ray roberts lake state park

Stayed two nights in early February. Although I had made a reservation it wasn't needed. If traveling during the summer months it would be recommended. If you plan on staying in Texas State Parks more than ten nights it would save money by purchasing an annual pass for $70 per person as Daily Fees are $7 / day / person.Nice Park - good facilities - easy in and outCamped in a 30ft Motorhome.

Beautiful state park. The hike and bike trails stood out for us. They have some trails that are fully paved allowing the use of any bike or you can mountain bike on the trails that are alo used for hiking and, in some parts, equestrian use. There were over 20 miles of trails which can keep you occupied for hours or days.The lake has several boat ramps and a fishing pier. Great for families that need to get away from the city.

This is a nice State Park. I have been here many times! It is clean and has lots of trails for you and your family to enjoy!

Family stayed at Johnson Branch and loved it over Thanksgiving. Campsites are spacious and private. Showers and bathrooms are clean. The lake is beautiful and the hiking and biking trails were fabulous. We recommend it strongly. Can't wait to go back.Only downside is a fee per person/ per day. Rather pricey.

I took my two kids as well as various friends the past three weekends and really enjoyed our time out there. The facilities are nice, good amount of room between camp sites and plenty to do with the kids. We had one night with someone being too loud but they eventually piped down around 10:40. All in all, great location to the metroplex and a nice relaxation atmosphere.

We have had our little family-reunion campouts at various Texas State Parks for more than 20 years, and were shocked by the treatment we received from a ranger at Isle du Bois in Ray Roberts Lake State Park. We always book five campsites for our group of about 20 people, so we have a lot of room to spread out and not bother neighboring sites. On our first night in, we were talking and laughing and some people had just arrived. It was about 11 p.m., which is of course past the "quiet hour" of 10 p.m. A ranger approached my husband on the way back from the bathroom and said our group was too loud. My husband said he would tell everyone, but the ranger said, "No, that's not good enough-- I need to talk to them." The ranger came into the site where we were all sitting, shined his flashlight on us and said "I am an officer" as if we didn't know that and were supposed to be scared. He then proceeded to lecture our educated group of taxpaying campers, ages 25 to 68, like we were either children or drunken rednecks. Instead of politely reminding us to quiet down, he lectured us for at least five minutes, using the same words and phrases over and over. We stared in disbelief as he said "congratulations, you are the loudest group here, " "it's not all about you," and "we will give you one warning and then 'something else' will happen." It was almost like he was trying to pick a fight. We of course apologized and did tell him we had five sites, and he took the name of the person who made the reservations as if he was already planning his 'something else' threat.

For a Texas lake, Ray Roberts has some wide open areas as well as some protected coves where you can get out of the wind if need be...although lake levels are down, RR is still a good place to go!

We camped overnight at the Wild Plum primitive site. It was nice and kept space between the other sites. Only issue was we had to carry our gear a bit to get to it. Only half the path is paved. Lake is beautiful. Beach is very nice. We will return!

okay, so we drove about an hour to get there. took some convincing to get my parents to pay the $4 fee to get into Isle du Bois State Park (haha... parents). and i paid the $7 regular fee. it's pretty. some camping sites with sweeping hillside views of the water. i hope to check out the bike trail someday. so we went to simply enjoy a picnic and the fresh air. well, hunky dory. everything was fine. we enjoyed our sandwiches from the "Dam Store" ...until the portly patron of the family next to us pulls up in his convertible BLARING his tejano music. well, the music stopped when he turned off the engine. bad enough. but then about 10 minutes later, the "man" (and i use the term loosely) walks back over to his car, cranks up his music and walks back to their picnic table. he's walking back with chest all bowed out, sneering at everyone like he's the big man challenging anyone to say something. i mean, this an area several acres large, tons of picnic tables, dozens of families trying to enjoy a Sunday at the park and anyone within at least 100 yards was subjected to this abhorrent display of malfeasance and total lack of decency. disgusting. disgusting how people like this think they can just get away this sort of disruptive, intrusive and "attempted" intimidating behavior. well, intimidated i am not. i called the park entrance office and reported the loud music. after waiting for 15 minutes, we called again. we were ready to leave regardless, but stayed to see if any authority figure actually showed up to remedy the situation. a few minutes later, a park ranger did in fact come driving up and spoke with the "offending individual". and the "music" stopped.which was good to see. but one has to wonder. how often does this happen? this was my first time there. and as stated, i would LIKE to return and check out the bike and hiking trails. but.... i'm wondering if this sort of "clientele" is what normally shows up at Lake Ray Roberts. i know my parents were uncomfortable and felt unsafe when we parked a little later so i could take photos and another car slowly drove around our car. i mean, it's bad at other area lakes but you would think driving that far away from the city, maybe you'd find a peaceful safe place to enjoy the outdoors. THREE THINGS:1. park rangers need to patrol on the steady. hourly. 2. the park needs to post signs forbidding this disruptive and inconsiderate behavior3. on those same signs, the park needs to post the phone number to call & report violationsi just so happen to be able to use my iphone to quickly find the number. it was not on our receipt from the entrance fee. had my parents gone alone, they would not have been savvy enough to find the number. they would have felt helpless and defeated and most likely NEVER return. and that's not right. but because we were able to see someone enforce what should be Common Decency, we just may return. maybe

This is an oasis near the DFW area. Our party of 3 adults took an afternoon day trip to this state park on a Wednesday afternoon. The picnic area we enjoyed was covered and near a really nice beach. The water was perfect! We saw deer and roadrunners. The facilities were clean. However, I get what people are saying about the cops. They do "bird dog" you around the park. We did not have any alcohol with us...but they are definitely watching. I found this a little intrusive. I got the feeling like they weren't exactly around for our protection...but to stop and cite us for any park infraction. We weren't doing anything wrong but kinda felt like suspects. Reason for the 4 star rating.

I was not surprised when I read Molly's review about her experience with the police at Ray Roberts. I live about 30 minutes away and camp here often. I have also been harassed several times. The first time was at Johnson Branch and there was not another camper within 100 yards of us. The officer approached our campsite in the dark without his flashlight on to catch us by surprise. He frightened one our dogs, who was chained, which caused him to bark and growl. He threatened to quarantine the dog if he continue to display aggressive behavior. Our dog was being a dog. The officer made him feel threatened by sneaking up on us and shining the flashlight in his face. The officer then wanted to know what was in our cups and if we were drinking alcohol. We were drinking tea. He eventually left but the experience made me feel very unwelcome. The next time it happened was at Hawthorne in Isle de Bois. A group of officers approached our campsite in the dark and went through our coolers. After they found nothing, they told us we were being too loud. On this particular night, the closest campers were about 4 campsites away. One of the guys in my group muttered something under his breath and one of officers got in his face told him that if he had to come back we would get a citation. The only time I don't get harassed is when I go by myself (I am a female in my 40's) or with my daughter. If I have men under 50 or more than 4 people, they always stop and ask accusing questions. I also visit Colorado Bend, Enchanted Rock, Caprock Canyon, Palo Duro Canyon, Tyler, Huntsville and Dinosaur Valley and have never experienced harassment at any of these parks.

I have supported Texas State Parks for many years, and have been coming to Isle Du Bois for over 15 years. After our experience this weekend I will never step foot onto another park as long as I live in Texas. My husband and I, invited our friends to come camp with us. The only tent sites available were in Hawthorne primitive...(I called before we left the house). We had a late arrival, but manage to find a nice spot in the dark (as we were the only ones dumb enough to walk through mud). I was in the process of cooking dinner and starting the grill, my friends were setting up their tent, and my husband was starting the fire. Just as went to sit down next to the fire three park rangers jumped out of the bushes and turned their flashlights on in our faces. I jumped up scared and and asked if everything was ok. He told me to settle down ma'am and to sit back down. They started walking around looking through our bags and our friend's tent and of course ... I had just about everything out of the cooler on the table (because I was cooking)... And he spotted an unopened bottle of crown. He immediately asked for our licenses and said he was going to run our numbers to see if we had any warrants he could take us to jail on. I was still shocked at the fact they jumped out if the bushes and was upset about how rude and unprofessional he was acting. I asked him why they were there, because we were being very quite... or doing anything wrong other than sitting with our friends around the camp fire. I asked if someone called on us, and the women ranger said no, but they could is from the parking lot. Our husbands had been back and forth unloading and I had even asked them if they could hear us at camp before they jumped out of the bushes. No... not till we started walking the dirt path from the sidewalk. So I strongly disagreed with the ranger ... plus there was no one around us to offend. I told them we were sorry and will keep our convo to a whisper. The ranger pulls out his ticket book and proceeds to write EACH of a citation for display of alcohol in a state park and somehow my husband got consumption of alcohol. My friend was asking him to give her a warning bc she didn't know.... he told her no, everyone is getting a citation. At one point during the harassment I started to get up to turn the steaks and was told to sit back down by the lady ranger. I didn't care ... and also didn't want to ruin our dinner too. She even told my husband to sit down after I asked him to help me... she smarted off saying it doesn't take two people to flip steaks. Well yes it does in the dark. The park ranger starts doing his business about sign here and you have so many days to contact the court. Looking at my ticket, my name is spelled wrong, the address is wrong, and he put me down as a male. He actually made a mistake on every ticket he wrote. I asked him what he wanted us to do now... pack up and leave, he said no just put the bottle back in the cooler. He could have told us that in the beginning without being a dick and/or issuing us all a citation. Isn't his number job... to educate? We put the bottle up (after they walked off), and went on with our night and packed up at sunrise. I went to the park ranger's office on my way out, and made a compliant to the supervisor ... who of course can do nothing at this point. But I made it very clear we would never be back and that I look forward to seeing ranger dick in court. I understand the laws and respect them. But at the end if the day. I'm a grown women, camping in the middle of no where. And if I want a shot of crown after dinner and before I sleep outside in the woods, I shouldn't have to worry about being harassed inside my camp site. I'm not walking up the beach with a beer in my hand or being stupid or disrespectful to anyone. It's camping and should be about having fun. Not worrying about rangers jumping out of the bushes harassing you all night.

lake Ray Roberts state Park has 2 branches ...Isle Du Bois and Johnson Branch Units. This review is for the johnson branch unit. Smaller Park with lots of amenities. Good fishing, friendly staff. Clean Bathrooms and Helpful Staff. Sherry in the office was great and friendly. There are only a few lakeside spots so get there early. Spots 12 thru 15 seemed the best to me. Though most state parks are underfunded, they took great care of the grounds. We stayed 8 days and would have stayed longer if they werent booked up. The only downside is there is not full sewer hookups.Park Host Randy and hos wife were fun to sit and chat with and everyone was pleasant. Not the Party crowd.....if you want that go to isle du bois.

Shade trees along the shore and campgrounds make this an ideal spot for an easy getaway from Dallas or Ft. Worth. If not camping, make it a day trip to hike paved or primitive trails, bring the horses for trail riding, or just bring the boat or the swimsuit for cool clear water sports. Master Naturalists hold several weekend hikes and bird-watching tours every weekend. This is truly a hidden gem in your own backyard.

Love this place. Great for kids, bike rides, Geocaching all over the park, away from crowds, and great RV sites. If you want more open area, go to the swim area, you can use their playground, play games and enjoy a family picnic day.