Suggestions for a camping location

[Jose]

Me and a group of friends typically go camping together a couple of times a year (Spring and Fall) and I'm looking for a new spot to check out. Typically we've gone to Possum Kingdom Lake State Park. But the year they had a fire and were closed, we went to Lake Ray Roberts and Lake Whitney. And last year we went to Lake Murray State Park in Oklahoma and Cedar Hill State Park. I've personally camped at a few other state parks as well as some of the others mentioned but like I said, I'm looking for something new.

So I'm looking for a camping spot within a couple of hours of DFW that has a lake and preferably some hiking trails. And a suggestion on a site within that park that can accommodate about 15 somewhat rowdy people so a site that's somewhat secluded would be nice as we tend to get little loud at least on one night. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[HECDOGGIE]

I like bob sandlin. Lots of tall mature trees, some on the water , some not. There is a good distance between you and the other campers.

they have showers too ..

[LANTIRN]

There are some good places around the San Antonio / Austin / Fredricksburg area but I can't remember the park names. Try here; it will have all the state parks listed for you and has pictures of most. My kid is finally getting old enough to do some short weekend camping trips this year.

http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/parks/things-to-do/camping

[Gear_Jammer]

Tyler State Park. It's not too far away and has everything you mentioned above, plus showers. If you reserve your spots in advance, you shouldn't have any problem getting an area to yourself so you don't have to worry about being too loud. We've brought as many as 20-25 6th graders out there that stayed up all night yelling, screaming and chasing each other around until all hours of the night several times and never had a problem.

[Strychnine]

Check out Lake Mineral Wells State Park.

[Jon/xpm]

DeGray Lake Resort state park if you do not mind the drive.

Ever been to Caddo lake state park?

Tyler State park is nice but has small campsites.

Also check out
Lake Bob Sandlin State Park
Thanks
Jonathan.

[mstng86]

I like bob sandlin. Lots of tall mature trees, some on the water , some not. There is a good distance between you and the other campers.

they have showers too ..

**needs to post moer wife pics**
[/URL]

We went to Sandlin and enjoyed it. You can get right on the lake and its plenty of shade. The showers are not bad and there is runningwater and electral on the camp site. Theres also a Trout pond if you are into that.

We didn't get to go around the lake much and this was 3 years ago, so not sure how the lake level is.

[jluv]

Tyler State Park. It's not too far away and has everything you mentioned above, plus showers. If you reserve your spots in advance, you shouldn't have any problem getting an area to yourself so you don't have to worry about being too loud. We've brought as many as 20-25 6th graders out there that stayed up all night yelling, screaming and chasing each other around until all hours of the night several times and never had a problem.

Tyler State Park is beautiful, but the campsites are small and almost all very close together. You have to get very lucky to get a spot with any privacy. You cannot choose your spots in advance - you can only make reservations that guarantee that you'll have a spot. You and actually pick one until you get there and see what's available. All State parks are this way unless they are really slow and get lax on the rules. Tyler stays pretty full,so it's a gamble on getting one of the good spots.

State Parks aren't the best for getting rowdy, because they don't allow alcohol. As you know, everyone brings and drinks alcohol anyway, and they know that, but I think the law is in place to make sure things stay fairly quiet and peaceful. I actually like this. There are other camping places for partying - if I go to a state park I usually count on it being quiet and peaceful so I can enjoy the wildlife and stuff (while I get drunk, lol). I have been to Tyler State Park when there are a bunch of Boy Scouts running around being loud, and it's annoying as fuck. If you have a bunch of adults getting rowdy, the cops are likely to come bust you for the booze.

If you want seclusion, ability to get loud and rowdy without bothering anyone, lakes and trails, then check out LBJ Grasslands in Decatur or Caddo Grasslands up by Bonham. Thousands of acres of open, public land. It's free. You can fish, hunt, shoot guns (within reason), etc. And you can just trek around the dirt roads until you find a spot you like and make camp wherever. I think I sent you some GPS coordinates last year, in fact, to a couple of the spots I like at LBJ. The only downside to LBJ is that it's not kept as pristine as the state parks. Scumbags leave little pieces of litter everywhere. I usually spend an hour or so picking up the place around my campsite just to help out. Oh, and there are tons of ponds and creeks and small lakes out there, but most of them are very low right now. I've been out there when it was crowded at almost every turn, and I've been out there and not seen another person for days.

I haven't been to Caddo Grasslands yet, but I've heard that it's used less and you have an even higher chance of not seeing another person while you're out there. I can't recommend any specific spots there, but finding your own is part of the fun.

Oh, and no showers, running water, electricity, etc at the Grasslands, either, unless you go to one of the pay areas with designated camping spots. That defeats the purpose of going out there though, in my opinion.

[Baron Von Crowder]

I think Jarod is having a stroke.

[Danny46]

I'd check out Caddo Lake area, its a little further than your two hour criteria but is one of the more underrated places in my opinion. Or try something new and have everyone rent canoes and paddle the Brazos from PK to Rochelles and camp on the river bank.

[GrayStangGT]

Check out Lake Mineral Wells State Park.

I'll second that and they have some larger group type camp sites. Looking at the map I think I stayed in spot 30 or 31 and it was pretty secluded with good water access.

[95DRGT]

My favs- camped every single weekend in 2002 with my kid. Visited as many state parks as possible in Texas

Close within a hour or so
Mineral Wells
Cleburne
Tyler

3 to 4 hours drive
Inks Lake
Enchanted Rock (book in advance)
Mckinney Falls
Colorado Bend

6 to 10 hours away
Lost Maples (outstanding in the fall)
Big Bend National Park (another awesome place)

[jakesford]

My favs- camped every single weekend in 2002 with my kid. Visited as many state parks as possible in Texas

Close within a hour or so
Mineral Wells
Cleburne
Tyler

3 to 4 hours drive
Inks Lake
Enchanted Rock (book in advance)
Mckinney Falls
Colorado Bend

6 to 10 hours away
Lost Maples (outstanding in the fall)
Big Bend National Park (another awesome place)

Longer drives than the OP wants, but to add to the list:

Guadalupe Mountains National park (Great hiking)
Palo Duro Canyon State park
Caprock Canyon State park (great hiking / Mt biking with less people than Palo Duro)

[Super Cubano]

Cooper lake isn't bad jose. Pretty secluded out there, from what I remember.

[Frank]

Cooper lake isn't bad jose. Pretty secluded out there, from what I remember.

Cooper Lake is a couple of different parks Sulpher Creek and Doctor's Unit. We stayed in Doctor's unit back in October and it was nice. As with most NTX lakes though, the level was waaaay down.