Friendly and great for kids
Written: Oct 16 '05 (Updated Jun 30 '07)
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Pros: Perfect place to canoe/paddle boat
Cons: Highway noise, spread out, main gate isn't locked.
The Bottom Line: Not the best RV spot, but if you've got a tent and want to rent a canoe this is the place. Overall good time.
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| jlundquist1's Full Review: Fort Parker State Park |
Shortly after deciding that we would attempt to visit every TX state park, however unrealistic, we visited Fort Parker SP. We stayed there in October in a pop-up camper along with some friends at a water and electric site. The park is conveniently located about an hour or so from DFW and 45 minutes from Waco between Mexia and Grosebeck.
We found all the usual amenities we like about state parks. The staff were friendly, the park was well kept, and the restrooms were clean, well stocked, and had flush toilets/showers.
We planned to canoe from the Confederate reunion grounds back to the park. This is (we're told) about a 3-4 mile canoe trip down the Navasota river. The cost is $20 for canoe rental which includes paddles and life vests. The ranger shuttles the canoes up river but you are going to need two cars. Unfortunately when we visited the river level was too low filling about 1/2 of Fort Parker Lake thick with lilly pads making it pretty much impassible. The ranger came to our site about 8 that morning to let us know. We were able to rent canoes ($7 per hour, $15 for 4 hours and they rent paddleboats) and just explore as much of the lake as we wanted, or could. Fort Parker Lake is the perfect size to spend a good day paddling. The lake seems to be teeming with fish, but the water levels were low when we visited and only served up one channel cat. We did see Largemouth bass, gar, carp (in the navasota below the damn) and what appeared to be bream or blue gill.
Fort Parker has about 25 or so water and electric sites, separate tent/shelter sites, and some cabins. We found that some of the water/elec. sites were very small, while others were huge. The site we stayed on had a fairly level asphalt pad (as did all), but some sites were on a hill and the pad was quite sloped. While they were all very close to the lake, none had access because of tall grass. The park has two fishing piers and I believe two boat ramps (one by the park store and one on the Navasota). The park also has hiking/biking trails.
The only downsides to the park are: It's very spread out along the lake, there's no full hookup sites and the dump station is about a 1/4 mile away, the highway/train noise is very loud at night. We were also used to the fact that state parks lock their gate at night. Fort Parker doesn't/can't because there are several private residences along the main park road (no where near any public use areas), however we did notice the park police officer and rangers patrolled the park frequently which was nice.
Overall Fort Parker SP is in line with most other Texas State Parks; clean, well kept, and always a great outing. However the park is small, spread out, and loud at night.
UPDATE 6/30/07:
My previous review stands. However when we visted the park this trip the lake level was up, WAY up! Where our friends pitched their tent last time was under water! The area by the damn (although no good for fishing this time) was spectacular since the water was flowing over. We didn't fish on this trip, just spent a night testing out our new trailer.
I do have to add though that if you make a reservation at a Texas State Park DO NOT make it through the on-line Reserve America site, call instead. We made a reservation that way on this trip for Whitney State Park originally. Whitney was closed to flooding and we were notified at 1:30pm the day before our reservation. When I called to get our money refunded I was told that the $3 I paid for the Reserve America reservation was for a "service" that we already recieved, even though our reservation was cancelled by the state. I was also told quite bluntly that I "should've read the terms and conditions" and there was no way I would get this money refunded. I consider this a big rip-off since I've often noticed that by calling the free central reservation service in Austin (toll call, no 800 number) parks are full, but have still found sites available on Reserve America site.
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: September-November
Recommended for: Familes
Review Topic: Campgrounds & Lodging
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Epinions.com ID:
jlundquist1
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Member: J Lundquist
Location: Central Texas
Reviews written: 23
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
We camp ALOT!, we're frugal and we love bargains.
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