This may be a harsh review, but I was very disappointed with Lake Arrowhead State Park. It is my hope that my candor will help anyone reading this log and, perhaps, effect change with state park officials. The bottom line is that I am not sure why the great state of Texas even keeps this park if this is the best they can offer the public? Let me detail my experience.
The water level in the lake was very low and the mosquitos were terrible. Also, the grass was INFESTED with grasshoppers. Everytime you took a step, a hundred grasshoppers flew away in front of and around you. Many of them land on your clothes. It was also 104 degrees on the day that I visited the park, so primitive camping was miserable. I acknowledge these are factors beyond the state's control.
However, the trails aren't very impressive either. They are basically just a mowed path through the prairie grass. There are signs at the various trailheads, but that's it. There are no distance markers on the trails with the exception of the Onion Creek Trail. It has distance markers every 1/2 mile, but several of the distance markers are missing and have not been replaced. Although it is hard to get lost in this state park, I still recommend taking a printed trail map along to avoid confusion. Finally, the trails take you through a disc golf course. Fortunately, no one was playing but the last thing I want to worry about while hiking is getting hit by a stray disc!
If the trails were poor, camping was even worse. I slept like crap because there is a noisy oil pump closeby the primitive camping area that runs 24 hours a day. Seriously?!
The state of Texas can do better than this. If not, shut it down and sell the land.
