Just 90 minutes northeast of Dallas, TX, Cooper Lake State Park is a great place for recreation of all kinds. You can enjoy camping, fishing, boating, hiking, biking, and equestrian activities. There is something for everyone! Choose between Doctors Creek and South Sulphur Units and enjoy your time at the lake.
Camping
This state park has a number of different camping options. In the Doctors Creek Unit, you can camp in Liberty Grove Camping Area. These sites have both water and electric. No RV…no problem. Choose from one of their screened in shelters or cottages. MAP of Doctors Creek Unit
In the South Sulphur Unit, they have four different camping areas. Bright Star and Deer Haven camping areas have water and electric. Buggy Whip camping area is designated for equestrian camping. There is also a primitive camping area called Oak Grove. This unit also has cabins and screened in shelters if you don’t have a RV. MAP of South Sulphur Unit
You can make reservations online through the Texas State Parks website
We would recommend purchasing a Texas State Parks Pass if you are going to visit several parks in Texas. The pass will help you save money on the entrance fees.
For our weekend at Cooper Lake, we choose Bright Star camping area. It had almost everything we wanted…centrally located, water and electric, a dump station, pull through or back in sites and options for a site on the water. Usually our ideal site consists of 30amp electricity, water, sewer, a pull through, level, and a view. We were able to get everything except for sewer. The entire Bright Star area was a great camping loop. We chose site #14 and were really happy with it. As an added bonus, we were able to walk right down to the lake and fish. That brings me to another thing about Cooper Lake – recreation options!
Water Recreation
Since this is a State Park on a lake, water recreation is an obvious choice. In Texas, you don’t have to have a fishing license to fish off the bank which is why we were able to do it from our site. If you have a boat, you’ll need a license though. Find out more information about fishing and boating at Copper Lake HERE
Don’t have a boat, but still want to go out on the lake? You can rent Paddleboards and Kayaks at the dock. This park uses PaddleEZ for easy rental. You can do it right from your mobile device. Another water option is swimming. They have designated swimming areas at both the Doctors Creek and South Sulphur Units. Both have sandy beaches, picnic tables and playground to enjoy.
Hiking
I have to admit that hiking was a bit of a disappointment at this State Park. They just don’t have much to offer. We only went on the Honey Creek Nature Trail in the South Sulphur Unit. It is an easy 0.3 mile trail with native vegetation and a lot of spiders. It’s great for families, but keep an eye out for those eight legged friends. Most of the trails were either exclusively or shared equestrian trails. It really seemed like they catered to that community which is great if you have a horse, but we don’t. We probably should have given another trail a chance because I’m sure there are some good ones. After all those spiders, we were over it.
Bow & Arrow
One of things the entire Texas State Parks system does so well is their Jr Ranger program. Our daughter loves it! At this park, they offered a Bow & Arrow instructional activity that was so much fun. Both kids and adults could participate. In all of Texas State Parks, they have these kinds of events all the time. Check their calendar for future fun.
All in all, we really enjoyed our time at Cooper Lake State Park – South Sulphur Unit. We’d recommend it to anyone who lives in the DFW area and wants to get out of the city for a bit. If you’re driving through Dallas, this a great stop on your trip OR if you’re coming to Dallas for a weekend, this is a great home base.
Consider the Wonders is not affiliated with Cooper Lake State Park, Texas State Parks, or the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.
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