Best Glamping near Pittsburg, TX

Absolutely stunning Texas state park located along the Texas Forest Trail that showcases the rolling hills of pine trees that dubbed this region the name “Pineywoods” of East Texas. Clean lake with available kayaking and canoeing, and even paddle boats. RV hookups or tent campgrounds.

On the very last day of 2018 we found ourselves camped out at Atlanta State Park on Wright Patman lake deep in the East Texas piney woods. Just a short drive north and west of the Texas Town of Atlanta set way back in the tall pine trees Atlanta State Park is truly a beautuful place to visit with your RV. Atlanta State Park is not well suited for the mobility challenged. I was unable to get down to the waters edge in most of the public use areas and there was little else for me to do in this Texas State Park. Our visit coincided with several days of cold winter rain and that further dampened our spirits and motivated us to cut short our visit by one full day. Dont get me wrong we really enjoyed our short visit to Atlanta State Park and look forward to a return visit when the sun is shinning but on this visit is was wet and gloomy. 

Come along with us as we pay a visit to Atlanta State Park!

https://youtu.be/b-JHeYgjWx8

We were driving through this part of Texas headed home to Oklahoma and saw the signs and needed to stop for lunch, so we decided to check this place out.This was a really beautiful park with a very nice campground that was really kept up. It had screened shelters, cottages with heat & air, shelters, nice playground, Amphitheatre, volleyball court, boat ramps, picnic areas, hiking & biking trails and a swimming area. The bathrooms and showers were nice and clean. The lake was beautiful and clear. I would absolutely recommend this place and I plan on going to stay there for a week in June.

I went there for 3 nights. It is a beautiful little park. It has an 80 acre lake that is really nice except there is too many lilly pads. I took my tiny camper, fishing poles and kayaks. I wish there where more campsites near the water. It is a quite little park. The campsites are nice. The restrooms are very nice. This park is very clean. The park had different activities during the day on Saturday. They had live music and a campfire that I really enjoyed. Then after that they had a dance with a free jukebox and disco lights. It was fun watching the people dance. They have a really nice fishing dock and a store to buy supplies, sueveniers and ice. They rent Kayaks, paddle boats and boards by the hour. The trails go completely around the lake and are easy and very beautiful . They have free WiFi that actually work. The sunset and night sky is amazing. The racoons are very brave and will rob you of anything they can. Do not leave ice chest out or vehicle windows down. The park is only a couple miles from town. I would say this is one of Texas hidden gems. The people that work there are very nice. You don't have to have a fishing license to fish there and that I like because I didn't have to buy an out of state fishing license. There are lots of places to eat out if you don't want to cook. There is a place called Arnold's about 7 miles from park that has really reasonable food. $4 breakfast Eggs, sausage or bacon, hash browns, and biscuit & gravy. The also have a giant hamburger, bigger than a dinner plate that can feed 4 adults for only $15. Also 2 miles from the park is a big grocery store that is very reasonable, convenience stores, ice machines, and drive in restaurants. There is a $4 per person per day park entry fee. If you are a 100% disabled veteran that fee is waived for you and 1 other person. The campsites with electric are $20 & $25. Unlike many other states Texas does not give discounts for camping if your disabled or hold an America the beautiful pass.

Atlanta State Park is nestled pretty far off the beaten path (nearest highway) deep in the pineywoods. It sits on the edge of Wright Patman Lake near the Texarkana region on the Texas side. Has plentiful campgrounds that are nearly maintained, two different boat ramps (both in good condition) for fishing, along with multiple swimming areas (with beaches) for folks. The major plus to this lake is that you can easily bring a boat with you when you're camping, because of the plentiful spaces at campsites and boat ramp access.

Wright Patman Lake is a decent lake, but does have a fair amount of stumps along the edges- watch for the bouyees. Fishing is good, water can get very warm in the summer which is nice for swimming.

Overall it's a beautiful park and the best park along Wright Patman Lake in my opinion. I've also been here at least two dozen times and enjoyed each experience.

Reserved on-line 152 days prior to arrival. 

Pros 

Pristine clean restroom/showerhouse. Seemed recently renovated 

BIG PINE camping area only big rig friendly(longer than 20 ft) out of 40 FHU sites. Big Pine, Dogwood and Mountain View Campgrounds FHU so 40 FHU sites with no park dump station. 

Aluminum picnic table and fire ring with cooking grate 

Very quiet campground except for highway and train noise 

4 camp hosts 

Good night sky viewing in BIG PINE 

Good view of lake in BIG PINE 

Privacy from side neighbors 

No leveling required from side-to-side 

Asphalt parking pad heaved various places due to tree roots creating numerous tripping hazard 

Campsite utility hook-ups in good condition with no problems encountered 

Security gate that closes overnight 

No street lights in BIG PINE 

Campsite and entrance fee discount with Texas State Park Pass 

Not charged a fee to make my own on-line reservation 

CONS 

Most FHU sites (other than BIG PINE) are extremely short in length. Barely room for single axle TT, so need to review site details carefully 

Site 8 had an extreme amount of above ground roots causing tripping hazard

Picnic table approx 50 feet from Site 8 parking pad

Highway and train noise

BIG PINE sites barely off campground road, so therefore no privacy from campers across the road

Restroom/shower facility not heated

No lantern pole

No wildlife sightings

No park Wifi

1 bar AT&T in BIG PINE

PROS 

Senior discount saved $20 

Each site has unobstructed lake view 

Site 67 level concrete pad surrounded by sandy soil with afternoon only shade 

Climate controlled toilet/shower facility 

Clean toilet/shower facility which are cleaned every weekday morning 

2 sand lot volleyball courts 

Small pier shared by every two campsites 

Metal picnic table, pedestal BBQ grill and concrete fire ring with no cooking grate. 

Fairly quiet during daytime weekdays except for neighboring campers 3 sites away who had their INSIDE television blaring that we could hear every word. This went on for 7 hours daily. 

Local police did regular daylight drive thrus 

Hundreds of squirrels 

Could hear whippoorwills after sunset 

Had a float plane land and then take off right in front of our campsite (see video)

Park had WIFI but didn’t use due to having 4 bars TMOBILE 

CONS 

Minimal pay/stay 3 nights

$5 fee to make on line reservations 

Had to email copy of Texas Drivers License to Water District in advance of making reservation in order to get Senior discount 

No security gate closed overnight 

No camp host 

Campers let their dogs run thru campsites and poop everywhere 

Big problem with day users and boaters walking thru campsites, even after dark, picnicking and partying late into evening in campsites where there were no campers/tenters, then leaving at all hours of the night 

LOTS of middle of the night boat noise 

Street lights throughout campground which hinders dark sky viewing 

No privacy from any other campsite 

Site picnic table anchored so not moveable

The cheapest Texas State Park for electric or electric/water campsites at only 14/night!

Spaces are spread out and loads and loads of pull through sites if that's your thing.

Bathrooms aren't great but if it isn't busy they are fine. Trails are beautiful and if you piece them together can be challenging. This park is very well maintained. I saw a few trail signs that were brand new and another trail is closed for maintenance. These are not wide, take the baby stroller kind of trails. The nature trail goes over a couple foot bridges and has a lot to see.

The beach area is okay with a few amenities. The bathrooms have 2 stalls each, 4 total again if it isn't busy they are fine. No family bathrooms in the whole place.

The sand on the beach is bad. Due to flooding and earth slides the beach front is super deep mud. If there has been even a trickle of rain on the past week you will lose your shoes the mud is so thick. Gorgeous for pictures though =)

The camp store isn't huge but they have shirts and souvenirs.

This park is easily in our Top 3 in the Texas State Parks system. It's a small park, but a little slice of heaven. Towering pine trees grow right up to the waters' edge. So peaceful. Donna, my wife, will often sit and gaze over the water. 

The park is neat and tidy, and the bathrooms have always been clean. There are several picnic tables by the lake, a swim out platform, kayaks, paddleboats, a fishing pier, and a few swings on the playground. We typically visit during the week, so it's always been pretty quiet. And if you need supplies, there's a Brookshire's grocery nearby(only a few miles away). One trip, we decided to fish and grabbed bait from the Ace Hardware in town. 

We love laying in our hammocks, watching the pines sway, and listening to the birds sing. In the warmer months, we swim and splash around the floating platform. And with a fire pit at every site, s'mores are a given each night(so long as there's no burn ban). 

There's a short trail that circles the lake(about 2.5 miles). We do it EVERY trip. It's a beautiful and easy hike. Take a picnic and make your way to the CCC picnic area on the lake's other side. There will be a spot where you can enjoy your lunch, looking back across the water.(But don't let your dog grab your PB&J when you're not looking or you'll be hungry on the way back.)

For folks that went camping in the 70s, 80s, 90s with your coleman lanterns, coleman fuel stoves, and actually camped in tents (as intended)... Daingerfield State Park is the place to be. It gives you the classic nostalgic feeling of camping. Its nestled in the thick pineywoods of northeast Texas - the towering pine trees, lakeside cabins and crystal clear lake all combined bring back memories of a person's childhood. Being in this park makes you feel like that picture perfect family on the packaging of camping products. It is a beautiful park with plentiful trails for mountain biking and hiking. There are multiple campgrounds allowing for large RVs/campers and tent camping. Bathrooms are always clean and the staff is polite and helpful. Fishing is good in this large spring-fed clear water lake - although motorized boats are not allowed, kayaks, canoes and paddle boats are permitted and available to rent as well. The park store is small but has most of your camping basics such as drinks, snacks and tshirts, etc.

All of the campsites have fire rings and the park sells firewood at a fair price and permits ground fires if the county is not under a burn ban. The park also hosts a healthy amount of events such as dances, Halloween in the park, and Christmas in the park.

The town of Daingerfield is a neat little town - only a 5-10 minutes from the park, it provides multiple fast food options, a Brookshires supermarket, gas stations and perhaps the most famous location in Daingetfield - the Morris Movie Theatre. (Cash only $1.50 tickets on the newest movie releases, two auditorium building, great snacks and best of all it is a family run operation. Nightly showings which makes it a perfect place to visit if you're camping at the park for a few days)

Stargazing is also great at DSP.. the park is far enough away from bigger cities which allows for darker skies.

This is defintely one of my favorite parks to go to and in the year I've lived in this area, we've probably gone to DSP at least two dozen times or more. Do make reservations ahead of time, as this park is largely popular and fills up quickly on summer days (day use) and weekend nights (camping).

I highly recommend this park and hope you and your family make long last memories.

Our family of 4 stayed for a month while we were waiting for camper repairs. They have Karaoke across the street every Friday and live music every Saturday. Sites that back right up to great water views and access to fishing. Sandy spots to swim from at various entry points. Friendly people and several kids that run around playing, making friends. We really enjoyed it. Only 4 stars because the bathrooms are dated and sites aren't concrete. The staff really tries to accomodate and take care of the guests. Great place for kayaking.

Very relaxing spot on Lake Bob Sandlin. Having the Marina across the street was very convenient for those last minute forgotten items. Campsite has bathrooms/showers/laundry facilities, however they could use some work. Only downfalls in my opinion is being so close to the road and the WiFi is spotty.

A little cramped with the space between campers but the “backyards” for each lake view site makes up for it and it was a beautiful view, lots of space for the kids to play. Really enjoyed our weekend. Nature trail could be better marked haha.

Great camping on Lake Bob Sandlin. Sites or not very level and they have full hookup , but other than that this is a great spot! Located on a point with the marina on the other side of the road! Beautiful sun rise and sunsets. Great for kayaking, fishing and just relaxing on the lake. There is a great hiking trail by the marina!