RE: Purti Creek State Park, Texas

Turn Key · Sep 28, 2003, 07:05 PM

Took a drive out to Purtis Creek State Park yesterday (1/22/03) just to take a look. Temps this week have been too low to camp here in Texas so we decided to go check out parks instead. Here s what we found about this little gem.

Purtis Creek SP is located about 18 miles south and a little west of Canton, Texas. It has been open for about 15 years. The park encloses Purtis Creek Lake, a small (about 350 acres) lake that has a habit of producing some pretty good size fish. Lake record for bass is something a little over 13 lbs. Conditions yesterday were such that the only thing any one would have caught would have been a cold! I do find this lake very promising and look forward to " wetting a line" some time in the future.

Found the camping facilities to be excelent with 59 " power and water" (Multi-Use Camping Area) sites and another 13 " hike-in/primitive" sites. Only found one site (51) that we didn t care for. Other then that one, it was hard to decide which were " best" . Our top 6 in no particular order are sites 3, 6, 15, 25, 55 & 56. Sites are set-up such that they optimize shade and privacy. Shower house is not new but very well kept and clean. There was plenty of hot water. It is very evident that the " ParK Hosts" are hard at work keeping the facilities in top shape.

The link below should give you a little more info, if interested. As said, this park is a little gem in the Texas State Park system and we look forward to a camping trip there in the near future.

[link=]http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/purtis/[/link]

Trlrboy · Jan 23, 2003, 12:29 PM

Turn KeyThink it would be a good place for a club campout? What about the fish rearing ponds... is that something the kids could check out? I ve never been over to that park even though it s only about an hour from the house. I guess I was just waiting for someone else to check it out.

You coming down to Inks Lake in March?

Turn Key · Jan 23, 2003, 02:10 PM

TrlrboyTrlrboy: You should already have a direct e-mail from me. In answer to your questions:
1) Hadn t thought about it but a club trip there would be a real good idea.
2) Fish rearing ponds are dry. Don t know if they are only used at certain times or what but they are not in use at this time. Kiddos could bank fish in the lake with no problem. Betting that the fishing in spring is great!
3) Can t believe you haven t been there!!!
4) Not going to make " Inks" .[

][>:][

] Maybe next time around.

bikolee · Jan 23, 2003, 06:09 PM

Turn KeyA $5 fee is required to put an object (a boat, tube, float, etc.) on the lake, which expires at 7 am. (If a person pays the fee at midnight, it will expire at 7 am in the morning.) There is no fee for only swimming.

This is from the Purtis Creek SP web site. I can go with a boat, but a tube or a float?

Turn Key · Jan 24, 2003, 12:39 PM

Turn Key

QuoteA $5 fee is required to put an object (a boat, tube, float, etc.) on the lake, which expires at 7 am. (If a person pays the fee at midnight, it will expire at 7 am in the morning.) There is no fee for only swimming.

This is from the Purtis Creek SP web site. I can go with a boat, but a tube or a float?

Yeah, I saw that too. Don t know what it s all about but it doesn t effect me a lot. Can t see it stopping me from camping there. If it crosses my mind later, I ll send them an e-mail and see if I can get an explination.

Trlrboy · Jan 24, 2003, 01:22 PM

Turn KeyFloat fee? Never heard that one before. Wonder if they have a tent spike fee...

CampinCrazy · Jan 24, 2003, 01:28 PM

Turn KeyOkay, I just called the park and spoke to Karen who said that they will charge $5 for anything you float on (boat, raft, innertube), but not a life jacket. This is in addition to the camping fee (tried to suggest it be included but she wouldn t go for it). She thinks it is because it is such a small area, and a big fishing area. She had no real reason for the charge since none of the other parks charge a fee for a flotation device.

My two would be fine without floating things. I don t know that I could find much more room to pack more things!

Turn Key · Jan 24, 2003, 01:50 PM

Turn KeySent an e-mail to Texas Parks and Wildlife. They should be able to give a reason for this fee. As soon as I get it I ll post it right here. If I don t like the answer, I know who we can e-mail and see what can be done about changing it. As I have always found TPWD to have a good reason for what they do, I m thinking there will be a good reason here as well. We ll see.

PopUpTrio · Jan 26, 2003, 09:14 PM

Turn KeyWe live less than 30 min from this park and dadgummit wanted to keep it our secret. We love camping there. The sites are nice sized and private. I had wondered if NTPUCA would be going there. And yes I would have eventually suggested it to the group. It would be excellent to get sites there when Canton is having First Monday (HUGE trade show). It is supposed to be a good fishing lake but actually, we have yet to fish there. It is kinda our spur of the moment, can t drive far, place to camp. It is a park which we would have no difficulty picking the " right" site. Every one we ve had there has been great. We drove through a couple weekends ago and spotted a bald eagle. DH and DS thought that was cool.

Turn Key · Jan 27, 2003, 09:50 AM

Turn KeyPopUpTrio,

Naughty, naughty, naughty! It s not nice to keep great CG s all to yourself![

] Know what you mean though. That s kind of how we are about Mineral Wells SP.[

]

Maybe we can do a joint trip at Purtis Creek some day.

PopUpTrio · Jan 27, 2003, 09:06 PM

Turn KeyTurnKey: Sounds like a great plan...actually, I m pretty sure we re going to be camping at Purtis this coming weekend if the weather holds up. Right now the forecast says 60-70 daytime and 40 s at night which is good camping weather for us. Anyone is welcome to join us if they d like. DH is off on Fridays, so he goes early to pick the spot and set up. Let me know if you re interested.

Trlrboy · Jan 28, 2003, 07:40 AM

Turn KeySorry I didn t know you were going out to Purtis earlier. I m taking Friday off and going out to Lake Bob Sandlin SP to camp and play golf with a couple of other popup guys. Have a good weekend. Take pictures.

PopUpTrio · Jan 28, 2003, 11:17 AM

Turn KeyThat is a great park too Trlrboy..Hope you have a great weekend. We ll let you know sooner next time if possible.

Turn Key · Jan 29, 2003, 11:58 PM

Turn Key

QuoteTurnKey: Sounds like a great plan...actually, I m pretty sure we re going to be camping at Purtis this coming weekend if the weather holds up.

Unfortunatly, as many here know, we do most of our camping during the week. This is due to our work schedule that is not likely to change. Do you ever have time for that?

PS: No answer from the state about the original question as yet.

PopUpTrio · Feb 02, 2003, 08:57 PM

Turn KeyWell, we had a pretty nice weekend...Sorry to say, we heard the Columbia come apart...sounded like a horrendous sonic boom..we re so sorry for the lost ones and their families...we were also on the last trip out in our popup...we bought a hybrid and will be getting it in a couple weeks. This only means more camping for us as it won t be as much setup/takedown time and we can take more 2 nt trips. We ll let you know next time we go to Purtis...Looks like Tyler SP in our near future though.

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