DESTINATION REVIEW: Martin Creek Lake State Park

I've reviewed this destination at one of my other sites, but I wanted to offer a high level review of this state park.  Martin Creek Lake State Park is a Texas State Park south of Longview, Texas.  (I believe Tatum is the closest town.)

The unique draw to this state park was an island accessible via a footbridge where primitive camping is allowed.  You will not find a map anywhere that shows the exact locations of the primitive campsites.  Even when I asked the ranger, he said the sites are dynamic and people move the steel fire rings around the island.  Consequently, you rather find yourself wandering the trails until you find a spot you like.  To help out though, I've produced a map that shows the approximate locations of several of the primitive sites shown as blue stars.  However, I would strongly recommend the site we stayed at marked with the red star.  It was definitely one of the largest sites on the island.  We setup 6 tents for our Webelos and could have fit another 6 rather easily.  By comparison, some of the primitive sites we walked past would have only fit 2~3 tents.  Another benefit of the site I am suggesting is that it is on the back side of the island so you don't have people walking through your site on the way to their own.

As you look at the map above, you'll notice there is a large field/meadow in the middle of the island.  Ironically, the meadow proved to be a lousy place to try and setup camp.  Even in mid-April, we found the grass in the meadow so high it simply wasn't practical to try and setup camp.  Furthermore, the absence of fire rings that can be found in some of the wooded campsites make the meadow a poor place to try and setup camp.

As a final tip/note about the developed campsites (as opposed to the primitive sites), there is a WIDE variation in the different sites even though they are all categorized the same.  For example, there are multiple lakefront sites, but several had a marshy waterfront that made fishing access impractical.  There were others that you could pull a canoe on.  As another example, some sites were large enough and level enough for 3~4 tents.  Other sites however, were significantly sloped enough that the only place to setup a tent was on the tent pad.  As yet a third example of the variations, certain sites have a pre-built shelter/covered picnic table but other sites do not (see pictures).

Sites are first come, first serve so arrive early.  To get a preview of some of the sites, look at the pictures on my review at ScoutDestinations.com