The Great Fall Escape: Camping Within Reach of Dallas

Somewhere around the first week of November, Texas finally exhales. The mornings turn crisp, the afternoons finally ease up, and the idea of sitting outside after dark stops sounding like punishment. It’s the season Texans wait all year for, and most of us spend it indoors.

It doesn’t have to go that way. Within a few hours of Dallas there are forests, cypress swamps, sandstone canyons and maple-lined creeks that look their best right now, and you don’t need a plane ticket or a week off to reach them. You don’t even need to sleep on the ground unless you want to.

Here are five places worth the drive, each with a tent site for the purists, a roof for everyone else and somewhere good to eat when the camp stove loses its charm.

A note before you pack the marshmallows. Caddo Lake and Lake Mineral Wells were both under burn bans at press time, which means no wood or charcoal fires. Check each park’s alerts page the week you go, and plan on a propane stove if the ban is still on.

Beavers Bend State Park, Oklahoma

Roughly three and a half hours northeast of Dallas, the pines get tall and the hills get serious. Beavers Bend State Park sits on the shores of Broken Bow Lake and the Mountain Fork River in the mountains of southeast Oklahoma, and in fall the hardwoods mixed in with those pines put on a show.

This is the easiest place on the list to camp without camping. The 3,482-acre park has 393 campsites and more than 50 tent sites spread across eight camping areas, but it also has 47 cabins with kitchenettes and the 40-room Lakeview Lodge, where every room looks out over the water. The state recently added 12 tiny cabins overlooking the Mountain Fork River, and they’re the sweet spot for couples who want a porch and a real bed without renting a five-bedroom lodge. Fall weekends fill fast, so book the cabins before anything else.

Spend the days on the water or the trails, then drive a few minutes up the highway to Hochatown for dinner. Abendigo’s Grill & Patio is the local favorite, with a big patio, steaks and chicken fried steak on the menu. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday evenings, and reservations are a smart move on fall weekends. For a looser night, the Hochatown Saloon serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and keeps live music on the calendar.

Caddo Lake State Park, Karnack

A little under three hours east, the landscape gets strange in the best way. Bald cypress trees draped in Spanish moss rise straight out of the water, the bayous twist back on themselves, and on a still morning the whole place looks like a movie set. Caddo Lake State Park is the gateway.

The park’s cabins are the reason to book. The Civilian Conservation Corps built them in the 1930s, and they range from two-person to six-person sizes, with two that are ADA accessible. There are also screened shelters with electricity, which split the difference nicely between a tent and a cabin, and 46 campsites ranging from water-only to full hookups.

Get on the water. The park rents canoes from the office, and Saw Mill Pond is an easy first paddle, while experienced paddlers can head out onto the marked trails that wind through the Big Cypress Bayou. The park’s boat ramp is closed for now because of low water, so this is a paddler’s trip this fall. If you’d rather let someone else steer, the park points visitors toward boat tours from Shady Glade Marina, Johnson’s Ranch Marina and the Jefferson Landing Riverboat.

Breakfast belongs to Shady Glade Cafe on the water near Uncertain, open Thursday through Sunday mornings and early afternoons. For dinner with a view, Big Pines Lodge sits right on Big Cypress Bayou and serves fried catfish, jalapeño hush puppies and the old-school relish tray, Friday through Sunday. Historic Jefferson is a short drive away if you want a town to wander, and CraveDFW’s East Texas travel guide has more ideas for the region.

Palo Pinto Mountains State Park, Strawn

Texas waited a long time for this one. Palo Pinto Mountains State Park is the state’s newest park, about 75 miles west of the Metroplex. Its 4,871 acres of former ranchland roll through steep hillsides and sheltered canyons, and the centerpiece is 90-acre Tucker Lake.

The lake allows only non-motorized boats, which keeps it quiet. Bring a kayak or canoe, and cast a line while you’re at it, since you don’t need a fishing license to fish inside a Texas state park. The trails are open to hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders, and there’s a one-mile accessible trail, too.

This one is for real campers. The park offers RV sites, walk-in tent sites, primitive sites and equestrian camping, with no cabins yet. That’s part of the appeal. It’s also a short drive to Strawn, where Mary’s Cafe still turns out one of the most famous chicken fried steaks in Texas. Plan one meal around it and skip lunch beforehand.

Lake Mineral Wells State Park & Trailway, Mineral Wells

If you want a camping weekend with almost no driving, this is it. Lake Mineral Wells State Park & Trailway is about an hour west of Fort Worth, and it hides one of the most surprising landscapes in North Texas.

Penitentiary Hollow is a maze of sandstone walls and narrow passages on the east side of the lake, and it’s one of the few natural rock climbing spots in this part of the state. Climbers have to check in at headquarters, and first-timers can hire the park’s approved guide service, Rock-About Climbing Adventures. Even if you never clip into a rope, the hike through the hollow is worth the trip. Afterward, rent a kayak on the lake or ride part of the 20-mile Trailway, the old railroad line that runs from Weatherford into downtown Mineral Wells.

Campers can pick from sites with water or water and electricity, screened shelters and hike-in primitive sites. If the cold snaps harder than expected, retreat to town. The historic Crazy Water Hotel on North Oak Avenue is a handsome old building with suites, and dinner is right inside. Oak & Third does a tomahawk pork chop and peanut butter and jelly wings, both worth the trip. Rickhouse Brewing, in the same building, pours its own beer alongside hot honey pizza.

Lost Maples State Natural Area, Vanderpool

This is the long drive on the list, about five hours southwest, and it’s worth every mile if you time it right. Hidden in a remote Hill Country canyon, Lost Maples State Natural Area protects a rare stand of Uvalde bigtooth maples, and each fall they turn the canyon red, orange and gold. In most years the color peaks somewhere between late October and mid-November.

Don’t guess. The park posts a fall foliage report each week through November, and you can call (830) 966-3413 for a recorded update. Reserve a day pass before you leave Dallas, because capacity is limited during peak season and weekends sell out.

Lost Maples offers 30 campsites with water and electricity, plus primitive sites for backpackers willing to hike in. Want walls and a roof? Look for cabin rentals in nearby Utopia and Leakey. Either way, eat at Lost Maples Cafe on Main Street in Utopia, open daily from 7 a.m., and save room for a slice of buttermilk pie. If you’re there on a Saturday, try to land a table at The Laurel Tree, a Saturday-only restaurant where the owner cooks a changing multi-course menu. Book well ahead. On the way home, Bandera makes a fine stop, and the OST has been feeding travelers there for more than a century.

Booking it

The four Texas parks all book through the Texas State Parks reservation system or by phone at (512) 389-8900, and day passes are a good idea at all of them on fall weekends. Beavers Bend books through Oklahoma State Parks at the park’s TravelOK page.

Pick one, pack a jacket and go. The best weather of the year won’t wait around for you to get organized.