Doris Campground — Hotel in Lawton

My husband and I camped there weekend of 6/04/21 and had an amazingly enjoyable experience! We pulled in ~10:00 Friday evening with our trailer and on the way to finding our site, around two sites away, there was a huge buffalo who apparently found its resting spot for the night right where it was!!! While we were parking the trailer in the dark, the park host arrived at our site, was quite friendly and helpful and when asked about the buffalo he referred to him fondly and knowingly and had a name for him as well as two of the elk or possibly Longhorns that frequent the park! Staff were quite pleasant the entire weekend, and the campsite was clean and well cared for. The bathrooms were closed and no water at the sites due to COVID (or some other issue), but when making reservations this issue was made very evident and we took care of our own supply. They did have non- potable water available and a dump station that was also clean and easy to access. The hiking options were limitless and quite scenic, we' saw several aficionados with what looked to be rappelling gear. We loved the attitude that we were in the animals' domain and they have first priority, rather than the other way around! We will definitely be back and have shared our love for this gem of a park with all our friends. What started out as just finding a campsite near Lawton to attend a combined birthday party for some young relatives, in an area we were wanting to explore, turned out to be a very memorable trip! And my husband, who has a lifelong interest in native Americans was thrilled by being able to tour one of Quanah Parker's relocated homesteads and we both had the best Indian tacos (not advertised) at the small cafe in Cache that is the base...

This is my favorite campground ever! Here are the Top 10 reasons why I love this place so much:

The abundance of wildlife! While I was there, I saw longhorn steer, bison, deer, turkeys, turtles, and lots of birds. This refuge also supports elk, but I’ve never seen them here.

The abundance of lakes adds to its beautiful scenery. There are a total of 13 lakes within the refuge.

Lots of great hiking trails! There are about 15 miles of marked trails.

While many newer RV parks tend to remind me of a bland & boring parking lot, this place has so much character. It’s loaded with lots of trees which provide for a sense of both peacefulness and privacy.

At night, it’s extremely dark & peaceful. It’s so dark that it’s nearly impossible to find the bath house without a flashlight. The only noise comes from the howling coyotes off in the distance.

There’s no cell service, which makes it much easier to remain present and enjoy your camping experience. But, if you do need to grab cell service, Crater Lake has a solid signal and is just 2.3 miles away.

Meers Store & Restaurant is just 9 miles away. It’s a great place to grab dinner as they’re well-known for their 1-pound hamburgers!

They have a brand new bath house. They also have multiple new vault toilets, which are surprisingly nice.

Because it’s a Wildlife Refuge, the deer are quite tame and so much fun to watch.

I feel like it’s such a healthy place to visit. The trees & wildlife and rivers & lakes are full of good vibes & positive energy. This area allows for time to heal and even find a bit of mental clarity!!

If you're interested, I documented my experience on...

Don't book here if you're planning to tent camp in the summer and go hiking. They arbitrarily close all trails at 10am without notifying anyone beforehand, and then reviews say that the hydrants have potable water, but that is not found ANYWHERE in official communications from the refuge or even at the campground. I never saw the campground hosts as no one came to check me in. Also, the raccoons here are very used to people, so if you have ANYTHING in your tent that a raccoon might want, they will open your zipper if its low to the ground and go in your tent when you're not there. Then they will stalk you all night and not leave your site, coming right up to your tent. I'm sure it's a lovely place for RVs, but it was horrible for me in a tent, especially when I couldn't even hike the trails I drove 16 hours to hike. And if they have potable water they need to say so - at least write it on the chalkboard at the campground, but they can't even be bothered to do that. And no, there is zero cell service here. (I actually wanted it that way, but then I couldn't find a place to go when I had to leave early in the middle...