Palo Pinto Mountains State Park is Texas’s newest state park and covers about 4800 acres with Tucker Lake as its centerpoint. It opened to the public on March 1, 2026, and offers visitors opportunities to hike, camp, fish, swim, and boat (no motors). The park also offers equestrian facilities, so if you have a horse, you can bring ’em too!
March 13, 2026 – March 15, 2026
A brand new Texas State Park right in my backyard!
I’ve been waiting over a decade for this place to open. The idea of having a state park within twenty-five miles would offer so much to outdoor enthusiasts in my area, and when construction began in 2021, it became a lesson in patience as I waited for opening day.
So… Needless to say. When it was quietly announced during the last week of February that the park would open on March 1st, I jumped at the chance to book a weekend to see if the juice was worth the squeeze. It was!!!
I arrived at Palo Pinto Mountains State Park on a beautiful Friday morning and was immediately told I was too early to check in to my site. No biggie, though. I drove around the park and got familiar with the layout before heading to the Crappie Cove day-use area to kill some time. While there, I did a quick tour of the awesome fishing pier, hiked part of the Lakeshore Trail, and then stopped to eat lunch at a beautiful picnic area. After a bit, I went back to the headquarters building to pick up souvenirs and check into my campsite.
The Painted Stick campsites are listed as walk-in sites with a communal parking area. Unfortunately, there is no info on the distance from the campsites to the parking lot, but I did see a Facebook post from the park saying the sites were 10-50 feet from the parking lot. Needless to say, I chose site 44, which is the second farthest from the parking area, based on this information. Boy, was that estimate wrong. I spent the good majority of the afternoon carrying gear from the car to the site, which was most likely 1,000 feet away over rough, rocky terrain. So, I definitely got my workout in.
Once the camp was set up, I had some brews while I hung out, then that evening I cooked some good ole spam sandwiches for dinner and had a nice fire.
I planned to spend the second day hiking, but I had to start off right with some eggs, sausage, and coffee.
I picked the Texas Pacific Trail to hit up first. It’s 11 miles round trip, but I only went just around 4 miles before turning around at the Bristol Backcountry Campground. Along this trail, I saw plenty of animal signs, including deer, turkey, and hog tracks, and I also came across a nice fishing spot on the creek, which was occupied by some Canadian geese at that point.
I hiked some on the Tucker Lake Trail afterward, then the Raptor Ridge Trail, which ended with the best view in the park.
By the time I had finished with my hikes, the wind had picked up drastically, and I questioned if I’d be able to have a fire that night. Thankfully, it calmed down enough for me to light and cook my steak.
I spent the rest of the evening enjoying the fire and having some Guinness in an early celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.
The wind was going to be crazy the third day, so I got up early, began taking down camp, and loading up. As always, it’s bittersweet on the last day of a good camping trip, and this time was no different.
Palo Pinto Mountains State Park is a great addition to the Texas State Park system, and I look forward to many more visits in the future.
Campsite Review
Site 44, Painted Stick Area
Electric: No
Water: Yes
Picnic Table: Yes (Aluminum on dirt pad)
Dedicated Tent Pad: No
Lantern Pole: Yes
BBQ Grill: No
Fire Pit: Yes (Circle with grate)
Shade Cover: Sporadic
Thoughts: Obviously, this is a new park, and construction is still being finalized. That said, I hope they plan to do some more with the campsites in this area. I didn’t mind carrying everything in, but if I’d known how far the walk-in was, I’d have planned accordingly. The site itself was not bad. It had a nice level place for a tent, a lantern pole, and a bear box, so no wildlife getting into things here! The fire pit/BBQ grill was a tad small, and the picnic table was on a downhill slope. As for shade, since it’s a newly built campsite, the vegetation hasn’t had a chance to grow back, and what is there is still bare from winter. One major plus is the amazing view from the back of the site, and all sites in this area offer plenty of privacy.
Rating: ⌂⌂⌂⌂ (4 Out of 5 Tents)
