Fort Parker State Park & Old Fort Parker

Fort Parker State Park

Mexia, Texas
December 26, 2010

This is a nice small State Park. It reminded me of a mini Huntsville State Park (without the gators). It has twenty five RV spots and ten cabins. It has a boat ramp with a canoe shop with three fishing piers. It has a rec hall with some really cool group cabins (great for a family reunion).

The lake isn't very big (800 acres) and only 8' deep. We did see one small john boat out fishing. I think it is restricted to 25 HP motors. So it's not a good lake for water sports. It does have a very nice swimming area with a sandy beach.

There were not many people at this park when we visited, but I

can see this park being popular during the summer. The pads

are paved and level and the sites are decent sized with adequate

shade.

The trails are well marked and we had a good time biking the

Springfield trail and exploring the Springfield Cemetary.

There were some really old headstones and the cemetary has several historical markers the kids enjoyed reading. Some of the graves were from the Commache attack on Fort Park in 1836.

PROS

- RV spots close to the water

- nice swim area

- nice fishing piers and boat/canoe house
- good trails

- great playground and mini fort

- nice area for my daughters to learn how to ride their new
"big girl" bikes.

CONS

- small lake - good for fishing - no water sports

- no park store

- Old Fort Parker not part of State Park

OLD FORT PARKER

Kind of wierd but Old Fort Park is actually not part of the State Park. It's located down the highway about two miles away. There is an admission charge. The fort is a recontruction of the 1830's fort that the Parker family built. The fort is known for the abduction of Cynthia Ann Parkerin 1836 by Commanche Indians. Really cool state history. My kids loved it.