LBJ Grasslands — Hotel in Alvord

This was my first time to the LBJ National Grasslands. I went to the dispersed camping area near the TADRA trails I enjoyed it quite a bit.

When you choose your camping area I suggest you find one away from the main gravel roads so you don't hear car noise continually. There are not many cars and trucks going by but it seems some campers arrive rather late after 9:30 or 10:30 at night.

The same rules apply in the National Grassland as they do in the National Forest so you are free to collect fallen firewood and in the dispersed camping area there is no support, no toilets no water, and no electricity so each of the campsites are primitive most have a makeshift fire ring made of local stones

Much of the area has recently going through controlled burns by the forest service to improve the quality of the grasslands so you will find a lot of areas that have been burnt

There is a lot of equestrian activity here you will see many horse trailers and horseback riders I also used the horse trails for much of my hiking they are reasonably maintained and pretty easy to walk

Some of the area is cross fenced with barbed wire because they allow cattle grazing on the property and you will run into herds of cattle while you are hiking

I could hear numerous coyotes howling at night I also saw some white-tail rabbits and some armadillos

They were some signs of deer, I could see their tracks on occasion but this time did not get a chance to actually see any

There are numerous lakes in these grasslands. Black Creek Lake has a boat ramp and a paid campground there is also a day used fee at that lake.

Cottonwood Lake has no fees and it is unattended I saw numerous kayakers and paddle boat people on the lake mainly fishing there was also some blue heron. This this Lake also has a boat ramp which...

Having grown up in the area, the grasslands were always the place to hang out as kids and throughout my younger years. With so many areas to explore and camp at, most of my best memories are out there. If you want to see what native north Texas looks and feels like, this is where to go. So many roads winding through vast areas of forest, hills, canyons, and many lakes; the grasslands remind me of what the country used to look like before blowing up with housing developments and big businesses. Please if you visit don't destroy nature, pick up your trash and don't take things from the...

First time solo camping in dispersed area turn-out during mid-week. Loved the area and didn’t have any other campers in the area. I did have a spooky thing happen in that at around 10:00 pm while I was trying to sleep, a rock hit the outside of my teardrop camper, and again about 20 minutes later with a bigger one. I found a fist sized clod on the roof of my camper the next day. I didn’t see anyone or any vehicle lights near me. Freaked me out even though I was packing some big heat. Other than that odd experience, it was a...