Best Equestrian Camping near Ladonia, TX

Half 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 🤷‍♀️🤫

The 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The facilities are extremely outdated but there are new bath/shower combos coming online very shortly in the equestrian section.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.

Equestrian trail and boat launch. This is big parking lot for a boat launch on Lake Lavon and a large Equestrian trail. No camping sites but we have done a picnic here. It’s a few minutes from our home.

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 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.

Nothing to knock you socks off, but it’s a great campsite close to home and nice for a quick getaway. Has the feel of being somewhat remote since it’s out by the lake.

We’ve camped in the site with the horse stables and put the tents with questionable rain flys in the horse stable.

I found this park to be maintained poorly. The sites are close together with little shade and are all in a big, level circle with limited to no view of the lake itself. When we were there the grass was at least a foot high, creating no play space for the kids in the ample open areas.  There is an area with equestrian sites. Overall, it seems more of a day-use, non-appealing area.

First, the good. The free wifi is pretty strong and the TV reception was excellent. Communication with the owners through email was promptly answered. We stayed a month and the electricity was decently priced. For the month in the Texas heat, our bill was about$75. It is a new park so all the utilities were functioning as they should. 

The bad. To get there, you travel a rough dirt road that has had some oil put on it near the few houses that are there but that stops about halfway to the site. Otherwise, it is a dusty, rough road. It appeared that the campground doesn't have any sites that approach level. It is covered solidly with rocks, not gravel and some were quite large. A few of the campers had to have their back wheels off the ground in order to get level! The are no restrooms, showers, picnic tables or any other amenities, not even an office. The monthly is $550 for a"deluxe" site plus 3.5% processing fee when you pay with a credit card. The"deluxe" sites are the pull throughs and those that back up to the"pond", accessed by climbing up a steep incline. The pond appears to just be a stock tank. I've never stayed at a campground with sites as bad as this one and of course, I won't be back.

The campground was nice but not many trails near our campsite.

Very nice park with some great RV spots. If hiking, beware the Coyote Run Trail. A lot of toxic fracking going in in the area.

We camped at Oak grove 97 campsite and cannot stress on how beautiful it is to be right by the lake!

You want to get make sure to get there before the sunset, it’s beautiful to see the orange layer over the water. Nothing better than kayaking/paddle boarding or tubing into the sunset.

You can also setup a hammock and you will need extenders.

Something I’d keep in mind is the food you carry (avoid the sweet sugary stuff), there are ants all around and food will attract them towards you.

I definitely recommend this spot to camp.

Had a nice time in a woody area with lots or privacy and not too far from the water. Basic amenities

Very large camp site ver clean

I went for a weekend with the family to tent camp. It was our first time there. We found the staff to be extremely friendly and helpful, the whole park was well-kept and the facilities were clean.

My only complaint is that access to the lake is limited to a few campsites and a day use area that could easily be overwhelmed on a busy day. The paths to the lake in the camping areas pass directly through individual campsites, so we didn't feel comfortable walking through those areas.

We like to come here because it's relatively close to the house. We've been out here a few times total since living in the area and always have a pretty decent experience. The showers and bathrooms are always well maintained and the camping spots are clean and not too close together. We came for an anniversary/birthday weekend and tent camped with some friends and had a great time even with the weather. There is a park ranger who seems to think it's his personal duty to strictly enforce everything and he's kind of a jerk about it. Aside from that individual the majority of the staff are nice and friendly. The trails are pretty kept also and even with the recent flooding the park was still nice. Be mindful of wild hogs because we did have some a little too close for comfort two of the nights we were there!

Beautiful site right in the lake!

Cooper Lake feels secluded. Lots of trees with a beautiful lake and well maintained hiking trails. It’s close enough to the Dallas area to be convenient, but never feels crowded.

The park was ok but not a whole lot to explore. The park had search dog training I assume while I was there. Heard barking dogs all night.

Quite,shaded, level concrete RV sites with water and electricity! Each site has a covered table. Nice swim beach, boat ramp. Great hiking trails! This park is great for kayaking & fishing! If you stay here , you should drive in downtown Sulphur Spring’s , lots of restaurants and they have 2 public bathrooms in the square that are made with 2way mirrors! So when you are in the bathroom you can see out, but everyone walking by can’t see you! Kinda creepy and cool!