Make plans now to join us for a fun weekend of camping at this scenic state park only 90 minutes north of Dallas. We have reserved campsites, a variety of hikes planned for Saturday, and plenty of time for evening chats about camp meals and more. It’s the perfect time to try out those new boots or gear, all with the convenience of your car and flush toilets just a few steps away. Read this complete trip description, send in your reservation and get ready for a fun weekend! 

Leave your work and worries behind. Relax and enjoy fellowship and fun in a beautiful landscape bordered by Lake Texoma. Pack your tent, camp chair, hiking shoes, bike, kayak, telescope, and your backpack too if you want to give it a try! This weekend is perfect for beginning and experienced campers alike.   

Overview:  This park is along the south shore of Lake Texoma, just northwest of Denison, Texas, (1 ½ hours north of Dallas). The park features miles of rolling, wooded trails, some with scenic overlooks, a swimming cove and more. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department website features more park information, pictures and trail descriptions: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/eisenhower.

The plan: Arrive Friday, after 3pm and preferably before 9pm. We have reserved a cluster of large campsites that participants will share with others in our group. (You’ll learn site assignment upon arrival at our area.) After breakfast Saturday we'll help anyone wanting to practice packing your backpack, then everyone can choose to join Outings Leaders to hike as much or as little of connecting trails that can make an easy four-mile hike. If weather allows and enough are interested, we’ll also offer a hike at Cross Timbers trails about an hour north of the park. The rest of Saturday afternoon participants may enjoy other trails or park activities on their own. We’ll gather Saturday night for dinner and enjoy an evening chat about fun camp and trail food options, ideas, and recipes. The trail fairies may even have a surprise dessert for everyone! Our outing ends after breakfast Sunday morning but participants are welcome to stay and explore more of the park on their own. 

Transportation / Arrival:  Drive yourself or ride share. Sierra Club policy prohibits leaders from assigning or arranging car pools. Shortly before the trip we will happily provide information about who’s willing to drive and who’s looking for a ride so you can coordinate shared rides. Arrange cost-sharing for your car group before the trip. Our campsite will be available after 3PM on Friday. The outing begins when the trip leaders arrive at the campsite mid-afternoon on Friday. Transportation, any activities you do at the park before or after our outing or away from a SC led group are on your own and not part of the Sierra Club outing. 

Directions: The park is about 15 minutes northwest of Denison, TX, just a 90-minute drive north of Dallas. The park may be reached by taking U.S. Highway 75 out of Dallas; take Exit 72 to State Highway 91 North to Denison Dam to FM 1310 West, and travel 1.8 miles to the Park Road 20 entrance. 

End of outing: The organized outing ends after breakfast Sunday morning. All participants are welcome to stay in the park longer on Sunday (on your own) to enjoy the park features. 

What to bring:  This outing involves tent camping and optional hiking.  A day pack will suffice for hiking, although it’s a perfect place to carry a full pack if you want practice for a future backpacking trip.  Each person is responsible for bringing his or her own equipment and food.  We offer gear guidelines here, but you’re invited to contact the trip leader before departure to resolve questions you may have about gear.  Bring a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad for comfort, containerized fuel and stove (do not plan on individual campfire since burn conditions are uncertain), cookware, water containers for use while hiking and to carry water from nearby faucet, strong whistle, headlamp or flashlight, toilet paper/kit for hike, garbage bag, and your personal first-aid and health items. Bring layers of clothing.  Normal temperatures average in the 70sduring the day and 50s during the night, but record extremes vary by about fifteen degrees.  Rain is always possible, so bring rain gear.  Don’t forget a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, bug spray and a towel if you plan a dip. (Swimming is not part of the outing and would be at your own risk.) We recommend you wear hiking boots or hiking shoes for on trail. Flip flops, slip-ons, sandals or flat shoes are not suitable for park trails but are fine for while you’re in camp. 

Bring meals and snacks for the entire time you’ll be in camp and Saturday lunch on the trail. Plan to cook on your stove since individual fires may not be allowed. Keep in mind we’ll have limited/shared table space for cooking. Participants are expected to clean up after themselves, keeping the campsite clean and following Leave No Trace outdoor ethics at all times. PLAN AHEAD – grocery stores are miles away. 

Drinking water - spigots are available between our campsites. Bathrooms are nearby (flush toilets, no showers.) 

A word of caution - Like any outdoor venue, the Park has various creepy crawlers. Participants should always stay alert and aware of their surroundings and keep tent doors zipped. Don’t leave shoes or other items on the ground unattended.

Yes, a few rules and expectations for all outings: PETS, SMOKING, MUSIC PLAYERS, AND FIREARMS ARE NOT ALLOWED, for safety and in consideration of others.  Leave the batteries at home and enjoy nature!  Public consumption of alcohol is illegal in state parks.  Participants are expected to be respectful of others and adhere to park quiet hours.  Cell phone? If you must make/take a call, please do it out of the range of others. No earbuds while hiking with our group – we want you to be in tune with your surroundings and others in our group.  Leave No Trace behavior (low-impact wilderness ethics) are expected of all participants. 

Experience and Conditioning:  Participants in normal good health will enjoy hiking any of the trails, provided they bring appropriate footwear, clothing and skin protection.  If uncertain about preparedness, discuss your personal situation with the trip leader before signing up. The trip leaders reserve the right to determine whether a hike is suitable for a prospective participant, based on equipment, general health or other factors. 

Medical/common hiking safety tips for all outings: Trip leaders have first aid training but are not medical professionals. Participants are encouraged to bring personal first aid supplies and a basic knowledge of how to deal with emergencies. Medical information you provide may be shared with medical professionals who treat you in the event of injury or sickness. Inform leaders if you have a medical condition such as controlled diabetes, heart problems or allergic reactions that could require special treatment in an emergency.  Carry necessary medications on your person and let the leader know where you store them. If you’re extremely allergic to bee stings, poison ivy or anything else that we may encounter, ask your doctor if you should be carrying an antidote kit.  If you’re lost without your corrective lenses, bring a spare. We’ll be hiking in an area, where rescue is time-consuming.  The nearest hospital is many miles away and any evacuation may be by helicopter.

The trip leaders are in charge of the trip program and reserve the right to change the planned hikes due to group capabilities, weather or safety concerns.  It’s important for group safety to follow the leaders’ directions.  By failing to do so, you assume the risks and consequences that result.

The group should stay together to minimize the chances of someone getting lost or an injured person going unaided.  If you want to leave the led group (the leader and those participants following the leader) for separate day hiking, you do so at your own risk.  If you choose to take that risk, please don’t hike alone.  If you leave the led group, you should hike in parties of at least three people, and tell the leader your planned route and time of return.  If someone is injured while away from the led group, leave one person and all of the party’s food and warm clothing with the injured person, and send all of the others for help at either the trailhead or the base camp. Participants who leave the led group against leader advice will be asked to sign out of the trip, and are no longer part of the outing.  Don’t expect the group or the leader to do more than notify public authorities if you don’t return.  The leader’s responsibility is to those who are following him or her, not to those who choose to follow a different route and put themselves at risk. 

If you get lost, stop on a trail and wait to be found; don’t wander aimlessly.  When day hiking, bring a strong whistle, jacket, rain gear, hat, water, food, map and compass, flashlight, first-aid kit, and matches. If you twist an ankle or get lost, these essentials could save your life if you must spend the night away from camp.  Leaders are not allowed to search for missing persons at night, and cannot put others in the group at risk to look for a lost participant.  

The Dallas Group of the Sierra Club has conducted outings for over forty years without serious injuries.  If you’re in reasonably good physical condition, select a hike matching your abilities and don’t do anything foolish, this trip will be reasonably safe.  The above cautions and disclosures of risk are intended to give you the information necessary to make an informed decision about whether you should participate.  We want everyone who participates to be safe and careful so we can all have a good time. 

Cost:  $15 per person (non-refundable), covers Friday and Saturday night campsite costs. Kids 12 and under who are accompanied by their parent(s)/designated adult are free but must have reservations (see below). Participants will pay their own park entrance fees ($10 pp age 13 and older for Fri-Sun, or free with state park pass). Any proceeds from the weekend will be used by the Dallas Sierra Club for future conservation, outing and other Club efforts, including training and first aid classes required for our outing leaders. The outing will go on rain or shine unless called off by the leader due to safety concerns. 

PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED for EACH PARTICIPANT:  Reservations will be accepted until Tue., April 7 or the trip fills, whichever occurs first. Sorry, no “show-ups” or “walk-ons” may join the group. Space is limited so make your reservations as soon as possible.  

To make a reservation, read this complete trip description, then register here.

Please contact the Trip Leader if you do not receive an email confirming your reservation after a week of when it was sent. It is your responsibility to notify us before the trip if your medical information or circumstances change after you send in your trip forms. 

Youth: Parents/Legal Guardians must complete all trip forms on behalf of their minor child(ren). Kids age 17 and younger must be accompanied by a parent or designated adult who will accompany them at all times during the weekend. A Medical Treatment Authorization & Consent form must also be provided for all youth participants who are under the supervision of a non-parent adult. (As space allows - contact the Trip Leader for more information.)

Questions? Please contact the Trip Leader: Liz Wheelan, Liz@dallassierraclub.org, 214.207.4997

Cancellations: The trip cost is non-refundable but please notify us if you can’t make it so another eager camper may fill your spot. 

CST 2087766-40. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California. (California has a law called the California “Seller of Travel” Law. Since the Sierra Club is a California non-profit corporation, we are required to post this notice.). 

* Malcolm Croft, The Little Book of Camping, Wellback Publishing, 2022