Visit our Tyler State Park Photo Gallery Approximately 100 miles East of Dallas Texas in Smith County you will find the popular
Tyler State Park. The cities of Canton, Marshall, Longview and of course Tyler itself are close by carrying over a very urban feel to the park. When we visited in March 2007 parents of camping families were actually driving their kids back and forth to school at the nearby cities. At 985 acres this is a fairly small park with a pretty but also small (64 acre) spring fed lake.
Lots of people fish from the shore (although we didn’t see anyone catch anything.) Canoes and paddle boats are available for rent in season. (5 mph limit on the lake.) There are 37 tent campsites with water, 20 sites with electric and water and 57 full hook up trailer or RV sites both pull thru and back in. We stayed at Site 36 which backed us right in to a great lake view however none of the sites offer privacy from your neighbors. 13 miles of mountain bike trails for all skill levels are well used as well as a 2.5 mile hiking trail and a .75 mile nature trail. The worst thing about this park was the restroom. It was cleaned every morning however with just this one rest room under heavy use serving two camping loops by midday the condition was poor. This park was opened by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1939 when bath facilities would have been adequate. Tip: Take a 15 minute walk to the bath house at the swimming area and use the toilets and showers. (no crowds, clean, no wait.) This is a pleasant park however it is busy with lots of kids and campers constantly coming and going. If you are looking for peace and quiet and communing with nature this is not the park for you. If you are an active family looking for your kids to be constantly busy (swimming, boating, hiking, biking) and probably meeting other kids this park is great. The Tyler Municipal Rose Garden is located in the nearby city of Tyler, known as the Rose Capital of the World.Visit our
Tyler State Park Photo Gallery Note: Texas Parks & Wildlife announced on March 19, 2008 “Tyler State Park produces Budweiser ShareLunker.” At 14.5 pounds the largemouth bass is a new lake record.
