Purtis Creek State Park, Texas

If you love lake, then you’ll love Purtis Creek State Park, just southwest of Dallas. The quaint 1,582-acre park is best known for its good fishin’ and shaded campsites. In the 355-acre lake, anglers can take home large catfish and crappie, but largemouth bass is “catch and release” only. Due to the small size, and large awesomeness of the lake, there is a no wake/speed restriction, and only 50 boats are allowed on the lake at any time. Once the 50-boat limit has been reached, the boat bouncer (we’re actually not sure if there is a ‘boat bouncer’ but think it sounds like a really cool job) waits until a boat leaves for new boats to enter--you know the drill. What’s even cooler is that you can stay overnight on the lake, for fishing, by paying a $2/person activity use fee. No sleep ‘till morning! Intimidated by all of this lake lingo and want to learn more? Rent a variety of boats (canoe, rowboat, paddle boat, one- and two-person kayaks), and participate in the Angler Education “Tackle Loaner Program”; where individuals can borrow rods, reels, and tackle boxes with all the goods. Go ahead and book a site--or stay overnight! We know you’ll ‘lake’ what you see.