Choke Canyon consists of two branches: South Shore (day-use only) and Calliham (full-service side of the park). We planned our visit as part of a Labor Day extended weekend trip since the area is nowhere near close to where we live in North Texas. We arrived midday. In August. It was a blistering 97 degrees by the time we arrived – the kind of heat that makes the very air itself feel like it’s suffocating you. Because the weather wasn’t working in its favor, Choke Canyon State Park was a hard sell while we were there. Nevertheless, we pushed ourselves to experience a sampling of what CCSP offered and here’s what we found.
Cons: Let’s just go ahead and get them out of the way.
Heat. Hot as Hades comes to mind. Seriously. With no breeze. Stifling hot. The kind of hot that makes you keenly aware that even the environment is thirsty for water and your body is the current source of this precious commodity. But we were there in August, so that’s on us. Can’t really fault the park for the weather. Just a consideration when timing your visit.
Drought. The effects were pretty dramatic as there were concrete jetties that were clearly meant as walkways “into the water” that were a whopping 29 feet above the actual water level at the time of our visit. Everywhere you looked the land was parched. Dry. Thirsty. Brown was the predominant color of the landscape. The sound of dead vegetation crunching under your footfalls was part of the soundtrack of the day. But again, you cannot fault CCSP for natural disasters.
Pros: On to the Good Stuff!
Fishing. Apparently Choke Canyon Reservoir is great for fishing – especially if you have a boat. Catfish Marv, whom we met at the HQ, routinely takes groups out on his 24′ pontoon boat between 7am-1pm, and his latest expedition at the time of our introduction yielded a whopping 125 fish! We met a married couple at the fish cleaning station in the early afternoon of our visit that had caught 26 crappie in the span of 4 hours, also from their boat.
Bird Center. Many species of birds can be spotted at CCSP. In fact, one thing we appreciated about our visit was our songbird soundtrack. We heard the beautiful songs of birds during our entire visit. In addition, we crossed paths with a couple of roadrunners on the South Shore side of the park, our first up-close encounter with that speedy species.
Rec Hall. Tennis anyone? How about basketball? Are you more into soccer? CCSP has you covered as it has the facilities for all of these in or around the Rec Hall. Didn’t bring equipment? No problem! They have loaners you can borrow during your visit.
Shaded Parking. This is a serious consideration when the temps are soaring, yet not many Texas State Parks have much of it. CCSP has it in spades and you will appreciate it if you time your visit during the hottest months of the year like we did.
Shelters. CCSP offers screened shelters and shelters with air conditioning, a must-have in the summer in Texas. Situated on their own street within the park, these shelters look like a community of adorable Tiny Houses complete with front porches.
Insects. I think it’s worth noting that CCSP wasn’t buggy. We didn’t experience a single mosquito, which is unusual for us! In fact, the place appeared delightfully bug-free (though we know this is unrealistic).
Trails. They were wide. Well-maintained. Clearly marked. Level. Teeming with deer.
Alligators. There are signs, which is why we didn’t fish on the shore. We were told that alligators sunned in this spot, or that spot. The Manling even heard one enter the water, saw the splash, but just missed actually sighting one. The fact that they are there and that we didn’t have a dangerous close encounter is a Pro. (A Park Staffer pointed out that they have never had a visitor experience a disastrous encounter with one of their resident reptiles, and I am happy we were able to continue that streak on our visit.)
Why We Love Choke Canyon State Park
Wildlife. Amazingly, even during a drought, CCSP is home to deer, alligators, many species of birds, javelina, and many more!
Water. Summer in Texas = Water. Bring or rent a boat and enjoy a day on the Choke Canyon Reservoir. We hear the fishing is amazing! (And if you hire out Catfish Marv, tell him Texans Travel says hello!)
Must Do’s
Water. Look, with Catfish Marv willing and able, there’s no reason not to enjoy some time on the reservoir, especially with a rod in hand. Give the man a call (Capt. Marvin “Catfish Marv” Elledge at 210-365-7967).
Tiny House Community. There is no more affordable way to stay in the area than CCSP, and since they have accommodations with a/c, you can even enjoy a summer visit! Come on. You know you want to.
We’d love to hear about your experiences at Choke Canyon State Parks! Please leave your comments on this resilient State Park in the comments below.
*In all natural areas, you are a guest. Educate yourself on what lives in the areas before your visits, always talk to the Park Rangers upon arrival and take precautions so that your experiences end as positively as ours.
We first met Mater when we visited Lake Colorado City State Park about four years ago, chillin’ in the field across from the park entrance. We waved a friendly “hello” as we headed home after a few hours at the park, glad that he’d come to see us off that uneventful day. Uneventful in the truest sense because our first visit to this self-proclaimed desert oasis was kind of a dud. Not only was the park desolate in an eerily creepy kind of way, the park was in the deep, dark part of a severe drought at the time and what was left in it’s wake looked to our eyes like the aftermath of an apocalyptic event. Mangled docks looked like a shockwave had rendered them completely unusable and almost unidentifiable had they not been standing so tall on parched ground that was, in former days, the lake.
Imagine our surprise when we saw Mater again during our revisit mid-July 2018, sitting in the same spot across from the entrance to the park, reminiscent of the good ole days when hard working folks sat a spell on the porch, sipping sweet tea, enjoying the gentle breeze of the summer evening after a long day of sweaty labor on their land. Love.
Kinder Frau, The Manling, and me – circa 2014
But there ends any similarity between our first visit and our second.
On our second trip to LCCSP, what we happily discovered was a park slowly, but surely, recovering from the devastating effects of years of drought. The fishing piers that were formerly disfigured and damaged by the drought were replaced with sturdy, robust piers that hosted a small, but continual rotation of anglers eager to drop a line in the water, which now delightedly covered the ground under them once again.
Where the park was desolate years before, we now encountered a handful of families both in the RV camping area and using the lakefront, air conditioned shelters, all of which look like newly build tiny homes complete with shaded front porches.
On our first visit, the lake was deserted, unused. On our more recent visit, we crossed paths with a family setting up a canopy in preparation for a day in the sun and surf once again available at Lake Colorado City State Park.
On our first visit, our imaginations were stirred for hours, imagining various scenarios that could have caused the undisclosed apocalyptic event. On our revisit, our minds were engaged geocaching. The park has a couple of great finds, by the way. And this is a great way to explore the park on foot for singles, couples, or the whole family.
While we restricted our explorations to the main roads on our first visit, this second time around Park Ranger Sky encouraged us to discover the roughly 1.5 mile (round trip) of bike trail they have been working to clear.
This park that was once fodder to spark conversation and creativity, is slowly becoming one that we can imagine will again hosts hoards of West Texans seeking to escape the heat in the cool waters of Lake Colorado City, on the cusp of becoming a desert oasis once more.
Why We Love Lake Colorado City State Park
Mater. I know he’s not technically a part of the park, but he has been a part of our park experience both visits and we love him. Make sure to wave a friendly “hello” to him when you see him.
Water. It’s hard to not hit a home run during the Texas summer heat when water is part of the equation. Thankfully, LCCSP is making a comeback in that department.
Fishing. Boat docks and fishing piers in the early morning and evening are the best times to drop a line.
Geocaching. There are one or two in some pretty ferrel areas, but there is one that is hidden in a truly spectacular location. Let the treasure hunting begin!
Trails. The trails were still under construction while we were there, but they are already taking shape and I think they will be pretty awesome either on foot or by bike in the near future.
A/C Shelters. I’m a sucker for tiny homes and these cute little shelters with a/c look like a newly built community of them, all lakeside. Bonus!
Must Do’s
Geocache. Hands-down, I think this is the absolute best way to get up close and personal with a new area. State Parks included.
Fish. The Manling wasn’t able to catch much on our visit, but we were there during the middle of the day. He will definitely try again the next time we are at LCCSP. You can count on it.
Swim. The water is making a comeback. A family was enjoying their floats on the water when we were there. Dip a toe in.
Stay. Tiny homes. RV’s. Even tent camping (in a more hospitable time of year). LCCSP can accommodate all budgets and preferences.
Explore. The trails look like they will be nice, wide, level trails for mountain biking…or exploring on foot. I’m especially psyched to try the one that runs adjacent to the lake. That promises to have some pretty great views.
Our trip to Lake Brownwood State Park could be considered a series of unfortunate events at first glance. The fact that we left our house at 5:30am would be the first of those unfortunate events to 3/4 of the population of Smiths living in our home in North Texas. Fortunately, The Reader is a morning person and once we picked her up at 6:15am, there was a second cheerful person on board the S.S.Suburban bound for Lake Brownwood State Park. We chatted. I read a humorous chapter from Of Mess and Moxie to her. She laughed at my observations. She showed me adorable pics of her furr babies. I coveted her new iPhone. Just a delightful passing of time as we headed west in the wee hours of the morn.
And then we stopped for gas and a bio break. No biggie, except this time while The Man was filling the behemoth tank of our land yacht, he noticed this, which could rightly be considered the second in our series of unfortunate events –
We just didn’t think the “wires” of our inner tire should be showing. And since we’d had the tires checked the day before at a reputable tire place, we were scratching our heads as to how this could have happened.
Sigh.
Not only was the Suburban filled with coolers (plural), sporting equipment, fishing gear, 5 humans, and Our Awesome Aussie, the spare tire was also in the back instead of in it’s rightful place under the vehicle thanks to a years ago off-roading adventure gone awry. Hence the sigh. We were going to have to offload three bikes so that we could unload the heavy coolers and finagle around our miscellaneous sporting equipment in order to get the good spare tire out and onto the truck. And by we, I mean The Man and The Manling because the rest of us are ladies (including our Awesome Aussie) and the ladies promptly took off for a photo shoot with the cool sculptures and such that make roadside gas stations more than just pit stops.
Thirty minutes saw us back on the road – which I count as a miracle because the jack that the giant Suburban had looked like it would have had trouble lifting the Tiny Toyota Tardis (because the Yaris is bigger on the inside), so kudos to the makers of that priceless piece of engineering! About an hour later, we reached our destination without further incident.
After taking our group selfie at the entrance –
In what the lady-folk would consider the third unfortunate event, Kinder Frau pointed out the leavings of a snake’s skin – right at our feet. {Just. Breathe.}
– we headed straight for the HQ to register our vehicle and get the lay of the land from the excellent Park Staff. Which is when I noticed the flyers stacked on the counter inviting everyone for a volleyball game at 10:30am and a kickball game at 1pm. You see, I had called earlier in the week to talk to the Park Staff about a couple of items I’d noticed on their website – volleyball courts and a softball field – that were free for use by park visitors. I asked if they could invite other visitors to join us for volleyball and kickball the day we would be there and they enthusiastically replied, “Absolutely! We are all about community.” That same day, I saw an announcement posted on their social media! Upon arrival at the park, we saw the flyers sitting right on the counter where everyone checked into the park! Major props to the LBSP Staff for living their motto!
Since it was about 10:15am, we headed straight for the volleyball court by the swim beach. We played a hilarious hybrid game of volleyball & nukem that attracted a fair amount of odd looks from the few people that walked by and maybe weren’t living their best lives like The Smiths clearly were. Not everyone can live our level of cool in the heat of summer.
And then things got real – someone joined us!!! The social media blitz combined with the old school flyers landed us an actual human being willing to join our crazy shenanigans! And he was in full length denim pants, people…owning the court! Let’s take a moment to give proper kudos to Caleb for going with the flow, laughing, and pretty much #winning at that carpe diem thing!
Our new bestie Caleb, The Man, and The Manling in about 1000 degree weather
This shot makes us look like we know what we’re doing. The Reader took video that proved that we were more of a spectacle than spectacular. But we had fun, so we’re cool with that.
Hot and tired. And also the self-proclaimed winners.
We told Caleb about our upcoming kickball game, invited him to join us at 1pm at the field for more fun, and then headed back to the truck for some lakeside eating in the comfort our air conditioned Suburban. Nothing spectacular to report except the lake views, which are gorgeous and complete the ambiance when you are eating in your air conditioned vehicle lakeside.
Once we were fed and cooled, some of us felt energized enough to tackle the Nopales Ridge Trail atop our bikes, so we reparked the Suburban at the trailhead (which is off the main park road on the right, just past the split). We left The Reader and Kinder Frau to read, relax, and chill in the Suburban with Our Awesome Aussie while The Man, The Manling, and I took to the trail.
It started simply enough, lots of flat earth shaded by pretty trees and serenaded by the call of locusts and birds. Then we got to the portion that the Park Staff forewarned might be “challenging.” I’d like to say we kicked the trail’s butt, but honestly? We had to get off and walk portions of it because the rocks were so big and I was on my city hybrid bike with the teeny tires which I was morbidly afraid would go POP! rendering me a walker for the remainder of the trail while the midday sun slowly melted me. So we experienced about a fifth of the trail on foot, which inherently held it’s own challenges to me because of the cactus and the incredibly rocky, narrow path on the “challenging” portion of the trail and my recurrent fear of snakes, which I was assured lived in the park when we were registering our vehicle earlier in the day, but I had been less afraid of encountering on the trail when I was enjoying it atop my bike at a decent clip. Eventually we made it back to the wider, more earthy trail and we were riding the bikes once more, enjoying the wind in our faces as we blazed through the rest of the trail and back to the Suburban. We had so much fun overall, I suggested that The Man and The Manling do it again sans me and my sissy bike after our kickball game, an idea that held real appeal to my menfolk.
As we were storing gear, loading up the bikes, and downing H2O, The Reader kindly let us know that a rather alarming engine-related message appeared on the dashboard while we were gone. Long story short, without thinking we did a big no-no (our fourth unfortunate event of the day, for those that are counting) and this happened –
We quickly emptied water bottles into our coolant reservoir and headed slowly to the sports field for kickball at which exactly no one joined us, which was not a mystery because it was
but that didn’t stop The Smiths from playing the most ridiculous game of four-way kickball ever invented! The Reader served as our permanent pitcher while the rest of us constituted one-man teams and Our Awesome Aussie jogged around the field not sure who she was rooting for and far more preoccupied with the abundance of new olfactory sensations to care anyway.
We were all winners after our epic 23-minute, four-way, individual kickball game, but I might have had more of a reason to smile than the others when it ended. Just sayin’.
Game over, we re-focused our attention on the fourth in our series of unfortunate events. We oh-so-cautiously drove to the boat launch area with hopes that we could possibly find a boat owner with engine coolant to spare. While The Man and I searched and read manuals and refilled water bottles to add to the car’s reservoir, the kids treated Our Awesome Aussie to a much-appreciated swim because Our Awesome Aussie is practically ferrel when it comes to the likes of water and wallowing and she was about to melt from the heat trapped in her beautiful blue merle coat.
Once we found a generous boater with coolant to spare, the Suburban seemed right as rain again (Thank you, Jesus!). We headed back to the Nopales Ridge Trail to drop the guys off to re-do the loop on their manly bikes with their ginormous tires while the gals explored the rest of LBSP via Suburban.
I want to post the cry-laughing emogee, but that’s not an option.
The Manling might have petered out during their second take of the “challenging” mountain bike trail and left The Man outside to load the bikes back onto the Suburban.
The second, more testosterone-filled mountain bike ride, both The Man and The Manling crashed (fifth in our series of unfortunate events) at the very spot we previously commented seemed way too narrow for handle bars to fit through. Apparently, we were right. We hit the road shortly after the guys’ smashing second mountain bike ride and thusly brought our day-long series of unfortunate events to a surprisingly happy conclusion.
Why We Love Lake Brownwood State Park
Water. Summer + Texas + Water = Smiles
Mountain Biking. This. Was. Awesome. It’s the first time in years we’ve taken the bikes to a State Park for some off-roading and we were feelin’ every minute of it! Just make sure you have thick mountain bike tires. You’ll need ’em.
CCC. LBSP has the most CCC structures of any of the Texas State Parks. You have to take a moment to enjoy their historical beauty. The Trails Map points many out to you, along with a news bite of information. You can find out more info on the park’s History page.
Athletic. I love, love, LOVE that LBSP encourages you in outdoor pursuits. Bring your thick-tired mountain bike and ride the Posales Ridge Trail. Explore the beautiful Lakeside Trail on foot. Borrow a volleyball and get a game going at one of the two volleyball courts. Check out all the equipment you’ll need to enjoy America’s favorite past time at the HQ. Go for a swim in the refreshing waters of Lake Brownwood. Like Nike would say, Just Do It.
Must Do’s
Play. Listen up. The HQ has loaner equipment so that you can play til your heart’s content, my friend! For FREE. Take them up on it and hae some old school fun playing with some peeps – old, and new!
Explore. There are around 6 miles of trails you can hike, run, or bike. Explore them! (Note: If you explore by bike, bring some thick tires. These trails aren’t made with sissy city tires in mind.)
Fish. There is a super cool bridge around the boat launches that has a pier behind it where we saw three generations of fisher people catching crappie while we were there in the heat of the day. Give it a try.
Swim. We saw people enjoying the water the whole time we were there. LBSP has a GREAT beach area, which is exactly what the doctor orders when it’s 103 out there.
Grand Stairway. Short, sweet climb to a precious little shaded sitting area with scenic views of the lake. The Man and I enjoyed some alone time up there on our visit, but it would be the perfect spot for a small family picnic.
We’d love to hear about your experiences at Lake Brownwood State Park! Please share your thoughts on this eventful park in the comments.
*In all natural areas, you are a guest. Educate yourself on what lives in the areas before your visits, always talk to the Park Rangers upon arrival and take precautions so that your experiences end as positively as ours.
