Camping

[jluv]

Looking for a new spot to try out. Want to stay within about 2 hours of DFW. Dispersed camping is ideal (where the spots aren't designated, and you literally go out and find a spot you like in the middle of nowhere), but I would also like to be able to drive and park right next to the spot so I can try out my new truck tent.

I've done some dispersed camping at LBJ Grasslands, but I'd like to try somewhere new. I may hit up Caddo Grasslands - anyone been camping there? If you know of any other dispersed camping/public land type places please post up.

A nice secluded spot on a river would be really cool.

Otherwise, I may just hit up a state park, either Caddo, Tyler, or Cedar Hill. I really dislike being on a pad right next to other campers, but maybe I can find a place that won't be too crowded.

I don't have lightweight gear, so hiking far to get to a spot is not an option. Also, I need to avoid any burn bans. I don't want to camp without a fire.

I'll be doing my own research, but I know that collectively, dfwm is all-knowing, so I figure I'd start here.

Thanks in advance!

[Binky]

Tyler State Park is nice - they've got a good hiking/bikiug trail system. its also a decent lake for fishing

being that its deer season be careful of any public hunting areas.

Turner Falls up in Oklahoma is also pretty different.

[Strychnine]

Lake Mineral Wells State Park ?

[jluv]

Tyler State Park is nice - they've got a good hiking/bikiug trail system. its also a decent lake for fishing

Ya, I've camped there several times. This is a great time of year because there are leaves literally just raining down all over the place. The spots are extremely close together there, though. I may go again, anyway.

being that its deer season be careful of any public hunting areas.

Ya, that's another consideration. I will have my dogs with me, and if someone shot one of them, they would have to shoot me, too. LBJ is thick with hunters, and my normal spot is out of their way, but that spot requires carrying my gear a ways, and I wouldn't be able to try out my new truck tent.

Turner Falls up in Oklahoma is also pretty different.

I've never been, but I've heard it gets crowded, and it's almost like a party spot. I would like to avoid people and noise as much as possible. I have heard it's pretty though. Do you know of any real good places there, or is it just like one main camping area?

Lake Mineral Wells State Park ?

I was just talking about that place with a guy I work with. He went last week, said it was great (by his standards), BUT he said the spots aren't very secluded, and there were 40 billion kids running around everywhere. I also read some reviews where people were saying that the cops/rangers there are real dickheads. Still, it's a possibility.

Keep 'em coming!

[Cooter]

Tyler State Park is nice - they've got a good hiking/bikiug trail system. its also a decent lake for fishing

being that its deer season be careful of any public hunting areas.

Turner Falls up in Oklahoma is also pretty different.

Turner falls is not dog friendly

[jluv]

Turner falls is not dog friendly

Boooooo!

[Frank]

I was just talking about that place with a guy I work with. He went last week, said it was great (by his standards), BUT he said the spots aren't very secluded, and there were 40 billion kids running around everywhere. I also read some reviews where people were saying that the cops/rangers there are real dickheads. Still, it's a possibility.

Keep 'em coming!

Doubtful this time of year there would be a bunch of kids. Most parks are dead right now.

[95DRGT]

Enchanted Rock, Marble Falls, Lost Maples are some of my favorites. Not all that close but well worth the drive

[jluv]

Doubtful this time of year there would be a bunch of kids. Most parks are dead right now.

This was just last weekend. I wish the parks were dead. The warm weather seems to be keeping them packed on weekends.

[Jose]

I would suggest Possum Kingdom Lake State Park. It's right around the 2 hour window you are talking about from DFW. Take a look at the map link below and look at campsites 99 and 100. Maybe look at satellite view in either Google or Bing (I think Bing is better in this respect). There are plenty of areas to camp behind those sites and it's at the edge of the public camping area and there are plenty of wooded and hilly areas behind those camp sites to check out. We usually camp there a couple of times a year (at least) and everyone I've taken there has always commented how nice it is.

Good: I like the fact that they have a convenience store in the park that has pretty much everything except for alcohol (which is over an hour and a half drive away). Most of the camp sites aren't crowded to close to each other and the sites I prefer at the end of the park are fairly secluded.
Bad: Right at the edge of how far I would drive for a "quick" weekend camping trip. If you drink alcohol and run out it's a long drive.

Map of Possum Kingdom Lake State Park

[jluv]

I would suggest Possum Kingdom Lake State Park. It's right around the 2 hour window you are talking about from DFW. Take a look at the map link below and look at campsites 99 and 100. Maybe look at satellite view in either Google or Bing (I think Bing is better in this respect). There are plenty of areas to camp behind those sites and it's at the edge of the public camping area and there are plenty of wooded and hilly areas behind those camp sites to check out. We usually camp there a couple of times a year (at least) and everyone I've taken there has always commented how nice it is.

Good: I like the fact that they have a convenience store in the park that has pretty much everything except for alcohol (which is over an hour and a half drive away). Most of the camp sites aren't crowded to close to each other and the sites I prefer at the end of the park are fairly secluded.
Bad: Right at the edge of how far I would drive for a "quick" weekend camping trip. If you drink alcohol and run out it's a long drive.

Map of Possum Kingdom Lake State Park

Thanks, Jose! I may have to check that one out.

[bcoop]

You can come camp up on the farm. It's a 3.5 hour drive though. Lots of coyotes and bobcats. The only other noise you'll hear is from the cattle and oil rigs.

[jluv]

You can come camp up on the farm. It's a 3.5 hour drive though. Lots of coyotes and bobcats. The only other noise you'll hear is from the cattle and oil rigs.

Hmmm...

A little far, and I'd worry about my dogs taking off after the cows, or at least causing a ruckus. Thanks for the offer, though. Sounds like the kind of camping I'm looking for. Do you ever tent camp up there, like with a campfire and shit? My grandfather and uncle both have chunks of land down in Meridian that would be perfect, but they wouldn't really want me building a fire.

[bcoop]

Hmmm...

A little far, and I'd worry about my dogs taking off after the cows, or at least causing a ruckus. Thanks for the offer, though. Sounds like the kind of camping I'm looking for. Do you ever tent camp up there, like with a campfire and shit? My grandfather and uncle both have chunks of land down in Meridian that would be perfect, but they wouldn't really want me building a fire.

It's been a while since I've tent camped up there, but we used to all the time. With 30someodd grandkids, there have been plenty of camping trips. These days, I work my ass off from sun up to sun down while I'm there, so I prefer to sleep in a real bed, and use a shower, etc. The last few years, I've left the camping to the kids. lol.

We've been clearing a fuck load of trees out, around the ponds and such. So there is a TON of wood laying around. The boys want to build a fort, or cabin, for them to camp in. We'll start working on it when I head up there in a week or two. Fires are a bit touch and go. The last few summers the entire county has been under a burn ban. In fact, I've got 15 or so brush piles that I need to burn, but haven't been able to, because I need a good hard rain first. We ended up buying some of those gigantic square containers on a pallet, so we can fill them and help control the burn when a good rain finally comes through.

[YALE]

I also recommend a spot in Oklahoma: The Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge. They have a wilderness area called Charon's Gardens, and they only allow like 10 people to camp there overnight. It's awesome. There are buffalo, Elk, and a very old strain of Longhorn. I have been going there since I was a little kid, and it's never lost its magic to me.