Soldiers at Fort Richardson protected settlers along the Texas frontier. Today, you can walk in the footsteps of those soldiers. But you can also camp and explore the countryside they protected on foot, bike or horseback.

Stay overnight at a cabin or campsite. Restrooms with showers are in the park. Reserve the group camp for a gathering of friends or family.

The park has five campsites for horseback riders next to the trailway.

Trails
Twelve miles of trails are open to all users – hikers, bikers and horseback riders.Fishing
Try your luck fishing at two lakes! You do not need a fishing license to fish from shore or pier in a state park.

Quarry Lake is behind park headquarters. TPWD stocks the lake with bass, catfish and (in winter months) trout.

At North Park, you can fish Lake Jacksboro from the shore or launch a kayak (you’ll need a fishing license to fish from a boat). This park has a restroom (no shower) and water-only campsites.

Swimming
Take your family to North Park to swim in Lake Jacksboro. The park has a sand beach, covered tables, water spigots and restrooms (no showers).
We do not have lifeguards. Read through our swimming safety tips before your visit.

Geocaching
Search for geocaches hidden across the park. Learn more on our Geocaching page, then hit the trail!
The nine-mile (one-way) Lost Creek Reservoir Trailway winds along scenic Lost Creek and the shores of two lakes. It ends at our north park.

Fort Richardson State Park Hist. Site and Trailway

A few times a year, the City of Jacksboro opens its arms to an influx of campers and schools from around the state eager to see one of the unique reinactments at the historic location of Fort Richardson.  

While you can visit during other times of the year, these times make for some of the most popular and thus most busy camping experiences.

7 different types of campsites are available including group sites, equestrian sites, full hook up and primitive sites for RV and tent campers.  Sites range from $10-$25 depending on the area and amenities.

For someone like myself who prefers primitive tent camping or less amenities I found $10 tent sites were about a 3/4 mile hike in and $20 limited amenity campsites were my best options.   The benefits to the $20 North Loop site was pretty obvious in restrooms and typical state park fire rings and picnic tables.   Primitive sites include only fire rings and because of their remote location in warmer months can be more of a questionable location as taller grass can Harbor more snakes, specifically in this area Rattlesnakes and Copperheads.

These fees were in addition to standard park admission which is $3 per day for adults.   All of these fees are due upon entrance at the entry station where you will be greeted by a park ranger and given a map.

While there is a lake, hiking and areas for horseback riding my focus upon my visit was one of the reinactments events held near Christmas.   “Ghosts of Christmas Past” is an event set to showcase the period of the fort days and tell the story of how soldiers spent the time, what it might have been like on those cold winter nights and create a vision of fort life.   It was a great educational visit and a great way to see a bit more of the State Park.

With this being a short drive for me from my home, I find this campsite and full facilities to be very exciting to return for other events.   Well maintained and with friendly staff it is well worth the trip.   

Reinactments and History what more could you ask for in a camping facility 

I took my daughters camping here since it is one of the few parks within an hour of DFW. Getting there was a breeze since it is mostly freeway and highway. I made a reservation since the nice weather seem to be filling up most parks. While this one was almost at capacity, we did not feel crowded. We took a self guided tour of the grounds and visited the hospital, morgue, bakery, bridge, officer quarters and the nature center. Most of the building had interesting things to see. The hospital has some preserved critters like giant centipedes while the nature center has taxidermied animals you can touch (carefully of course). Also, make sure you make the hike to the rumbling spring. It's beautiful. If you need food, there is a grocery store just down the road. If you enjoy alcohol though, you'll need to bring your own. My only complaint about the park was the ground is very rocky, but there were no pads to put your tent on which made staking very difficult.

Easy to get to, lots to see

Did primitive camping for the first time...it was an experience I will not ever forget. The trail to my campsite was full of deer. 

Primitive camping :)

We stayed one night at the equestrian camp on our way through the area. We prefer leaving the equestrian spots for horse owners but it was the last one available in the park. Although, of the 5 sites in this loop, none of us had horses! 

With only a couple of small pens and not much space, we could see why equestrians might not flock here. Hard to say from one night though. 

The sites are long and narrow without much space between them. Road nosie is noticeable during the day but quiet at night. 

There are no bathroom facilities in this loop, so be aware of that. There is a small dumpster available. The bathroom/shower facilities and dump station are down the road at the main campground. You do have 20-, 39- and 50-amp electric plus water hookup at your site. 

The good part about this loop is that you're camping within site of the historic Fort Richardson and visiting the grounds is a short walk. The buildings are only open from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but you're welcome to wander the grounds and look in the windows. Make sure you grab a self-guided your brochure at check-in. 

This was fine for a night or two, but for longer we'd encourage a stay at the main campground instead. 

Phone service was good: Verizon 4 bars / T-Mobile 4 bars.

Equestrian camp small but good location near fort

We weren’t expecting much from this park other than a place to test out our new RV. We were greeted by a very friendly Park staff. The RV site and hookups were in great condition. Bathhouse and other areas were clean and easily accessible. Would love to come again. 

Gem close to DFW

Even though a tornado touched down in the nearby small town of Jacksboro during my stay, I enjoyed this state park and all it has to offer. Thankfully no one was killed, although there was a great deal of property damage. It was humbling to see mother nature in all her fury! I was in site 35 which had water and electric (30 amp), no sewer hookups, but dump in the state park. This site backed up to Lost Creek and was set up on the rocky hillside with access to the Rumbling Spring trail right from the site. 

  

The campsites on this side of the creek are spaced fairly well apart with green space between them. I was spoiled for 3 days as one of only 2 campers in this section. This is when the wildlife came out. I saw deer and wild turkey every evening, an armadillo and lots of birds.

  

The trails are great with something for everyone. I especially enjoyed the Trailway which was well maintained crushed gravel and made for an easy ride into Jacksboro and beyond to the reservoir.  Nice points of interest along the way.

  

Not to be missed is the fort which offers self guided tours through the open buildings at specific times only (at the time I was there). If you don't go at the tour time, then the buildings are closed, expect for the old barracks restrooms. 

  

The park has a small store and there's trout fishing in the quarry lake. I'll definitely return. Shout out to the park rangers who went above and beyond during the bad weather!

Another great Texas State Park

Stayed here when passing through on way to points further west.  Nice state park with hiking and historic buildings to see.  Our site 5 was fairly private and set apart from some of the other sites that are bunched together along the road.  