South Sulphur Unit

The South Sulphur campground is about half an hour north of Interstate 30. It’s under a 2 hour drive from the DFW area so, I find it’s a nice weekend getaway. I camped here on a Sunday to Monday and it was very quiet. I was one of only 5 campers in the Deer Haven section (aside from the 3 camp hosts). I’m giving the park 5 stars but this is based on my experience of having camped here when there were few campers around. I image this place could be loud and busy on a weekend.

There are many shaded lakeside sites in the Deer Haven section. I stayed at site 68. The site was on a cul de sac so there was no campground to the one side. However, the site located on the other side was close. This would be a great spot for 2 camping families to share. The concrete pad at site 68 was level and shaded by a beautiful, mature oak tree. I could walk from the pad to the lake. It would be a great site to put out a kayak, but unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate on my stay. So I didn’t get to kayak. I did see deer who ventured in from the wooded area next to the campsite.  Deer Haven lived up to its name!

Electric and water hookups were good as were the restroom/shower facilities, which seemed climate controlled because it felt cooler and less humid inside than outside. This usually isn’t the case in these buildings.

A big storm blew in around dinner time. The wind was fierce and blowing out of the north across the almost 20,000 acre lake! I actually called the ranger to find out if I needed to evacuate. The ranger was very responsive and reassuring. Luckily, there were no tornados warnings, so I weathered out the storm and woke to a beautiful crisp morning.

This park is huge and there is much to do. Cabins, shelters, primitive walk in sites, equine sites, a beach, several boat ramps, hiking trails, playgrounds and a fishing pier. I didn’t get to see a fraction of it, but I’ll be returning. 

I stopped in the town of Sulphur Springs on my way back to DFW. The town has a nice historic town square and makes for an interesting side stop.

Shaded lakeside camping in Deer Haven

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.

Good Weekend Spot

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!

Fairly nice park

We “camp” here in the cabins almost every year for our annual family camping trip of almost 20 people. The cabins are always clean and tidy. They have spacious bathrooms, an open living/dining area, a small kitchen and bedroom. most also have a nice back porch with picnic table. Cooper Lake is also very close to downtown Sulpher Springs which offers a great day trip! We may have 20 people but we never feel overcrowded here at Cooper (in the campground or in the cabins all together!) We go every year and I hope you start to too!

Great Campground for fishing, foliage and family

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

Nice Lake

Clean bathrooms, good playground and beach area. Cabins, RV, equestrian and tent sites. 

One of the best campsites we’ve been to

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 &amp; 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! 

Nice South East Texas Park!

We really enjoyed the park it is pretty wide and spread out on lake cooper. We stayed in the Brightstar area of the park and had a great time. The bathrooms were very clean and in good working order. Was a great getaway not to far outside of Dallas TX. We will come back for sure. Has a beach area for swimming in warmer weather and a dock and boat ramp if you take your boat.

Nice clean park not to far from Dallas..

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.

Oak Grove Camping

Seems to be the newer (or newly renovated unit) with a ton of camping options! Sits seemed close together but sections were really spread out! Enjoyed the inner-active trail and the fishing pier at the day use area! Really cool playground area bear the swimming area.

A lot of amazing camping options

great place!

I’m an avid camper and hiker but when camping here alone at night (no one else was in the tent camping area), my camp site was accosted by a family of raccoons. They were not friendly and not scared of people at all. Be careful if you have young children. Aside from this, the lake was beautiful, peaceful and serene. Camp sites are unique and right on the water. 