Fritch Fortress Campground

This spot has been one of our favorites over our years on the road. It hits the technomad trifecta:

- Free
- Scenic
- Excellent Cellular Signal

Whenever we're passing through the Amarillo area, we always route for at least a couple days here. Stunning cliffside views, amazing sunsets and free for 14-days!

While were here, the dump & water fill station was closed - and the bathhouse torn down. Word is, they are putting in a new one with showers.

All sites are pull up on the camping loop circle, with a covered picnic table and trash cans. Winds can get high here at certain times of the year. There are only a handful of sites that are level however.

Lake Meredith is this stunning oasis in the middle of absolutely nowhere - you don't expect it, amidst the dry grasses and dust and tumbleweeds and Texas back roads...but then you arrive and are just completely blown away at the blue depths, the jaw-dropping sunsets against the red and brown cliffsides, the grandiosity is...well, it was just the last thing you'd expect out there.

The camping is FREE. Nice pull in sites, not super level - we left the Airstream at home and were camping/sleeping in our truck - so not a huge concern for us, but we were able to find a level spot. Bathrooms are brand new and so clean - with showers (we didn't use and I forgot to see if they cost anything to run) and mirrors!

At the sites: fire pit, barbecue, covered picnic tables, every single site has a spectacular view, although the very last site and the second site (ours) seemed to have the best views.

Wish we could have stayed longer and would definitely come back! This is a must see and I'm surprised more people haven't been! It's not terribly far from I-40.

Ok, we really loved it here. Fabulous views. Quiet. Nice sites with picnic tables and shelters, grills, and fire rings. The bathhouse renovations are all done, so there are flush toilets and hot showers. The shower heads are a bit harsh but, hey, I'm not complaining. The restrooms are kept clean.

There is potable water in a pump outside the bathhouse, as well as at the fresh water/dump station area. The Lake Meredith website states that only gray water is to be dumped there, but there are no signs at the dump station itself to indicate this. Just a heads up.

Several day-campers and picnickers seemed remiss in throwing away their garbage even though there are bins at every site. Some inconsiderate dog owners as well and I found myself picking up after their pooches as well as my own.

We stayed here a few nights longer than anticipated due to vehicle repairs that had to be done in nearby Fritch. We highly recommend Josh, the mechanic at Tejas Lube and Tire.

The only drawback is how windy it is - perched on the bluff overlooking the Lake is gorgeous but the strong winds get to you after awhile. All said, we would definitely come back.

This place is everything you want a dry camping experience to be.

Water nearby to fill up tanks? Check.

Dump station nearby to empty? Check.

Short walk to nice bathrooms with free hot showers? Check.

Nice lake view? Check.

Solid Verizon AND AT&T coverage? Check.

Winds that are possibly high enough to run you out of your camper? Check.

That last one can be a camping experience killer. So, check for winds in the area before you go. We didn't...and apparently winds are pretty common here. The first night we had winds gusting into the 30mph range overnight. That's not too big of a deal. It may cause some sleeplessness, but still manageable. The second night we had wind gusts into the 50's (they were crosswinds too). That's a problem. We could feel our 37' TT really rocking and in an abundance of safety for our family, we grabbed our 2 toddlers and fought our way out of the door and evacuated to the pickup for a few hours that night until the winds subsided back to the upper 20mph winds. That was a crazy night I'll never forget.

I don't want to scare anyone away from staying here, because it really is a great place. But I do want to make sure that you check the weather and the season first. We stayed in early April which is a pretty normal storm season for north Texas and the panhandle. My bad. I'm from Texas. I should've thought about this. But we were on a path back into Dallas from the Grand Canyon and I had to try this place out.

Beautiful place. Great amenities. Just watch the winds. Enjoy!

First the downsides-- this is called a campground, but it's really more of a picnic area. As such, the sites are nothing more than slightly wider pullouts along the road, and sized more for cars than big RVs. Most sites are horribly unlevel, and only a few spots will work for longer RVs. None are really appropriate for wide rigs with slideouts on the driver's side. And finally, this area is on the top edge of a huge bluff overlooking Lake Meredith. It's the highest point for miles, so it's completely exposed to any winds (and they can be quite dangerous in this area of the panhandle).

But all that said-- if you happen to snap up one of the more level RV-sized sites, and plan your stay when winds are calm, you'll be rewarded with an absolutely fabulous free boondocking spot with an amazing view (and great cell connectivity too!). I didn't check out the bathrooms or dump station while I was here in April, 2016, but all appeared to be functioning fine.

Wow, all this and free.
- water view
- trash service
- dump and fresh water
- clean modern bathrooms with free showers
- over the air tv
- good Verizon and ATT service
- 20 minutes to a National Monument

We had to keep asking ourselves if it was really free. So much provided and it is FREE.

Downside - RV sites are just pull-offs. Small trade for this great site.

If full, three are more sites on the other side of the area - Sanford Yake. Gravel but lots of free sites.

With the good comes the creepy. We stopped here after passing through Amarillo. The breeze made the June Texas heat bearable! Sites, while small and not private, are free and offer permanent pavilions (great for hammocks), charcoal grills, picnic tables and fire rings. We stayed in June 2017 and almost all the sites were full.

Great access and fabulous facilities - 4 bathrooms each with their own shower, toilet, sink and bench.

Parking is kind of tight - we saw 3 RVs, all parked in the only spaces that could accommodate such a rig. We were able to park in a small flat spot to accommodate our van.

With these things being said, we had a restless night due to what we presume to be a local messing with tourists. A man in an older Ford pickup rolled by and yelled "white power" at us (yes, seriously.) He then came back twice that night, slow rolling our campsite once and then around 11PM stopping with his headlights right on our van. Suddenly he cranked his music and the lyrics to the song were "I wouldn't go there if I were you" (again, yes, seriously!) We likely would have left had the other sites not been full, but having neighbors and locking doors have us a little sense of security.

We didn't swim but did drive down to the boat ramp to check it out - there were several people in the water and it looked very nice. We saw deer and roadrunners. Beware of the the afternoon sun - it sinks under the picnic shelters and makes it hard to find some shade!

All in all a great spot. Just keep an eye out for roaming racist locals.

The NPS calls this place an oasis on the high plains... and they aren't kidding. After endless cattle ranches and oil fields through Texas, this place really is an awesome respite. The photos speak for themselves, so I'll just add my $0.02 from our experience.

It's windy. Very windy. Probably won't be getting out your awnings or canopies. I mean, I left my shoes outside and they blew away; very windy. But honestly, it was the perfect mix of 90 degree weather when we visited in October and a constant breeze.

All the sites are pull offs on the side of the road, and they are not level... Our leveling blocks couldn't fully compensate for the unevenness, but it was close enough. Sites 1, 8 and 9 were the most level. There was hardly any traffic... Maybe 4 cars passed (respectfully slowly) during the day.

We came in late at night on a Wednesday fearing there wouldn't be any spots left, but there were 7 of the 9 spots available. Not sure about weekends, but I wouldn't expect anyone to have a problem finding a spot at this first come first serve campground during the week.

If you've got little ones, keep an eye on them; there's some steep rocky cliffs.

Very nice (for a campground) bathrooms (4), which included hot showers.

Cell service for both AT&T and Verizon were great. Something like 16mbps up/down on AT&T with MIMO antenna.

We did have a sort of strange experience while we were here though... someone rolled through, late at night, going about 5 MPH playing their radio very loudly; then they left. THEN, they came back about an hour later, revving their engine directly next to our window, 10 feet from our heads. REALLY strange, but I guess not unexpected considering one of the other reviewers had a similar experience with what they presumed were locals messing with them.

Folks, this is one of those dream spots; even if it weren't FREE we would have made the trip here just for the views and quite. Don't miss it!

Here's the thing -- this place is GORGEOUS. The views are great, the spots are spacious, the grounds are clean. The fresh water and dump are conveniently located at the entrance to the campground. Each spot has a garbage can, picnic area, and shade structure. It's quiet at night.

....BUT THE WIND IS INTENSE.

The whole campground bugged out while we were there. Clearly nobody thought it was a good idea to stick around. It was as intense or perhaps even slightly more than camping in the Badlands, if you've ever experienced that. It was literally hard to stand upright and we were getting seasick just sitting in our rig. It took two of us to open and close the front door.

It may be that we just had bad timing with the cold front coming down, but we went from being in love with the place and saying we'd come back every year to leaving and questioning whether we had the stomach to try it again. We stayed maybe 24 hours total.

All that aside -- our site was totally level, others I have no idea how you'd get level. It was also very full when we were there. The spot we got was great, but only opened up about 20 min before we got there (on a Sunday mid-day). We saw lots of people going through who couldn't find a spot.

Again, it's beautiful and the campground is fantastic. I don't mind a "breeze" and for the first few hours we were there the breeze made the temperature perfect. But what came after that needs to be warned about!

Stopped here in our way East. The sunset overlooking the lake (Reservoir) was beautiful. It was a little difficult to find but worth it. The town left a little bit to be desired. As others have said it’s a bit windy. We were there in September. There is a nearby town with a good Walmart and gas