Caprock Canyons State Park Campground

How cow!!! I can't explain how gorgeous this park is! Surrounded by canyons it's is vast and beautiful! We went horseback riding down into the canyon with a man named Thomas who was recommended by the park office. That was a blast! The hiking was great! Wonderful views and one hike into the canyon had a cave we explored. We also went bike riding down the trail that goes into the railroad tunnel where the bats are. That was a long bike for someone who doesn't not bike regular (4.7 miles in) but so worth it! We just went last week (3/6/15) and as of then they were no longer renting bikes just FYI. We took ours. There was bison roaming free everywhere in the park and the prairie dogs had their holes everywhere and would stand up and peep at each other, the kids loved that! They also have free back pack rentals for the kids where they have information, games, and binoculars and the kids can go explore and earn a certificate. The bathrooms were nice. Actual doors on the showers and a heater going in there. The stars came out nice at night and you can see the Milky Way. We have been to many state parks and this is by far my favorite so far!!

Great trails, great scenery, the best during winter.

WOW!!! This park is fantastic. It will be our new Thanksgiving camping trip. The colors of the park canyon are gorgeous. The bison are everywhere and so are the prairie dogs. I could have watched them all day. The campsites are a good size and all back ins. You have a covered table with a wind break wall, fire ring, trash pole. Lots of trails to hike and an amphitheater for presentations by the ranger.

One of my favorite camping trips with the family yet. Did some great hikes and enjoyed disconnecting from the world. Lots of wildlife noise at night during our fall trip.

I almost didn’t stay at Caprocks Canyons State Park and that would have been a HUGE mistake! I was intending to go directly to Palo Duro Canyon State Park as I had heard about how beautiful it is (spoiler alert - Caprocks Canyon is more spectacular) and somehow found about Caprocks Canyons, so I decided to stop there first. Man, am I glad I did!

The campground itself isn’t very scenic. You cannot see any of the beauty of the park from any of the sites, but you are offered decent privacy with trees between sites. But venture out of the campground and be prepared to be blown away. The color of the canyon walls is just incredible. Someone on Instagram mentioned it reminds them of Utah. Having never been yet (headed that way) I don’t know this to be a fact, but Caprocks Canyon is how I envision Utah to be.

Go take a hike and immerse yourself in the beauty of the canyon. Have I mentioned lately how spectacular the colors are here? Sigh. Yes, they really are that good.

There is a trailway (rails-to-trails) that is part of the park (but outside of the actual park). 64 miles of converted railway right away that you can hike or bike. I rode about 13 miles of, to Clarity Tunnel and back (plus a bit more). Clarity tunnel is the summer home for a colony of bats, but they weren’t there when I was. You will want a mountain bike to ride the trailway, and most of it is fairly rough.

Oh, I almost failed to mention the Bison. The official Texas Bison Herd is at Caprocks Canyons State Park and they can roam everywhere. Yes, including the campground (but there were no signs that they actually did this). If you are lucky you will see them semi-up close (you have to stay at least 50 yards away for very good reason). They are magnificent creatures. I was treated to a stampede (I think that is what you would call it) near sunset as I was coming back in to the park. I watched them run across the road as they were silhouetted against the setting sun. Kicking up dust. Snorting. It was great!

Dang, I am slipping. Forgot about the Prairie Dogs as well. There is a Prairie Dog Town at the campground. As a matter of fact you walk through it (via concrete path) on the way to the bath house. They are fascinating animals and a kick to watch for a bit.

Don’t overlook Caprocks Canyons State Park in favor of Palo Duro Canyon State Park (great, but not as colorful) or you will be doing yourself a serious disservice.

No Verizon signal. Very usable (unboosted) AT&T as there is a tower right outside the park. There is free Wi-Fi at the campground and I got a good signal at site 18, but the speed was barely usable only at certain times, so don’t count on it.

I arrived late and only got to take in a short walk, from the campground area to the edge of the canyon, where I enjoyed a beautiful sunset reflected on the red canyon walls. Caprock is a very special place that I want to come back and explore. There are several great trails, that I only enjoyed on the map :), and a scenic drive around the park which I did get to enjoy! The camp sites are pretty typical TX state parks, with water, electricity and a shower house nearby. As I was setting up a group of deer walked through my camp site, looking warm in their winter coats. On my walk I saw several bison, which I kept my distance from, but enjoyed watching. They seem smaller than the ones I've seen in Yellowstone, but have a deeper brown, almost black, hide (the ones I saw). Near the bath house there is a prairie dog town that I enjoyed watching for a while too. And in the morning, on my walk, I saw a whole gaggle of turkeys. My only wish was that I had been able to stay longer and go on a hike or two. Alas, I was working in nearby Amarillo and had to scoot out!

ps. in case you were wondering, the nearby town of Quitaque is pronounced kitty-kway by the locals.

We have seldom seen a SP as beautiful as Caprock. The colors are spectacular anytime of the day under most lighting conditions. We aren't hikers because of recent knee replacements, but a driving tour gives you plenty of beauty. The park is remote enough with justl enough campsites that it isn't extremely crowded like its big sister, Palo Duro near Amerillo. We were here the week after Easter (weekdays) and it was perfect.

The bison keep you on your toes. We had one wander into the campsite just after I put food on the grill. He kept going and was no problem. We encountered several more on the roads as well as an early rattle snake. Wild flowers abounded.

We use Verizon and nothing was available in the Pafk.

We camped in spot #35 in the Honey Flats campground and I have to say I think it is the best spot. Twice a day the bison would pass right outside our windows and graze the grass then make their way passed the prairie dog habitat which could also been seen out of my window. Additionally if that wasn't exciting enough there are the red rocks in the horizon which are stunning. Only W/E (50 amps) in this spot. None of the spots are very far from the restroom but beware of the bison when out walking, they can sometimes sneak up on you and are quite a site from up close. I have heard that the bison change grazing patterns but they were out twice a day when we were there a week ago.

The bathrooms are kept up and I took a fantastic shower with all the hot water I could handle, very basic, concrete and tile, nothing fancy, I just really needed a long hot one without worrying about filling up my grey tank. However the dump station is fairly close to the campground so that wasn't an issue really.

We took an incredible uphill hike to the Fern Cave, it was lovely but was also a BEATING. I hear that the north hike is easier but longer, I think we maybe did 4-5 miles that day. Bring water, food and some good hiking shoes if you are going to attempt it.

They also had a nice little lake/pond but I didn't get to see much of that, I heard there is a swimming area but not sure about that, definitely no life guard.

The huge amount of flies and stickers were my ONLY complaints. I hear after November the flies aren't an issue. My dogs did NOT like getting stickers in their paws and it happened constantly and to all the other dogs in the campground. I did find it quite rude that people let their dogs get so close to the prairie dog habitat.

A friend of ours met us there and we enjoyed spending time together after the flies went to bed. Also I took some amazing photos, thanks to us being so close to the trail of bison, there were several adolescents and even a nursing baby.

You can do laundry in Silverton which is about 18 miles away at the SilverWind RV park that has a little laundry center out front, don't let GPS take you 5 miles away like it did to me, it is right off the main road and 207 I believe, if you pass it the only thing you will find is farms and wind turbines.

There is a cute little shop/florist in town where I killed my time and bought a couple cute items. She also told me about Karol's which is in Quitaque, also a gift shop/florist and is in a cute little red converted gas station.

We stayed in the Honey Flats Campground for just one night back in June of 2016, and regret not reserving more nights in this park. It's an amazing landscape that we wish we could have explored more fully. We'll definitely come back here on our next pass through this part of Texas.

The campsites are close together, but the tress and tall grasses provide enough privacy that it doesn't feel cramped. Shower & bathroom facilities weren't the nicest (maybe a 2 out of 5 stars), but they're usable. Most of the campsites have a mild grade to them.

The park itself is gorgeous- really a unique landscape. There is extensive hiking and biking trails throughout the park and this park is home to the Texas State Bison Herd, and you will definitely see them! They actually passed through part of the campground area in the evening and weren't hard to find off of the main park road. There's also a prairie dog colony adjacent to the bathroom building.

Beware there is a 16% grade on the park road (down and up - it's a small valley).

The internet service was poor enough that we couldn't get a connection via our hotspot or phones. The Park Rangers' station had free wifi available and we were able to pick it up at the campground sporadically.

We stayed in the Honey Flats Campground 4 nights, It's an amazing landscape that we wish we could have explored more fully. We'll definitely come back here on our next pass through this part of Texas.

The campsites are close together, but the bushus and tall grasses provide enough privacy that it doesn't feel cramped. Shower & bathroom facilities weren't the nicest but they're usable.

The park itself is gorgeous and really a unique landscape. We spent most of our days hiking the wonderful trails throughout the park and this park is home to the Texas State Bison Herd, and you will definitely see them! They actually passed thru the camp ground in the mornings and weren't hard to find off of the main park road. You will also find prairie dog colony near bathroom building.

If you need wifi this is not the park for you. The internet service was poor enough that we couldn't get a connection via our hotspot or phones. The Park Rangers' station had free wifi available and we were able to pick it up at the campground one bar.