Cleburne State Park

State park in Texas, United States

32°15′9″N 97°32′59″W / 32.25250°N 97.54972°W / 32.25250; -97.54972Area528 acres (214 ha)Established1938Visitors99,921 (in 2022)^[1]Governing bodyTexas Parks and Wildlife Department

Cleburne State Park is a 528-acre (2.14 km²) Texas state park in Johnson County, Texas operated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The park includes the 116-acre (0.47 km²), spring-fed Cedar Lake that was created by construction of an earthen dam by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

The park is reached via US 67 to Park Road 21.

History

Cleburne State Park is named for the nearby town of Cleburne, Texas. It was opened in 1939 after purchase from the city. Earlier Comanche Indians hunted in the area and had a trail passing through.

Flora and fauna

The park is heavily wooded with cedar, oak, elm, mesquite, redbud, cottonwood, sycamore, ash and sumac trees. The ground is rocky. Animal life includes white-tailed deer, turkey, duck, armadillo, squirrel, skunk, bobcat, swamp rabbit, cottontail rabbit, raccoon, opossum, coyote, beaver, and many species of birds. Species of fish in Cedar Lake include crappie, bass, catfish, bluegill, and red ear sunfish.

Facilities

Cleburne State Park has a variety of campsites. All sites include a picnic table, grill and a campfire ring. Restrooms with hot showers are available nearby all camping areas.

Tent and parking space with water are common.

Back-in campsites with utilities and shelters accommodate up to 8 people and combination of motor vehicles/trailers.

Group Camp consists of a 2 group barracks with twin beds and mattresses sleeping a total of 44 people. The dining hall and kitchen seat approximately 70 people and has some cooking equipment. All buildings are heated but no air-conditioning.

Camp Creek flows through the park.^[2]

Activities

Fishing is an extremely popular activity on the lake. Any size boat is allowed on Cedar Lake, but the speed on the lake is restricted to No Wake. Personal Water Crafts or PWCs are not allowed since Cedar Lake is considered a community fishing lake, since it is totally encompassed by the state park.

13 miles (21 km) of mountain bike trails of various skill levels are available in a loop around the park. The terrain on the trail is diverse, including hills and flats. Hiking is also allowed on these trails and there are at least two geocaches located in the park.

There is an entrance fee to the park, at 6 dollars for 13 and older, and reservations are recommended.^[3]

References

^ Christopher Adams. "What is the most visited state park in Texas? Here's the top 10 countdown". KXAN.com. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
^ "TSHA | Camp Creek (Johnson County)". www.tshaonline.org. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
^ "Cleburne State Park Entrance Fees — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department". tpwd.texas.gov. Retrieved November 1, 2021.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cleburne State Park.

Cleburne State Park

Protected areas of Texas

Federal

National Parks	Big Bend Guadalupe Mountains
National monuments and memorials	Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Castner Range National Monument Chamizal National Memorial Military Working Dog Teams National Monument Waco Mammoth National Monument
National Historical Parks and Historic Sites	Fort Davis NHS Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Palo Alto Battlefield NHP San Antonio Missions NHP
National Historic Trails	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
National Recreation Areas	Amistad Lake Meredith
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Rio Grande
National Wildlife Refuges	Anahuac Aransas Attwater Prairie Chicken Balcones Canyonlands Big Boggy Brazoria Buffalo Lake Caddo Lake Grulla Hagerman Laguna Atascosa Little Sandy Lower Rio Grande Valley McFaddin Muleshoe Neches River San Bernard Santa Ana Texas Point Trinity River
National Forests	Angelina Davy Crockett Sabine Sam Houston
National Grasslands	Caddo Lyndon B. Johnson McClellan Creek Rita Blanca
Other Protected Areas	Big Thicket National Preserve Padre Island National Seashore

State

State Parks and Natural Areas	Abilene Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area Atlanta Balmorhea Barton Warnock Visitor Center Bastrop Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Big Bend Ranch Big Spring Blanco Bonham Brazos Bend Buescher Caddo Lake Caprock Canyons Cedar Hill Chinati Mountains State Natural Area Choke Canyon Cleburne Colorado Bend Cooper Lake Copper Breaks Daingerfield Davis Hill Davis Mountains Devils River State Natural Area Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area Dinosaur Valley Eisenhower Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Estero Llano Grande Fairfield Lake Falcon Fort Boggy Fort Parker State Park Fort Richardson State Park Franklin Mountains Galveston Island Garner Goliad Goose Island Government Canyon State Natural Area Guadalupe River Hill Country State Natural Area Honey Creek State Natural Area Huntsville Indian Lodge Inks Lake Kickapoo Cavern Lake Arrowhead Lake Bob Sandlin Lake Brownwood Lake Casa Blanca International Lake Colorado City Lake Corpus Christi Lake Livingston Lake Mineral Wells Lake Somerville Lake Tawakoni Lake Whitney Lockhart Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Martin Creek Lake Martin Dies Jr. Matagorda Island McKinney Falls McKinney Roughs Meridian Mission Tejas Monahans Sandhills Mother Neff State Park Mustang Island Old Tunnel Palmetto Palo Duro Canyon Palo Pinto Mountains Pedernales Falls Possum Kingdom Purtis Creek Ray Roberts Lake Resaca de la Palma San Angelo Sea Rim Sheldon Lake South Llano River Stephen F. Austin Tyler Village Creek Walter Umphrey Wyler Aerial Tramway
State Historic Sites	Acton Admiral Nimitz Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos Battleship TEXAS Caddo Mounds Casa Navarro Confederate Reunion Grounds Eisenhower Birthplace Fanthorp Inn Fannin Battleground Fort Griffin Fort Lancaster Fort Leaton Fort McKavett Fort Richardson State Park Fulton Mansion Goliad Hueco Tanks Kreische Brewery Landmark Inn Levi Jordan Plantation Lipantitlan Lyndon B. Johnson Magoffin Homestead Mission Espiritu Santo Mission Rosario Monument Hill Penn Farm Point Isabel Lighthouse Sabine Pass Battleground Sam Bell Maxey House Samuel T. Rayburn House San Felipe San Jacinto Battleground Sauer-Beckmann Farm Seminole Canyon Starr Family Home Varner–Hogg Plantation Washington-on-the-Brazos Zaragoza Birthplace
State Forests and Arboretums	E.O. Siecke I.D. Fairchild John Henry Kirby Masterson W. Goodrich Jones Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum Olive Scott Petty Arboretum
State Wildlife Trails	Great Texas Coastal Heart of Texas Panhandle Plains Prairies and Pineywoods