Lake Tawakoni State Park

State park in Texas, United States

32°50′55″N 96°00′00″W / 32.84861°N 96.00000°W / 32.84861; -96.00000^[1]Area376.3 acres (152.3 ha)^[2]Elevation430 feet (130 m)Established2002 (2002)Visitors96,988 (in 2022)^[3]Governing bodyTexas Parks and Wildlife Departmenttpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/lake-tawakoni

Lake Tawakoni State Park (/təˈwɑːkəni/ tə-WAH-kə-nee) is a state park located in Hunt County, Texas, United States, 11.2 miles (18.0 km) north of Wills Point. It is on the south central shore of Lake Tawakoni, a 37,879-acre reservoir on the Sabine River.^[4]

History

Constructed in 1960, the lake is named after the Tawakoni Native American tribe, who used to live in the area. It was built to provide a source of water for the Dallas area, and the park was opened in 2002 under a lease agreement with the Sabine River Authority.^[2]

The park came to media attention in 2007, because of a giant communal spider web on the premises of the park.^[5] The web was mostly the work of thousands of long-jawed orb weavers (Tetragnatha guatemalensis), but other spider species were found to have also joined in.

On January 22, 2009, a fire swept through the park, burning approximately 125 acres (51 ha) of park property.^[6]

Nature

Animals

Lake Tawakoni State Park is teeming with wildlife. Animals found in the park include red and gray foxes, bobcats, coyotes, opossums, turtles, frogs, snakes, raccoons, beavers, squirrels, armadillos, minks and white-tailed deer. Additionally, birders have identified more than 200 species of birds in the park. The lake holds many different species of fish such as striped bass, white bass, largemouth bass and crappie, but is noted for its blue catfish.^[4]

Flora

Bur oak and cedar elm dominate the forest of Lake Tawakoni State Park. Large shrubs Osage orange and farkleberry along with Virginia creeper and poison ivy are in the understory.

Activities

The park offers a variety of outdoor activities including boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, mountain biking, birding and geocaching. There are also campsites available for tents and recreational vehicles. There are about five miles of trails to explore by foot or mountain bike.

References

^ "Lake Tawakoni State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. February 11, 2004. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Lake Tawakoni State Park: History". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
^ Christopher Adams. "What is the most visited state park in Texas? Here's the top 10 countdown". KXAN.com. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Lake Tawakoni State Park: Nature". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
^ "Sprawling spider web blankets Texas trail". NBC News. NBC Universal. Associated Press. August 30, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
^ "Fire Sweeps Through Tawakoni State Park". Herald Banner. January 24, 2009.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lake Tawakoni State Park.

Official website

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