We plan to return with friends.

Our primitive campsite was a dream! It had a covered picnic table which actually was much appreciated in the Texas heat & in the spontaneous Texas thunderstorms. There were no trees at our site, so we hung hammocks from the posts of the pavilion. The ground was a little uneven, but the tent was still stable. Watch out though; that red Palo Duro dirt will get on everything! The park itself is amazingggg. We drove ten hours just to come for two days & it was 100% worth it. Going in July though meant that the weather was insanely hot. When the storm hit, we were grateful for the lower temperature! The Lighthouse trail was long & so so hot, but getting to see the rock formations was incredible. This place compares to any national park!

Campgrounds are a little dated, however they are very well maintained. Sites offer shade structures, fire pits, nearby facilities, running water, and electricity. The area is subject to extreme temperatures and is under a burn ban for a large portion of the year due to the dry climate. The state park offers some of the most ideal trails in the state that are perfect for hiking, trail running, and mountain biking. The canyon is relatively isolated, however the nearest town is approximately a fifteen minute drive so if you forget something, stores are within a reasonable distance. The park is popular and campsites can be difficult to obtain, check the TPWD reservation site and plan your camping in advance. Dogs are welcome in the park, they can also access the trails.

Campground Review: Palo Duro Canyon State Park is approximately 20 miles east of Canyon, TX, which is a moderately populated city that gives you access to fuel and other necessities, if you happen to forget something. We stayed at the Sagebrush Camp Area, which ended up being perfect for our group. As we had the maximum number of people on our campsite, we needed more space for vehicles (which you can see from the photos had two of our roof top tents on them). The reason for our visit was predominately for mountain biking and hiking, and while the hiking was good (not great like Big Bend or multiple place in Colorado), the mountain biking was top shelf. The trails were mostly well maintained single track, offering options for both the new and experienced rider. Tip: At the entrance to the Hackberry Camp Area, there is an entrance/exit to one of the best MB trails in the park. It doesn't appear on the map and runs all the way back to Mack Dick pavilion.

We visited during Memorial Day, and the temperatures were just about perfect. A little warmer than we would have liked during the day, but the temperatures fell rapidly after sunset, which allowed us to sleep comfortably. Tip: If you're not used to West Texas weather, you need to be prepared for the occasional night time wind storm.

Overall, this is a must-do in Texas. I would hands-down recommend Big Bend before Palo Duro, but Palo Duro is 100% worth the trip.

Gear Review: I received the HellaGood Belmont Blanket through TheDyrt.com gear review program, and put it good use during our trip to Palo Duro. After "ordering" the blanket, it was promptly shipped and arrived at my doorstep in just a few days. After opening, you could tell immediately that Belmont was trying to do things a little different. The blanket rolls down to a nice size, comes with a leather retaining strap that can be used to keep the blanket in a storable form, and also has a small riveted hanging strap (perfect!). Once you open the blanket up, you can get a feel for the quality, and type, of fabric that was used. The outer layer is a full shell-type 100% waterproof material, which feels soft to the touch and sturdy, while the liner is a soft fleece. The construction is straight forward and appears to be bombproof.

We ended up using the blanket quite a bit at night around the fire, in our ENO hammock, and in our roof top tent. Around the fire, and in the cool mornings, the blanket was perfect, light and comfortable. In the roof top tent, we used the blanket as an extra layer; starting off with the Belmont Blanket, then adding layers as the night cooled. Where the blanket really shined was in the hammock. Once you got settled in the hammock, you could throw the Belmont Blanket on top of your sleeping bag as a waterproof layer, either for the morning due, or any unannounced showers. My only critique of the blanket is that, due to the materials used to make it waterproof, it feels like you're wearing a giant technical shell. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just a bit different that I'm used to.

Overall, after using, we'll definitely be keeping the Belmont Blanket in the truck. Either as a light blanket, an emergency rain shell, or as an addition to our camping supplies, it makes sense to keep this thing around. If you're interested in the blanket, you can check it out over at the Belmont Blanket website.

It was so so so hot here but it was lovely. They do have water at the campsites, thank god, and some even have shelters to shade you some more. The rangers told us what hikes to do with our kids (ages 9 & 12) and it was a great suggestion. Real nice place to go.