Martin Creek Lake State Park Campground

I feel a little bad for giving this a 3 because this park was not terrible, just a little run down, and overrun with locals out fishing for the day. I guess I'm a little greedy about wanting the place to myself, and although I don't begrudge local folks enjoying their state park, it's a pretty small place for so many people. That said, it was nice seeing families out enjoying themselves. I stayed at the smaller loop hoping for a quieter area, more on that later. Here's the rundown of the positives and not so positives about Martin Creek:

Pluses:
* There's a footbridge, heavily used by fisher-folk, over to a nice little island that was a fun walk.
* Some of the sites in the larger loop have covered picnic tables, but the smaller area where I stayed did not.
* Gorgeous, towering, East Texas pine trees throughout
* Apparently there is very good fishing because the water stays warm all year long, more on that later.

Minuses:
* It's a bit hard to find - I didn't see any signs off the highway or nearby. I was definitely happy to have GPS!
* Supposedly the island is for tent camping but all the sites I saw were pretty run down and trashy.
* Overall, there are not enough trash cans available for the amount of traffic the park gets.
* The rv sites are a bit tricky because they are all back-ins with deep-ish ditches on either side of the narrow driveway. Definitely recruit a spotter - I didn't and had to take it very slow and get out a bunch of times.
* The clincher on the minus side....there's a big, lit up, noisy power plant on the lake, opposite the fishing bridge/island/camp sites. I mean bright, and noisy all night long (actually it's the lignite mining that makes all the noise). The water stays warm all year because of the plant.

So there it is - camping among the towering Texas pines with a coal plant clanging in the background. It's there if you need it but I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time at this state park!

Stopped overnight on the way through. We were tent camping and were warned about an ant problem. No worries, when we go camping we expect to deal with the outdoors. That being said, they were ALL OVER the front of our motorcycles eating the dead bugs. Mostly left us alone though. There is a noisy power plant and trains (I think), but they didn’t bother us too much. Would stop in again, but probably not for vacation.

Enjoyed my stay. Did a lot of kayaking. There’s good fishing and decent trails. Love how shaded it is and that I could put my kayak right in the lake from my spot. Remember your park pass. You really do want to grab one for the discounts!

Even though this park is only about 30 miles from our home, we had never been there. I know it is very popular with fisherman and boaters, but we are neither. Still, we are bored (it's the winter of 2020!) so decided to take the TT out for a few days, someplace not too far away. Surprisingly for December the 50+ RV sites at Martin Creek Lake were booked solid for the next few weekends. Managed to find a spot #31 in the Broken Bowl camping area for Monday-Thurday about a week ahead. Forty-five dollars with our Texas Park Pass. (During our stay the 13 pads in this area stayed mostly empty. My experience has taught me not to trust the info on the online reservation system. If you REALLY need to land here on a given night, call the park directly.) Our site was very level, easy back-in and spacious with table, firepit, tent pad and water-electric hookups. I walked all the trails in the park. The Old Henderson Road and Island trails are fairly well marked, but I had a trail map + a Map My Walk track running, but still had to wander around to find the Harmony Hill trailhead. After that the trail is easy to follow, but basically there are no trail markers. The OHR trail is interesting because a portion follows the sunken track of the mid-eighteenth century Shreveport-Henderson wagon road. The Island trail has a dozen or so informative panels marking native East Texas flora. Now for the downside: Directly across the lake is a three-unit Luminate coal-fired power plant. The sound of this plant, and its supporting coal trains, could be heard in every part of the park. It was tolerable at night in our RV, but "the sound of silence" was nowhere to be found.

Beautiful East Texas park. 3 nice hiking trails through the tall hardwoods and pines. Very quiet on the weekdays that we were here. We didn’t fish but it looked like it would be great.

The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. Made us feel right at home. The campground was clean and quiet. We had campsite 50 and the view was amazing. Morning coffee overlooking the lake with a warm fire by outside. This was wonderful campground with the beauty, peacefulness, and serenity that you are looking for.

Beautiful, tranquil location. Nice bonus to have a lit fishing pier in the park. They are currently fighting off an infestation of argentine ants- you’ll need to treat everything that touches the ground with an ant bait/poison to keep them away. The ants don’t bite, but they are aggressive and it’s important to halt their spread.

http://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/martin-creek-lake

INFO From above link:
Activities include excellent, year-round fishing; camping; wildlife observation and photography; picnicking; boating (canoe rentals are available); water skiing; lake swimming (unsupervised); backpacking; hiking; and interpretive programs. The park has cabins and screened shelters available for overnight use, and a 75-person capacity Group Picnic Pavilion.

During the winter months, many fishing tournaments are held at the park and during these tournaments the area near the boat ramp may be crowded; please check our current listing of fishing tournaments for dates.

Detailed fishing & lake information for Martin Creek Lake
Swimming Safety Tips
Ranger Programs

The park offers a variety of educational opportunities, including interpretive programs on Saturday (when staffing allows).

Check the calendar for upcoming events or contact the park for special tours.
Learn more by downloading our Interpretive Guide (PDF)
Area Attractions

Nearby attractions include Caddo Lake State Park, Starr Family Home State Historic Site, Texas State Railroad and the historic cities of Marshall, Longview, Kilgore and Henderson.