We visited Lake Arrowhead in the Summer of 2016 – we had just started our idea of visiting all of the State Parks. We had also just got engaged. We were out in Wichita Falls visiting a friend at the Air Force base there, and wanted to add in a little extra stop since we were already out there!
We made this a really quick trip, so we may not have gotten the best first impression. It’s definitely a lake for those with boats and those that live in the Wichita Falls area. The park also offers a frisbee-golf course, and a few tent sites; but none that really stood out to us.
Overall, if you are passing through the area or heading to Wichita Falls and need something to do, it’s a good park to go to. Other than that, we wouldn’t say this is one you should take the weekend to go visit – Dan and Han
This state park is one that is near and dear to our hearts, as it’s the first place we camped together as a married couple! Located only an hour or so from the Metroplex on Lake Texoma, Eisenhower State Park is a great place for a day trip or a weekend camping trip!
The first time we went out to this park, it was mid-September so it was still warm enough to do some water activities. The Marina there rents out canoes and kayaks, so we took a kayak out on the lake for the morning. We don’t recall it being terribly expensive, and think we rented it for about 2 hours. in 2017 while we were there, they offered a guided kayaking trip around the lake – we believe they are still running the program and would most likely opt for that next time!
Kayaking on Lake Texoma
One interesting thing about this park is that it has OHV Trails! Daniel has yet to try it out, but plans on doing so soon. They have 4 OHV Trails that were recently redone in addition to 2 other trails for hiking and biking.
We did Ike’s Hike and Bike trail recently (in November 2019), and really enjoyed it. The 3.2 mile hike takes you along the lake as well as climbs up so you can see some beautiful views of the lake. It’s rated Easy to Moderate, and we both agree it closer to an easy trail.
An Overlook on the Ike’s Hike and Bike Trail
ESP has some great campsites for RVs and tents. We have our favorites, and are happy to share with you if you want to reach out to us! We’ve stayed in a few different areas, and most recently stayed in the Armadillo Hill area (water and electric). We’ve also stayed in a water-only site, that was really close to an area that we could walk down to the lake and watch the sunrise (photo below)
Overall, we really love this state park. It’s definitely more made for water sports – so if you have a boat bring it (and take us with you). BUT, the scenery is great, and the location to the metroplex really can’t be beat if you’re looking to experience nature.
This past weekend we went and visited a park we’ve already marked off our list, but it’s still one of our favorites! Tyler State Park is located out in east Texas, relatively close to Tyler, Texas.
This region is known as the “piney woods” region, and boy does it live up to its name. One of our reasons as to why it’s one of our favorites is the all of the pine trees in the area!
Hiking through the woods
We got there late on Friday night (Hannah had to work), and it only took us about 2.5 hours leaving around 4:15 from the DFW metroplex. If you leave at any other time, it usually only takes 2 hours, meaning this park is great if you’re looking to day trip.
When we visit a state park over the weekend we usually will hike all-day on Saturdays. We started off our Saturday with a quick 3.1 mile hike on the B Loop and after lunch we took a leisurely walk on the Lakeshore Loop (2.1 miles).
B-Loop is rated as moderate, and we would say that is true. There were several elevation changes that took place as we walked through the pine trees, and there was a really neat historical marker on the trail that you should check out.
Our tent site was really great and spacious which worked out great since we camped with Dan’s parents this weekend. We picked a site over in Sumac Bend. We usually go for the sites that are bit removed from everyone, so we can try and really enjoy the outdoors undisrupted. We will say the one downside to the sites at Sumac Bend are the raccoons. Just make sure that you put up all of your food if you end up camping there.
The weekend that we were here at Tyler they had some great outdoor education classes! There was a class on Navigation, Survival Fire, and then the Dutch Oven Association was out at the park with a dutch oven cooking demonstration and lunch! We went and tried out the dutch oven lunch, and it was SO good. It’s free, but consider donating if you get to attend that class. The Dutch Oven Association is usually out at TSP the first Saturday of every month.
Overall for now (since we’ve visited only 20 parks so far) we’d probably rate this in our Top 5. If you want to know more, feel free to reach out!
We started this blog as a way for us to keep track of all of our Texas State Parks that we visit, and document our favorite aspects of each park to share with our family and friends. We don’t know a lot about the best gear to use, we just have a deep love for the great outdoors.
We really bonded over our mutual love for the outdoors early on in our relationship. While in college, a favorite date of ours was to go to Cedar Hill State Park or Tyler State Park, as it was a cheap and fun date for broke college kids (thanks to Chris and Jenny for Hannah’s first ever State Park Pass).
Us at Tyler State Park recently – walking where we were supposed to get engaged!
After getting engaged and eventually married, we developed our very first bucket list item: Visit all 99 Texas State Parks together (pulling this number from the Texas State Parks and Wildlife page). As of today (12/6/19), we’ve been able to hit 20 out of the 99 state parks since we got married!
Our goal is to upload a blog post for each state park that we visit, and include the date, our favorite tent sites/hiking sites, and a few miscellaneous tips around each park. Since we will hit a few parks multiple times before we make it all the way through the list, we’ll try to update our blogs with any new information we come across.
Thanks for following along in our bucket list journey!
Dan & Han's State Park Adventures 