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"Roberts Lake State Park has two main campgrounds, the Isle du Bois unit and Johnson unit. These are what I would call twins. They are very similar in layout, scenery and activities."
"Bring your horses for a equestrian trail as well. Great beach for some sand castles and swimming. And don't forget to hit the Dam store and get the dam special. Good burgers there."
"One of the more expensive Texas state parks. Standard electric at 25/night. Large bathrooms and lots of trash bins. Actual pay phones (who knew those still existed?)"
"Couldn't see the parking lot due to brush, but it was a very short walk and that was nice."
"They also were doing drive in concerts while we were there!"
"Chose a nice spot adjacent to the Lake where I was visited by a friendly goose for breakfast.
Took a run around the area on several miles of developed trails and roads."
"It has great options- some spots are secluded in the trees and some are open in the middle areas if you want to be around people."
$5 - $10 / night
"It’s free and close to DFW. There’s cattle roaming around and a lot of stocked ponds to fish in and some hiking through the different areas."
"Ground is kind of hard to drive a stake into. No water or restrooms that we saw but I know wherever the group site is there is supposedly a restroom."
"Lake Murray State Park located near Ardmore Oklahoma has something for everyone."
"There’s a ton of great camp sites at Lake Murray."
"We enjoyed our overnight stay near the trailhead."
"Plenty of poles for tying horses and there is water trofts for them but the water looked pretty disgusting. May want to think about bringing several gallons of water."
$16 - $50 / night
"Half of the campground is an equestrian camp. There are great hiking trails and beautiful views. Good shady spots."
"great place for fishing, and if you are looking for a wonderful sunset, you have found the best place for it. generic campsite but close to the lake."
"This just may become our home away from home. I absolutely love this little park. We stayed in spot#5 right at the end of the cove."
"Amazing and Great for trail riding
Sites: 26 family with electric and water
35 equestrian with hookups
3 equestrian tent sites no hook ups
1 day use shelter with"
LegendRoberts Lake State Park has two main campgrounds, the Isle du Bois unit and Johnson unit. These are what I would call twins. They are very similar in layout, scenery and activities. They are on opposite sides of the lake.
Isle du Bois is a little different in that it has legitimate equestrian camp sites with horse pens built into each site. The park has several equestrian trails and is perfect if you like to ride and camp with your horse.
The rest of the park has several walk-in camp sites and then a section for campers and RV's. It is a good park and I would normally rate this park as a three but I think that all of the equestrian activities and amenities for horses moves it up to a four.
GuideThe park hosts and volunteers are very friendly, responsive, and work hard with the resources available to them. They deserve 5 stars This 2 star review is on the park only.
This campground is one part regular campground, one part equestrian campground. Having horses is not a requirement to camp in the equestrian area and that is hany when the "regular" area is filled. The sites are pretty close together and the entire park feels packed together when it comes to camping space.
The facilities are extremely outdated but there are new bath/shower combos coming online very shortly in the equestrian section. In the meantime there are 2 shower stalls available for men and 2 for women in the entire camp. There are pit toilets in the equestrian area and only 1 flush toilet for men located in the "regular" area until the new ones come up in the equestrian area. Possibly only 2 for women available.
The worst thing was the traffic. People would drive to swim, fish, use the restroom, visit others in adjacent campsites or just cruise around with no aim from 8 AM to 10PM Thursday thru Sunday afternoon. The outer gates close at 10 PM but some drove around inside the park after that anyway. The equestrian camp area has dirt/gravel road and all the traffic creates a dusty environment. The Main road to the entrance which runs along the south side of the equestrian area also leads to the Platter Flats Recreation area which has no gates nor closing time so there is activity on the road all day and night.
There is a long equestrian trail that goes over to Lakeside Park across the lake that can also be hiked pretty easily that has a couple secluded spots to swim along the way. The trail is well marked and easy to follow. There are large map signs on each end of the trail and markers along the way.
I would not recommend visiting this park on a weekend unless traffic doesn't bother you. It should be noted there is a rail freight line and siding not far from the camp and once the vehicle traffic slows down, the trains seem to start. The train horns at crossings may be a bother to some.
GuideThe park hosts and volunteers are very friendly, responsive, and work hard with the resources available to them. They deserve 5 stars This 2 star review is on the park only.
This campground is one part regular campground, one part equestrian campground. Having horses is not a requirement to camp in the equestrian area and that is hany when the "regular" area is filled. The sites are pretty close together and the entire park feels packed together when it comes to camping space.
The facilities are extremely outdated but there are new bath/shower combos coming online very shortly in the equestrian section. In the meantime there are 2 shower stalls available for men and 2 for women in the entire camp. There are pit toilets in the equestrian area and only 1 flush toilet for men located in the "regular" area until the new ones come up in the equestrian area. Possibly only 2 for women available.
The worst thing was the traffic. People would drive to swim, fish, use the restroom, visit others in adjacent campsites or just cruise around with no aim from 8 AM to 10PM Thursday thru Sunday afternoon. The outer gates close at 10 PM but some drove around inside the park after that anyway. The equestrian camp area has dirt/gravel road and all the traffic creates a dusty environment. The Main road to the entrance which runs along the south side of the equestrian area also leads to the Platter Flats Recreation area which has no gates nor closing time so there is activity on the road all day and night.
There is a long equestrian trail that goes over to Lakeside Park across the lake that can also be hiked pretty easily that has a couple secluded spots to swim along the way. The trail is well marked and easy to follow. There are large map signs on each end of the trail and markers along the way.
I would not recommend visiting this park on a weekend unless traffic doesn't bother you. It should be noted there is a rail freight line and siding not far from the camp and once the vehicle traffic slows down, the trains seem to start. The train horns at crossings may be a bother to some.
TravelerHalf of the campground is an equestrian camp. There are great hiking trails and beautiful views. Good shady spots.
We had two kids with us and we loved walking around the campground and seeing all the horses! But remember it will also smell like them so camp on that side at your own risk.
Also there was no attendant and we switched sites for the weekend with no issue 🤷♀️🤫
ScoutThis place is just far enough from DFW to not be to far. Great place to camp, fish and hike. Bring your horses for a equestrian trail as well. Great beach for some sand castles and swimming. And don't forget to hit the Dam store and get the dam special. Good burgers there.
LegendAmazing and Great for trail riding
Sites: 26 family with electric and water
35 equestrian with hookups
3 equestrian tent sites no hook ups
1 day use shelter with electric
Reservations only: 877-444-6777 or recreation.gov
No camp host Flush and pit toilets, showers, drinking water, trash, picnic table, dump station, boat ramp, dock
Great for horseback riding, fishing, hiking, fishing, hunting, and boating. Beautiful rolling hills with mature trees. Great shade especially in the equestrian area. Well maintained. Wonderful lake views with amazing sunsets.
LNT
BTYFI
Travel safe.
RangerWe enjoyed our overnight stay near the trailhead. We weren't sure about the accessibility to the trailhead road with our 23 foot travel trailer so we opted to stay off road 904, where the horse trailers park, since there were some nice flat spots. Since we were just staying overnight as we were traveling back to the Midwest we didn't check out the other options. We did call the park Ranger and he said the trailhead is a great place to camp and easy to access with a trailer. Our hot spot on our cell phone was slow since we only had a couple bars, but we were able to get our work done. I would stay here again. We enjoyed a nice hike in the morning before we headed out.
TravelerWe found Lake Ray Roberts as a nice swimming spot near Dallas to go cool down during the hot Texas summers and we LOVE it to go grill and hang out as a day long activity. So when my husband and I decide to start camping 🏕 we chose this park as our first trial, and we found it a bit inconvenient for Car camping since the spots are walk up and you gotta leave your car behind in a parking lot. Also, is very primitive style, so clean bathrooms and close-by water is not really part of the package. We loved the view from our spot and if you are up for a primitive experience within a park, then this is great. Just not for us and the type of camping we wanna do 😊
RangerThe first thing that brought me here was the option to fish without a license! It's been several years now since my wife and I stayed here the first time. It's a good size park with several options for activities: boating, fishing, picnicking, equestrian, hiking, camping, etc. The trails are thorough through the park. The lakefront is great as it gives you a good sense of the size of the lake. I'm looking forward to our next stay here!
Horse camping in Texas offers a unique blend of outdoor adventure and equestrian enjoyment, with numerous well-reviewed spots catering to horse enthusiasts.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Gainesville, TX is Isle du Bois Campsites — Ray Roberts Lake State Park with a 4.7-star rating from 35 reviews.
TheDyrt.com has all 11 equestrian camping locations near Gainesville, TX, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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