The critters came out even more when they knew everyone was packing up and leaving Sunday afternoon. They know the routine, especially the raccoons at dinner time. Great large, clean sites, thick with trees and underbrush on 3 sides which gives a sense of seclusion. Table and fire pit usually behind the parking area adding to your privacy. You can hear other campers but rarely see them from your camp site and that's with effort. Same with the birds. I heard a lot of different song birds but rarely spotted them because of the thick coverage. We saw lots of stars. The park rangers and Hosts patrol the park regularly so help is always handy. There's not a fish at every cast depending on the fishman, but there are fish; nice sized black bass too. Bathrooms were well cleaned but go fairly soon after because of considerable usage. Try the little barbeque and burger, small stand, in Eustace. Great food, service and local information. Didn't try other food establishments this time. Will defintely return to both Purtis Creek State Park and Eustace TX.
The nicest staff of any State Park in Taxas. Always freindly and has great fishing. This is always on my list of places I "must go".
A natural setting away from the stresses of daily life, with singing birds and the occasional sound of a curious fish coming to the surface of the lake. This place drains the tension and worry out of you. Camping, hiking trails, fireplaces - a great place for a family outing.
We camped in our pop-up there and really enjoyed it! Saw lots of wildlife - deer, raccoons, and tons of bunnies. All the sites are very private with a lot of bush/forest in between. There are only four sites on the water itself. One of the campsites was even fully handicap accessible (this was not on the water). Trails are well kept. There are two different lighted fishing docks as well as a wood dock for campers to tie their own boats, very impressive! Very nice fish cleaning stations alongside the lighted fishing docks. Only one bathroom with showers but each side has three of them. No private dressing area. See my shower note below. Restrooms were clean but very old. Each site has the usual picnic table and fire pit. You can buy firewood directly from the park here. Rangers, volunteers and camp hosts were all very nice. Great playground and swimming area for the kids. We will be back!Only negative about this particular state park was the women's shower area. There are three stalls and I could only use the handicapped one because the shower heads are literally unmovable. They were pointed so high, at the back wall, that I couldn't get them to hit me and I am 5'4"! Since we were camping there, we just went very early evening and I had my pick so it wasn't a huge deal but it would be if you were waiting in line! If you go there, leave time to visit the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, Texas (very close). It's well worth the trip. They will even provide you with fishing gear to fish in one of their three ponds!
We couldn't stay out of trouble. We have been camping on Thanksgiving for going on 18 years. This park had zero tolerance with park rules and then park ranger gets onto to us for camp fire singing at 8:00 PM and having too big of a fire and a bottle of wine on the picnic table. This completely disrupted and ruined our family social time. Our bad on the wine bottle, but we we're ragged on by the Park Rangers and park host over and over. We will not go back, too much hassle when we were just having family fun. We have encountered similar treatment at other State parks. Corp of Engineers parks will get our loyal business of 8 paying families.
It seems that most area state parks are primarily for camping and fishing. Purtis definitely fits this mold. The trails are limited and the park lacks natural beauty. The greatest asset is an occasional Bald Eagle and an abundance of Whitetail.
This state park has great camping spots and a great picnic area by the water. It's great for day use if you live near by or great for a weekend trip. My family has enjoyed many trips here.
This was our first visit to the park, while volunteering during the KidFish event. Noticed a couple of things:- there didn't seem to be trashcans out and about, which we found odd for a park- there were a lot of ant beds (assume due to recent rain), which was unfortunate for a large kid eventAside from that, my two kids decided to try the kayaking. They were out for 3 hours and enjoyed it. The lake is small and confined enough such that I was comfortable with them going out of my site, as life jackets were required. I decided to go ahead and purchase an annual state park card. That saved us a few dollars on the kayak rental. Will have to hold thoughts on the fishing, but will comment on the little we fished, we caught nothing! That was disappointing for my fisherman teen.
Just got back from spending an extended weekend at Purtis Creek SP. Very small park. We have a 32', 3 slide outs, 5th Wheel. Most all of the pads were a little short but we made do. Most of the sights were already taken as Campers came down and chose the sight they wanted and put their slip of paper for the sight on then left only to come back for the weekend. There are only about 8 campsites on the water. Most of the sights also have the picnic table and fire ring/grill a ways from the pads. There was no shade on any of the picnic sights. A lot of State Park Patrol and Park Patrol always going up and down the road making their presence known. There was a lot of trees and dead trees and underbrush. Was a nice visit but we will think hard before going back to this Lake. Friends went also and we could not get a sight beside each other. (That was a big letdown)
Put in my kayak here this morning and really appreciated the sand launch area dedicated to kayaks, also I was able to join in on a kayak safety course which was very well done on a beginner level, highly recommend.