Two national parks, multiple state parks, RV campgrounds and a vast and wild backcountry offer a diverse set of camping opportunities for visitors to West Texas to experience. Hiking opportunities in the area include mountain hikes, river gorges, canyon treks and desert exploration.
Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park sits on the U.S./Mexico border and features three campgrounds: Chisos Basin, Cottonwood and Rio Grande Village.
Chisos Basin draws hikers because of its proximity to some of the parks' scenic locations. The sites at the rugged campground are small and not suited to RVs or trailers. Chisos has 63 campsites, a dump station and indoor restrooms.
Cottonwood campground is a rustic facility with 35 sites located near the Castolon Historic District, which depicts the old way of life in the region through buildings and exhibits. The campground has pit toilets and drinking water, but no hookups and generators are not permitted.
Rio Grande Village is the largest of the three with 100 campsites. The campground features indoor restrooms and showers, an RV dump station and a nearby laundry mat and grocery store.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which is located about 100 miles east of El Paso, is home to two campgrounds: Pine Springs and Dog Canyon. Group camping areas are available at both Pine Springs and Dog Canyon. These sites can accommodate as many as 20 people, with a minimum camper requirement of 10 people.
Pine Springs campground sits in the shadows of Guadalupe Mountain near hiking and climbing trails. The campground has drinking water, flush toilets and 40 campsites.
Dog Canyon is the smaller of the two campgrounds with only 13 campsites. This area features indoor toilets and sinks. The campground tends to be cooler than Pine Springs because of its higher elevation.
State Parks
Fourteen state parks are located in western Texas. All Texas State Park campgrounds offer modern camping facilities with water, sewer and electric hookups and primitive sites with no hookups. Though they require extra work, hike-in and boat-in campsites offer camping opportunities in wilderness areas. You can find hike-in sites along trails at Davis Mountain State Park, which is located outside of Fort Davis, and boat-to sites along Devils River in Devils River State Natural Area, which is north of Del Rio.
RV Camping
The BC Ranch RV Park in Alpine--a side trip off I-10--puts you within a couple of hours of most of the region's national and state parks as well as rafting and hiking opportunities. Fort Amarillo RV Resort in Amarillo is near the Rita Blanca National Grassland in the Panhandle. Both parks offer full utility hookups, pull-through sites, cable TV and laundry facilities.
Backcountry Camping
The West Texas backcountry consists of forests, deserts, canyons and river gorges. The Seminole Canyon Trail crosses Val Verde County and reaches sections of Devils River, a diverse environment that features the Edwards Plateau and South Texas brush land.
To the west of Val Verde, Brewster County contains a vast network of hiking trails through mountain, canyon and river country. Camping along these trails and throughout the Texas backcountry is permitted.
In state or national parks you must adhere to certain camping regulations including obtaining a permit from the park office and setting up camp out of site of roads and designated campgrounds.
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