Since I have been in Texas I have mostly opted to stay at the Texas State Parks. They have a lot to offer but if you plan on staying at them you should also purchase the Texas State Parks Pass for $60. The parks all have different camping fees but each park requires a daily entrance fee in addition. So far I have saved $183 dollars by not having to pay an entrance fee and it only cost me $60. I was also able to use it to get my family in Cedar Hill SP several times. It covers anyone that you are in the same vehicle with.
Caddo Lake had a weekly rate of $75 which I decided to take advantage of since it was the holiday weekend and I didn’t want to have to deal with traffic. Normally the fee for a campsite with water and electric costs $12 per night. There is a $2 entrance fee which I wasn’t required to pay since I have the Texas States Park Pass. With the pass and the weekly rate it only costs me $75 vs $98 for 7 nights and no pass. Not bad huh!!!!!
My only request when I registered at the visitor’s center was that I have a site with plenty of shade. I have made the same request at the last two Texas state parks and each one told me that all there sites were shaded. That was not true and both times I had to request another site. I trusted the ranger that she knew what she was talking about and sure enough ALL of the campsites here are very shaded with huge trees all around. Of course my A/C is running constantly since the temperature will no be going under 98 the whole week I am scheduled here. Plus it is very humid. YUK!!!
Be sure to click and then click again to enlarge all photos.
I got out in the morning to take a hike before it got too hot (only in the 80’s LOL!). I read online about a app for my Droid Incredible called RunKeeper. It keeps track of your hikes and gives you distance, speed, calories burned and even gives you a map of your hike. It is pretty awesome. I hiked down to the Saw Mill Pond on the edge of the lake where there is a fishing dock. You can also rent canoes and take a tour of the lake on a large boat as well. The lake is a cypress swamp with trees covered with Spanish moss growing in the water. It is very surreal.
Lots of lily pads growing all around the fishing pier. I am not sure how you would be able to fish here.
Farther up the road I found a nature trail that I decided to check out. It was almost a mile long and came out near the park headquarters.
The forest around is very dense but the trail was well marked.
By the time I got back to my rig my t-shirt was soaked completely through. I want to do some fishing here but have decided I need to get up earlier to avoid the heat and humidity.