Had a great Memorial weekend. Great fishing, quiet camps, nice shower facilities, and lots of trees and fresh air!
***Disclaimer*****************We’re a family of 5 with kids ages 9,9, and 6. Our setup is a 35’ motorhome with 50amp service. We rely on the MH bathroom and shower but will take advantage of park facilities when they are acceptable. We have an inflatable kayak for smaller lakes and we like to fish and geocache. We also take the kids’ bikes along. We typically spend 2 or 3 days max in a park and consider things to do nearby, but most of our time is spent in the park itself. Our park experiences and reviews are based off the above.**************Atlanta State ParkWe spent 2 nights at this park in early July ’12. Although it wasn’t a bad experience, I probably would not return to this park. At check-in the desk person was very friendly. Come to find out that the state actually just rents the land from the Army Corps of Engineers. She said they normally have a sandy beach but that since it was a flood control lake the corps will raise and lower the levels at different times. They truck sand in for the beach but the water level had recently washed it away. I was also informed that the eastern half of the park had been opened to loggers and that it wasn’t all that great over there. All that up front, let’s jump in to the details.Camping Sites – we stayed in the Knight’s Bluff camping area which is right next to the large day-use pavilion. One end is a small loop for tent camping and the other stretch is pretty much pull-throughs for larger trailers. It was pretty flat and fairly heavily shaded. We had a water/electric/sewer site and stayed in #21. The campsite itself was nice and flat and provided a nice area. The kids had a nice place to ride bikes that was pretty light on traffic. Lake/Swimming Area – Lake Wright Patman is pretty big and we didn’t dare get our little kayak out on the water. The swimming area is what it is. It wasn’t terrible but we had just come from Daingerfield SP which had one of the best I’ve seen. We steered the kids away from swimming but I’ve seen a lot worse at other parks. We opted instead for water gun fights to ward off the July heat. Bathrooms/Showers – facilities were not very nice in my opinion. I peeked in to take a look for the review and that was all I needed to see. We stuck to the MH.Misc. – the playground was pretty bad, 4 swings and an old rusty metal slide with no shade cover at all. I’m always surprised that the parks done have better playgrounds. We did hike the Volchsmark and Arrowhead trails and they were nice. Plenty of shade coverage back there and a nice leisurely stroll. As the eastern part of the park was open to logging, those trails were pretty much obliterated. The park’s state challenge geocache had just been disabled and there were no others in the park. I asked the headquarters about placing a couple and they seemed perplexed. Didn’t even know about the paperwork to fill out so I just didn’t bother. There really isn’t much to do nearby if you have kids and honestly we got a little bored. We were all ready to pull out of there and move on when we did. There is a Wal-Mart nearby in Atlanta in case you forget something. It's about 15 minutes away from the park. There is also a side of the road shack that claims "if you forgot it, we have it!" along with providing mower blade sharpening and other odd services. You could probably get some simple taxes done there if need be :).Wildlife – the one saving grace for this park was that we saw a good handful of deer inside the park. We also drove around the back country by Jackson Park and thereabouts and saw more deer roaming the woods. Think that about does it. It wasn’t a bad trip there but I saw nothing that would make me want to go back and actually had the itch to leave. If you’re in the area I’d go to Daingerfield SP instead which is only about 45 miles away.
If all you want to do is camp in a wooded area this would be a great choice. For those of us who bring boats and like to fish - camping areas are not close to the water like other parks in the area.
My husband and I loved the everything about the park. The restrooms were very clean and the staff was excellent. They were friendly and very helpful.When we were there they had a get together with singing and guitar playing it was terrific. We will make this our destination a few times a year. This was our first visit and we thoroughly impressed!!!!!!!!!
We visit a lot of parks, and I have to say this is one of the worst. Before I talk about the bad parts, I will say that we really liked the actual camp sight. It was a fairly level, heavily wooded pull through. That's where our good experience ended. The bugs were so bad, you can't imagine. The swimming area was heavily eroded and littered with dirty diapers and trash, I'm assuming because there were no trash cans around. The bathrooms were the worst I have ever seen!!! They had absolutely no ventilation and standing water everywhere. The two eastern parts of the park were closed for logging, but we did bike through them. The sites were nicer than the open areas, rolling hills and some even has views of the lake. If you are camping here with kids, go to rocky point instead. The state of Tx needs to spend a lot of money on this park!!
We held a family reunion and memorial service for a family member on an October weekend at Atlanta State Park and were amazed at how friendly and helpful all of the park personnel were. We rented the picnic pavilion for two days and used the amphitheater for the memorial service. Both facilities had a lovely view of the lake. The park personnel cleaned all of the facilities in preparation, they provided some necessities we had forgotten, came by and checked on us, and were very helpful without being intrusive. We had 50 family members, some very young and some quite elderly, and several pets. All of them had a marvelous time. Some family members stayed at a local motel, while others stayed at the trailer facilities near the picnic pavilion. These were shady, pull-through sites with full hook ups at a very reasonable price, and the size of the individual camping spaces was quite large. The park personnel ran a bird-watching program early on Saturday morning, and an immature bald eagle flew over, being tutored by its parents. The lake is clear and beautiful, and there were flocks of pelicans wintering there. Fishing in the lake is free; no fishing license was required.
This park is a great place to relax in the beautiful East Texas Pineywoods. Staff is kind and thoughtful, keep park in top shape. Sits on shores and bluffs of Lake Wright Patman, large body of water with tree lined shores.
Stopped by for a picnic. Nice facility except for the bathrooms being pretty gross. Way over due for a makeover.
A equipe é gentil e bem planejadas, mantenha-se em boa forma. Fica no litoral e encostas do Lago Wright Patman, corpo grande de água com margens arborizadas.Este parque é um ótimo lugar para relaxar no belo East Texas Pineywoods. O lago é clara e bonita, e havia bandos de pelicanos enumeradas. Pesca no lago é livre; nenhuma licença de pesca foi necessário.
This campground is great. Restrooms are very clean. The staff is very friendly. It is also very quiet. I would highly recommend it and it will enough not be our last time.❤️❤️❤️