I tend to judge the success of a weekend by the disgusted look on my parent’s faces when they get that first whiff of their son after I come home from a camping trip. If I don’t smell like campfire smoke, lake water, and dirt, then I haven’t tried hard enough. That is the joy of camping: being out in beautiful nature, living life simply, inventing new ways to have fun, roughing it. Since the prime camping time of the year is at hand, we’ve compiled a list of great places to camp within an hour and a half drive of Mansfield. So whether you’re an experienced camper, a weekend roadtripper, or a camping newbie, put down the screen, grab some friends or family and get out there. There’s a whole world to conquer!
With 350 developed campsites and primitive camping just a short hike away, Cedar Hill is a great park that’s just a short drive away. The developed camps have access to bathrooms, hot showers, running water, electricity, and most have sewer hookups for you weird RV people. There are lots of great trails for both bikers and hikers, and Joe Pool lake provides the camp with great fishing, swimming, and paddling.
Time from Mansfield: 27 minutes
Price per night: Primitive walk in campsites are $10, and sites with all the fixings are $25-30.
This more modernized park, also on Joe Pool, has all the bells and whistles: 221 sites, each with a covered picnic table, electricity, water, and parking. There are also cabins available with rooms to rent. Canoeing and motorboating top the list of water activities. You might want to make a reservation a week or two ahead of time, because most weekends are pretty much full of people spending a Saturday on the lake.
Time from Mansfield: 18 minutes
Price per night: Sites go between $20 – $28 per night, with an additional vehicle entry fee.
This beautiful park is a great place to bring youth groups or hold family reunions, given that the park has 4 huge campsites and barracks, the largest one able to hold 75 people. The camp’s mountain bike trail, 5.5 miles of beautiful and challenging terrain, is well know to bikers in the DFW area. The park rules don’t allow motorboats or jetskis that create a wake, so you won’t have to worry about splashing or noise disturbing the idyllic waters of Cedar lake. Unless, of course, you happened to bring your little brother swimming with you.
Time from Mansfield: 28 minutes
Price per night: Between $16-30 for regular campsites, and $42 for the big youth area.
This historic state park is home to where dinosaurs once roamed. Regular campers can set up camp at one of 46 fully furnished campsites, but the more adventurous can set out to spend the night at the primitive sites. With over 100 acres of open land, the park is horse friendly, and is a prime area for geocaching, hiking, and biking. Go walk in preserved footsteps of dinosaurs in the Paluxy river that runs through the park, and, if leaving your phone at home simply isn’t option, get the Dinosaur Valley app!
Time from Mansfield: 1 hour 8 minutes
Price per night: $25 for regular campsites, $15 for primitive.
With 72 acres of beautiful lake, the huge Bosque hiking trail, and some excellent bird watching, what’s not to like? Meridian is home to a rare assortment of birds, such as the golden cheeked warbler, and even has some great spots to hunt fossils. Tent sites and rv hookups are available, as well as group facilities.
Time from Mansfield: 1 hour 22 minutes
Price per night: Developed campsites run between $15-25, and a primitive group site goes for $56.
