“best scuba lake around”
Possum Kingdom State Park, west of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, is 1528.7 acres adjacent to Possum Kingdom Lake. Some of the rock facilities at the park were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the early 1940s. The area was acquired by deed from the Brazos River Authority in 1940 and was opened to the public in 1950. This park is located in the rugged canyon country of the Palo Pinto Mountains and Brazos River Valley and is adjacent to Lake Possum Kingdom, 20,000 acres of the clearest, bluest water in the southwest. Numerous white-tailed deer make their home in the park. The Possum Kingdom Longhorns are on sabbatical, roaming the rolling plains and woodlands of San Angelo State Park while their home range is being rested and restored for their return in a few years.
Reviews of Possum Kingdom State Park Campground
19 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G/5G
Confirmed by 8 users | Last reported on April 20, 2024AT&T 4G/5G
Confirmed by 8 users | Last reported on March 11, 2023T-Mobile 4G
Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on September 26, 2022If you are looking for a nice spot to chill out during the weekend or for a couple of days and you are living close to Palo Pinto County in Texas, then you should definitely visit the Possum Kingdom State Park.
Overall, you can camp there without having to pay high rental rates, and since the size of the lake is huge, you can find easily the camping spot that best suits your needs, depending whether you want to be in a rather crowded or isolated spot. The lake is deep, with clean waters and ideal for water sports. You can rent a jet ski or a boat, if you don't have your own. You don't need a fishing license, therefore feel free to fish. You have many chances to come close to a deer, therefore you are strongly advised to have your camera with you to shoot some really beautiful photos.
One of the negative sides of the park, and a quite serious one, is that there is no gas station for at least 25 miles. Therefore be sure that you have filled up the tank and have some extra fuel with you, just in case. Another negative thing is a quite big part of the surrounding landscape was burned by the 2011 fires and is something that creates sadness to any one who loves nature.
Summing up, Possum Kingdom State Park is a nice affordable spot for camping lovers and a great place for families with children. It is nothing spectacular, but if you have a boat then you may be pleasantly surprised by the beauties of the lake !
Beautiful lakeside camping here for all budgets. I stayed in the Shady Grove Campground in the State Park. Lots of lakeside sites. $20 for electric and water, free showers in the nearby bathrooms. Also a dump. Shady Grove needs some upgrades. The bathrooms looked a bit worn. Many of the sites have broken asphalt and leveling is needed but there were several sites suitable up to 30 feet. For larger rigs, the Spanish Oaks section would be recommended - $25. I did not check out the boondocking but was told by friends that there are several free dry camping sites around the lake. I was the ONLY camper here mid week in OCTOBER, but imagine it gets crowded on summer weekends when swimming and boating are a big attraction. I had a wonderful stay here and will come back!
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 46
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
We had a great time at Possum Kingdom Lake State Park. It was a relaxing get away. Caught a couple of nice crappie from the shore (NO FISHING LICENSE required when fishing from the shore in a Texas State Park.) Star gazing was amazing!
If you are in a larger rig your choice of sites will be VERY limited. We were in a 29 ft 5th wheel and had to stay in the Spanish Oaks "Premium" sites. The smaller, older sites were not right on the water, but were gorgeous!
The park is 30 minutes or more from the closest town. There is gasoline available in the park but you are much better off to fill up before you get here.
For a video of our visit to this park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgIfmS-pOVQ
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 7
We stayed in Shady Grove, which has smaller sites than Spanish Oaks, but in my opinion, is the prettier of the two grounds as it has more trees and varied terrain. We enjoyed a short hike on one of the trails that leads up the hill behind the grounds and enjoyed a spectacular view of the lake.
The restroom and shower facilities are modern and clean, and there are enough of them throughout that it's not a long walk from any of the sites. I would be sure to check pictures of any site you are planning to reserve, as there a few that are in bad need of new asphalt and erosion control.
If you're planning to go boating, it's hard to beat the convenience of the boat ramp right in the grounds. There's also a nice dock next to the ramp, making it easy to pick up the person who parked the trailer.
Next time we camp here, we will try to reserve one of the lake-front sites. Site #50 seems to be the best, as it's a pull-through site, and has a ton of lakefront area to enjoy.
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 62
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
A very nice, clean park. We'd never been here and this was a spur of the moment stop. I asked the ranger to just pick us a decent spot, she gave us #10 in the Spanish Oaks area. Not as wooded as the older areas of the Park, but right on the water, restrooms & showers right across the street. Restroom were plentiful throughout the park, not a long distance from any camping spot.
The marina is open sporadically this time of year, there were only two other campers in the entire park, 100+ sites and cabins. Bank fishing for catfish was good, (no fishing license required) the weather was cooler with a front coming in on our second day, with a little rain that soaked in/ran off quickly.
The only downside to this park, it's 30+ miles to any town for supplies, so be sure you have all you need upon arrival. Fuel is available at the marina (expensive) and they also rent canoes, have live bait and a fishing pier.
An enjoyable state park.
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 10
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Big waterfront sites with water and electric(no sewer) with dump station. Big spaces with fire rings, picnic tables and trees. Sites were pretty level.
Very few people in January. Cell service with AT&T was spotty but you can find one if you try. No diesel within 25 miles so make sure and fill up beforehand!
Used the free showers so I did t have to baby shower in the trailer. Nice tile, cleans and hot showers.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 12
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
PK is a beautiful SP built in the 1940s. If you stay in Shady Grove you have easy access to the boat ramp to launch or put kayaks in. MAJOR NOTE - if you have a bigger rig some spots in Shady Grove are Very hard to maneuver into. We were in 078 and given park’s placement of road signs and a dumpster a miracle happened getting 31’ Jayco in. If you stay in Shady Grove would recommend you call the office and make sure your size rig will easily fit into site. Spanish Oaks campground was built for bigger rigs and is right near the water but has less trees and not as aesthetically pleasing as the wooded Shady Grove.
Park is well maintained and would come here again.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: 078
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
This park when visited 30+ years ago, left a most pleasant impression on me - we were in a pop-up trailer at that time. The lake is large and very pretty. This 2020 visit, I found the park to be in need some repairs and updating. To be fair, the park was built before big rigs were as popular as they are today. That said, the majority of the sites appear to be for tents or pop-ups or short trailers. Our site (#44 Shady Grove Loop) was asphalt in need of repair, and was not very level. The utilities (water and 50 amp electricity) were in great working order. There is a dump station in the park. Sites all have a picnic table and fire pit. Some picnic tables are situated on a concrete pad with a nice covering for shade, but the majority of the picnic tables sit on gravel/dirt. Our table was located on the wrong side of our trailer. Another note is that some of the sites were sitting under low hanging trees; our site was clear of that. While I am a big fan of state parks in general and Texas State Parks particularly, I would not come back here until I know some repairs and possibly some updating to accommodate our big rig were made.
Nightly Rate: $14.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 44
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
We arrived June 28, 2020 to our reserved site #66. Nicely angled, so easy back-in, even though the pad is narrow, rocky and has a severe back-to-front slope that tested our ability to level up. Well shaded by brush and the terrain to the west, protecting us from the late afternoon sun. Nearest neighbors were tent campers across the street, so very quiet. Short walk to the rest rooms. A 1/2 mi. trail from our site leads to the top of the ridge for great view of the lake.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 66
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
I did realize that most of the campsites are close to the water!
The primitive campsites are the closest with some of the RV sites a little farther back but still close.
The site parking is pretty small and the roads are narrow. It would be hard getting a large Class A, Class C or fifth wheel into the RV sites.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 50
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
AT&T 4G
T-Mobile 4G
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Possum Kingdom State Park Campground
Hours
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- State park or forest
- Back In RV Sites Count
- 30
- Last Nightly Rate
- 20.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 40.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 14.0
- Max Stay
- 14
- Sites Count
- 116
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Paved Sites
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Back In RV Sites
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Vehicle Wash Permitted
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Water Hookup
Campground, Restrooms
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