The tall pines are beautiful in this park!!! The only draw back to that is it blocks the view of the gorgeous stars and milk way at night. 😊. There was a fishing pier we fished off of that was nice and they have a nice swim area for the family with a few showers to rinse off the lake water. That helps while camping!! There was canoeing offered through a river that was beautiful and filled with all sorts of water lillies, cats tails and grasses sounding the canoeing trails. It was pretty. Bathrooms were nice. The park had some nice hiking trails. We enjoyed our camping trip here.
Yeah not as impressed with this park. The camping areas where we were was not much to look at and was filled with teenagers. It seemed to be a young early 20 something party hangout more than families. Our campsite was one of the last ones left and was so small we almost didn't fit the 6 man tent in for all the big tree stumps in the way and we had to put our tent on a steep slope. Our kids kept sliding to the end of the tent throughout the night every night. The bathrooms need to be demolished in my opinion. They were torn up, very small shower curtain that didn't cover anything, excessively dirty and tiles falling off the walls and VERY small. the lake itself is beautiful, stars come out very bright at night and some hiking leads up to beautiful scenic views but that is the only plus here. I would say this would be a great day use park but not so much for spending the night. I don't think we plan to go back. We have been to many parks and this was our least favorite. If you are in this area and interested in canoeing or kayaking check out Rochelle's camping which is about 30 min from the park. They are always nice and the river has nice views to look at while paddling down stream and she is priced reasonable.
Nice park with beautiful moss draped trees. I was worried about the alligators but never saw any. Maybe it's was not warm enough in March. They had a nice nature building where the kids petted a baby alligator and learned some stuff about the animals there. There is a nice little park and walking trails. They have an observatory that looks cool but we missed it the night we got there. The bathrooms are decent for sure which is always a must in my opinion.
How cow!!! I can't explain how gorgeous this park is! Surrounded by canyons it's is vast and beautiful! We went horseback riding down into the canyon with a man named Thomas who was recommended by the park office. That was a blast! The hiking was great! Wonderful views and one hike into the canyon had a cave we explored. We also went bike riding down the trail that goes into the railroad tunnel where the bats are. That was a long bike for someone who doesn't not bike regular (4.7 miles in) but so worth it! We just went last week (3/6/15) and as of then they were no longer renting bikes just FYI. We took ours. There was bison roaming free everywhere in the park and the prairie dogs had their holes everywhere and would stand up and peep at each other, the kids loved that! They also have free back pack rentals for the kids where they have information, games, and binoculars and the kids can go explore and earn a certificate. The bathrooms were nice. Actual doors on the showers and a heater going in there. The stars came out nice at night and you can see the Milky Way. We have been to many state parks and this is by far my favorite so far!!
This park has some nice views on some of the hiking trails. Bathrooms are decent, the beach area is decent- a little muddy water but the kids had fun. Campsites are average size. I really liked the pioneer/old settlers home there. They showed the kids how to churn butter which was neat and it has some places that are nice for rustic portraits. Not a lot of stars, too close to city lights. It has enough to do to entertain and relax.