McDowell Campground

Without the GPS, we would’ve had trouble figuring out where to go, as there are no signs. The camp host was super friendly and told us where to go. We put a $10 check in the envelope and came back to a spot with a beautiful view. I think there are only five electrical sites in this campground but you can hook up to water and electric. Most have fire rings, but ours did not. The host said the ATVs don’t come on this side and so it was all very peaceful and the view is fantastic. Everything we saw was very neat and well kept.

This is one of a three campgrounds on McClellen Lake just east of Groom, Texas. It’s about three miles to the north of 40. And it’s on the McClellen National Grasslands site. The lake has been dried up for years apparently. We were expecting to pay $15 for water and electric. But we knew it could be less because of the America the Beautiful pass. They take check or cash only, which go into an envelope and put in the dropbox. We couldn’t find the envelopes. Nor could we find the dropbox. We did find a nice campsite though and were the only ones here. We will look at the other campsite in the morning for a camp host and figure out how to pay. The water pressure is great, but the hose bib was cracked. When we added our hose and turned on the water it sprayed everywhere. So we only turned it on when we did dishes or took a shower. The site was really level and the sky was very dark.

We choose Site #4 for our visit as it is a long back-in site with water and electric hookups and great water views out the rear of our trailer where our dinette is.

We arrived early on a Wednesday afternoon and there was no one else here, but each night we shared the campground with one other site occupied for just one night.

The water level is still very low in Lake McClellan and probably will be for some time.

This campground shares a short entrance road, which is where the dump station is located, with the Lake McClellan campground next door. That is where you'll find the camp host and the fee envelopes with the pay station.

Lake McClellan Campground is larger but has no water views. Most sites at McDowell Campground have water views.

There are two areas on the opposite shore line where camping is permitted, but there are no hookups or specified campsites anywhere. They would also be a little bit difficult to access with any sized trailer. They are also $10 a night ($5 w/SR PASS) just like the 2 organized campgrounds. For the water and electric sites you'll have to add $5 to the cost per night.

We drove in here and saw that there were multiple entrances (2 camping areas that were split apart) and none were clearly marked on where to go and how to pay. We saw several few stations with instructions to use an envelope and drop it in the tube but there was no envelopes or tubes…upon pulling into one site we were told by the neighbor that the electrical doesn’t work. If they were telling the truth, there was no signage to advise of such. Then we pulled into the only other empty hookup site and noticed the electrical outlet looked melted/damaged. We didn’t feel safe plugging in so we drove away. At one point before leaving we asked another guest about the pay station and they told us where to go- which was quite a bit off in the opposite direction. It was too far to walk so we had to haul the camper over as we weren’t unhooking from the truck. There was no Verizon signal for me in either loop/campground here.

There was only one other camper while I was there. People would come in late and overnight then leave early in the morning. They have sites with electric for $10 per night with an access or senior pass. $15 regular price. There was a noisy oil pump nearby, but the noise didn’t bother me to much and I couldn’t hear it if the TV was on. There were stickers all over the ground I had to keep pulling out of my pup’s paw pads so if you have pups you’ll have to deal with that. Other than that it’s a good place to stop for a day or two and take a break from the road.

Stayed here just after NFS reopened it for camping after Coronavirus shutdown. Almost every site was in use, but the other campers were polite and followed the quiet-hours. The one group that didn't follow quiet-hours rules was promptly quieted by the campground host.

We stayed in a tree covered area away from the lake, and the shade was welcome. The sites in this area are much bigger than other NFS campgrounds we've visited, so we had plenty of room between ourselves and other campers/groups. Water/Electric was not available in these spots, so we boon-docked for a few nights.

I can't speak to the facilities (bathrooms) in the campground because they were marked as closed due to the virus/pandemic. All I could see was that they were stone buildings with vault toilets.

The lake level is very (VERY) low, but there was enough water that the kids could still wade in and play to cool off. Didn't see anyone out fishing, but that could be due to the wind. Winds in this area can get very high/gusty, so be prepared to hunker down if need be.

Would gladly stay here again.

There isn’t much out here, but we found this place and were pleasantly surprised. It’s a FS campground on Lake McClellen about 3 miles north of I40. The lake is small but full of water fowl and shore birds. We had water and electricAnd only paid $10 with our Senior Access Pass. The only drawback is that it is an ATV site, but there were only a few and they quit riding around 5:00.