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Camping at Caprock Canyon State Park

Quitaque, Texas

4.1/5
based on 7 reviews

Details

Distance

1.64 miles

Elevation Gain

95 ft

Route Type

Out-and-Back

Description

Added by Suril Patel

This park is a beautiful, scenic site with amazing red sandstone and siltstone made canyons, plateaus, and valleys. The short hike in (1.5mi - 3 mi) leads to very secluded campsites and hiking trails.

Caprock Canyon State Park is equipped with two primitive campgrounds: North Prong and South Prong. These campgrounds are equipped with pit toilets as seen in the above photos. For camping at the North Prong Primitive Campsite, the hike from the parking lot to the campsite is 1.25 miles. The hiking trails are near the campsite and they range from 0.5 mile trails to 3 mile trails. The elevation near the North Prong campsite is about 2,600 feet, and hiking up the trails the elevation increases to about 3,100 feet.

Check out the park's website for more information and online reservations.

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Features

Chillin
Camping
Photography
Backpacking
Hiking
Bathrooms
Dog Friendly
Easy Parking
Family Friendly
Lake
Scenic
Wildlife

Camping at Caprock Canyon State Park Reviews

Do not tent camp here. They will mislead you and then give you a huge fine!!! When we booked the campsite as a fun activity for our pandemic fatigued 6-year old granddaughter, they told me our car would be close to our campsite. We get there at 4 on a Friday afternoon in November and we were the only people in sight! When we booked, they told us to go into the park and find our tent site by ourselves because park personnel were avoiding interacting due to Covid. We got to our sight and found the gate locked to the whole area. It was clear people had driven around the gate several times. Thinking they had forgotten their sole campers for the night and had not come and unlocked the gate, we drove around it. We were very concerned about having to put up the tent in the dark, which was descending upon us. We went down a road to our campsite. While we were unloading, a state police officer came and gave us a $200 fine for going around the gate. It was devastating and disappointing. We wanted our granddaughter to have some fun during all the pandemic restrictions. We were treated horribly.

The hike at Caprock was awesome! If you like a challenge, try out the Haynes Ridge Overlook Trail. It is by far the most challenging and brings you around the outer rim of the canyon. Then, connect with the Upper Canyon Trail to see Fern Cave and The Last Dance Hoodoos. There is also a perfect spot to interact with prairie dogs and there is a good chance you will see bison roaming as well.

Amazing hiking trails with a great view!

As a west coast transplant to Texas, I've found myself occasionally underwhelmed by hikes in the Lone Star state. There aren't too many "heart pounding, exciting" hikes outside of West Texas, but Caprock Canyon delivered! Great elevation gains, red rock rising high above your campsite, this place was RAD! Camped this past March, and the weather was perfect. I definitely recommend.

I drove to Caprock from Oklahoma City. It was a very flat land, and the further you went the less things were (not even kidding). Caprock is located near the town of Quitaque. Its a beautiful place! Far warning, if you are looking for something to "eat when you get there", you will be driving another hour for food other than gas stations. The Park was beautiful! I had the privilege at staying by lake Theo. There was plenty of wildlife to go around. I was able to do the "natural bridge trail" that was 2 miles both ways. The actual bridge part can be hard to miss! Once on the trail, you will come across a wooden bench, that sits on the "bridge". To get a better view of it, I suggest climb down to see it from the side view which you can also go down into!

I stayed exactly where the picture shows, it was amazing. It was just me when I went. Totally eye opening. You feel alone and vulnerable, a feeling we don't feel much. I would recommend this to any adventurer.

Leave No Trace

Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!

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