Possum Kingdom State Park Campground

Stayed here December 13th - 15th, 2022 in the Spanish Oaks section. It was quiet and only a couple of other campers. One section is closed I assume because its not needed. Camp site I was in was very level. The couple of trails they have a good and mountainous to give you a little workout. The park personnel told us about the Black-capped Vireo bird that was almost extinct but has come back to no being removed from the endangered list. Also there is a gray fox that lives near the boat dock. There are many deer all around all day. Overall good park, probably more setup for boaters that people that want a park to do a lot of things.

We enjoyed our stay at Possum Kingdom State Park: the park is clean, well-maintained, and provides easy access to one of the prettiest lakes in Texas. We saw quite a few deer grazing in the evenings.

We were in the Shady Grove camping area, which is older but has well-situated sites with lots of trees. We were in site 57, which was narrow, but deep enough for our Casita and tow vehicle. It sloped slightly toward the back.

The best sites in the Shady Grove area are right on the water: sites 46-53. I would recommend this camping area for smaller RVs: it's shadier, more scenic, and the sites have a decent amount of privacy. These sites have water and electric, with a dump station nearby.

Spanish Oaks camping area is better suited for larger rigs. These sites are newer and more level, and are very close to the lake, but they are in full sun, with very few trees.

Tent campers have some of the most scenic sites in the park in the Chaparral Trail area.

We hiked the Chaparral trail and enjoyed it, but it is very steep and rocky. It goes up a tall hill close to the shore, and provides a great view of the lake. It's well marked and well maintained. However, trails on a hill this steep really should have switchbacks.

Our rate above includes the per person day use fee, which I don't like... if we go through Texas again we will buy the annual pass. That's my only complaint! Our site was really nice - long, level, lakeside and really no one at the rear of our trailer or in front of us. We were here early March of 2022, so it was still cold! The review below this one really gives great info. Trail was nice - sites nice - all good and we wished we could have stayed longer! It is out of the way and the closest stores / town / fuel is a bit of a drive. Am uploading a video on the campground - check it out!

Used a Texas State Parks Pass for discounted rates. Keep forgetting the pass is good for discounts at state stores too. I think we had the best site in the park it was HUGE. Next door we had overflow parking and our site pad was double wide with covered picnic area for 3 picnic tables though it only had 2. I would also recommend site 12 for similar reasons. Lake side easy to walk into the lake. Site had a fire ring and bbq grill. Water pressure was very good. Cell service not stellar even with my Poynting antenna. Stay in the Spanish Oaks loop unless you are in a small camper or tent. The sites in Lakeview, Shady Grove, and Chaparral Trail are older, very uneven and small.
We did have a look at the cabins and recommend them as well. They have a bedroom and a front room with a trundle bed (bring your own linens). They are air conditioned and have a small kitchen. Nothing fancy, but beats staying in a tent if you are towing a boat and aren't in a motorized coach.
Also on the Spanish Oaks loop side of the cove is the state park store with concessions (get a $4 Blue Bell ice cream - totally worth it!). We didn't try anything from the grill. They do have a fairly wide variety of items in the store from clothing to food, but don't expect it to compete with a grocery store. You can get ice, firewood, and even gasoline at a fairly reasonable rate. They rent kayaks, pontoon boats, paddle boat, jet ski and slips in the marina. We rented a pontoon boat for half a day and saw most of the lake including Hell's Gate. Pontoon boats are in very good condition and include bluetooth stereo. The boat ramp is across the cove in the other loop (along with the ONLY DUMP STATION). Be aware that to get to the other loop you cross a cattle guard which discouraged us from trying to use our portable dump tank.
They mowed while we were there and the grass was very tall. They did not blow the grass clippings afterward so we had long grass clippings to deal with on our concrete pad for the days after they mowed. They did not trim though they said they would. Flies were really bad to the point we didn't even try to eat outside and it was tough to keep them out of the camper. NO MOSQUITOS the entire time we were there. No burn ban so we were able to have ground fires. There is a laundry room for $2 each for washer and dryer, but the washer was out of service. There is only one bathroom in the Spanish Oaks loop, but it was clean when I used it.
I hiked all 3 trails. All the trails need maintenance. The Chaparral trail is considered moderate and it was a difficult climb up and down. The trail isn't marked very well. The Lakeview trail is the longest trail and is fairly easy however it is very overgrown and I was glad I had pants and long sleeves. Neither end of the trail is marked very well. When I went in from the left access I missed a turn to the right to go towards the lake and instead walked about a mile up the power line trail until I ran out of trail and realized I missed a turn. We saw another couple who had the same issues at both ends of the trail. When I tried to find that trail the day before from the right I didn't really see it going past primitive campsite 10, but walking further down I found the trailhead sign. The Longhorn trail runs up the ridge and is easy to find going in from the left, but again hard to find on the right. What I thought was a washout and not a trail was actually the trail up/down. Its rated moderate, but it is very challenging on that end. Watch out for the horse flies. We did scare the largest armadillo I've ever seen on the Longhorn trail. Watch out for mesquite thorns.
The closest real grocery is in Graford called the Trading Post. It wasn't huge, but it had a decent assortment. We did find a small convenience store on Hwy 16 on the way to Graford that carried typical convenience store groceries. We ate at Boondocks which was ok, probably wouldn't eat there again. We also ate at Bonitaville which was a neat lakeside place. Food was okay. Rocking S Bar and Grill across the street was only open some weird hours so we never went. There are tons of trails for hiking and biking at the Brazos River Authority Parks in Graford which I wish we had planned time around. Also stop at the scenic overlook on Hwy 16 north of the fish hatcheries and read the plaque on Oliver Loving (of the Loving-Goodnight trail fame). As near as we could tell the only restaurants with lake access are Bonitaville and Hungry Fox. The Hungry Fox is across the lake from the Park near the big American Flag (which is actually at a private residence). It was kind of goofy in that cove with telephone poles out in the lake in 23 feet of water. We also stopped at Breakers Marina on the north side which had fuel on the water even when the store was closed. It also had nice accessible bathrooms on shore. The store itself was closed during the week which was disappointing.
One of my favorite things besides floating and kayaking in the lake was the daily flyover by an F22 out of Fort Worth around lunch time every day. We were very surprised by the lack of boat traffic on the lake, but then again we live on Lake Travis outside of Austin. Great lake for boating activities and fishing was ok as well.
Be advised it is 17 miles from the highway to the park. Lots of dead pigs on the road so I would not drive after dark. We saw a lot of turkey on the park road in (well outside the park). 90% of the park burned in 2011 when 100K acres around PK SP burned in a big wildfire and has recovered well, but there is also a lot of dead trees as a result and is primed for another big fire as a result.

We arrived June 28, 2020 to our reserved site #66. Nicely angled, so easy back-in, even though the pad is narrow, rocky and has a severe back-to-front slope that tested our ability to level up. Well shaded by brush and the terrain to the west, protecting us from the late afternoon sun. Nearest neighbors were tent campers across the street, so very quiet. Short walk to the rest rooms. A 1/2 mi. trail from our site leads to the top of the ridge for great view of the lake.

This park when visited 30+ years ago, left a most pleasant impression on me - we were in a pop-up trailer at that time. The lake is large and very pretty. This 2020 visit, I found the park to be in need some repairs and updating. To be fair, the park was built before big rigs were as popular as they are today. That said, the majority of the sites appear to be for tents or pop-ups or short trailers. Our site (#44 Shady Grove Loop) was asphalt in need of repair, and was not very level. The utilities (water and 50 amp electricity) were in great working order. There is a dump station in the park. Sites all have a picnic table and fire pit. Some picnic tables are situated on a concrete pad with a nice covering for shade, but the majority of the picnic tables sit on gravel/dirt. Our table was located on the wrong side of our trailer. Another note is that some of the sites were sitting under low hanging trees; our site was clear of that. While I am a big fan of state parks in general and Texas State Parks particularly, I would not come back here until I know some repairs and possibly some updating to accommodate our big rig were made.

PK is a beautiful SP built in the 1940s. If you stay in Shady Grove you have easy access to the boat ramp to launch or put kayaks in. MAJOR NOTE - if you have a bigger rig some spots in Shady Grove are Very hard to maneuver into. We were in 078 and given park’s placement of road signs and a dumpster a miracle happened getting 31’ Jayco in. If you stay in Shady Grove would recommend you call the office and make sure your size rig will easily fit into site. Spanish Oaks campground was built for bigger rigs and is right near the water but has less trees and not as aesthetically pleasing as the wooded Shady Grove.
Park is well maintained and would come here again.