Lake Tawakoni State Park: Farkleberry Trail et. al. (Blog Hike #1117)

Trails: Farkleberry, Blackjack, Osage Orange, and Red Oak Trails
Hike Location: Lake Tawakoni State Park
Geographic Location: north of Wills Point, TX (32.84583, -95.99397)
Length: 3.7 miles
Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: February 2026
Overview: A lollipop double loop through oak/cedar woods.
Park Information: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/lake-tawakoni
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming March 26, 2027)

Directions to the trailhead: From Wills Point, take FM 47 north 5.2 miles to FM 2475 and turn left on FM 2475, which deadends at the park in 4.4 miles.  Pay the entrance fee, then park in the first parking lot on the left near the trailhead for the Farkleberry Trail.

The hike: Located 60 miles almost due east of Dallas, Lake Tawakoni State Park occupies 376 acres of reverting farmland adjacent to its namesake lake.  The 37,879 acre lake serves as the headwaters of the Sabine River, which flows first east to the Texas/Louisiana state line and then south into the Gulf of America.  The lake was built in 1960 to provide flood control and drinking water for surrounding communities, but the park took many years to build: it did not officially open until 2002.

            For a park so close to a major city, Lake Tawakoni State Park is light on amenities.  The park offers a 78-site developed campground, the usual aquatic recreation on Lake Tawakoni, some picnic shelters, and 8 trails totaling only 4.5 miles.  The hike described here forms a lollipop loop through the secluded western part of the park.  While this hike lacks unique scenery, I enjoyed being in this park's nice forest after doing several hot and sunny hikes on the Texas prairies to the west.

Trailhead for the Farkleberry Trail

            The Farkleberry Trail serves as the entrance trail for this part of the park's trail system; a large trail sign and brown carsonite post at the southwest corner of the parking lot mark the trailhead.  Farkleberry is another name for sparkleberry, a common native shrub in the forests of the southeastern United States.  Farkleberry is identified by its oval evergreen leaves, its bell-shaped white flowers, and its small, round, black berries that look somewhat like black blueberries.  While farkleberries are edible raw, their dry bitter flavor and tough texture make them better suited for use as a jam, jelly, or pie filling.

Hiking the Farkleberry Trail

            The wide single-track dirt Farkleberry Trail curves more right than left as it climbs gradually.  The difference between maximum and minimum elevation on this hike is only about 50 feet, so all grades are gentle.  At 0.5 miles, you reach the Farkleberry Trail's west end at a major trail intersection with a bench.  You will pass through this intersection a total of 3 times on this hike.  For now, turn left twice to begin heading clockwise around the Blackjack Trail's loop.

Starting the Blackjack Trail

            Marked by brown carsonite posts with black stickers, the Blackjack Trail is named for the blackjack oak tree, which combined with pines make up the majority of the trees in this forest.  This trail forms the western-most loop in this park's trail system, and it starts with some minor undulations as it skirts the upper reaches of a ravine to the right.  My wildlife sightings on this trail included some deer and some mourning doves.  Though it does not pass any fantastic scenery, the easy Blackjack Trail makes for pleasant hiking.

            After heading out a low finger ridge, the trail curves right to trace back around the edge of the shallow ravine.  Just past 2 miles, you close the Blackjack Trail's loop and return to the major intersection for a second time.  Turn left again to begin a clockwise journey around the Osage Orange Trail, which is marked by brown carsonite posts with orange stickers.

Starting the Osage Orange Trail

            Also known as hedge apple, osage orange trees typically grow along old property boundaries, so this trail is well-named: all of this land was previously divided into farms.  The trail winds and descends gradually before making a sharp right curve at 2.4 miles.  Next you pass an old farm pond on the right before climbing gradually to reach another trail intersection just shy of 2.7 miles.  The Osage Orange Trail turns right, and we will go that way eventually.  For now, continue straight to begin the Red Oak Trail.

Hiking the Red Oak Trail

            At only 0.4 miles long, the Red Oak Trail is the shortest trail on this hike, but it is the only trail on this hike that leads all the way to the shore of Lake Tawakoni.  This hike's sharpest descent and narrowest trail brings you to the short spur trail that leads right to the lake overlook at 2.9 miles.  The park's boat ramp sits across this arm of the lake, and I saw many mallards and egrets in the lake when I came here.  A bench encourages you to sit, have a snack, and admire the lake.

Lake Tawakoni

            The Red Oak Trail's lakeside section is brief, and soon the trail curves left to head gradually uphill away from the lake.  At 3.1 miles, you close the Red Oak Trail's loop.  Continue straight to begin the final segment of the Osage Orange Trail.  A flat and easy 700 feet later, you return to the major trail intersection for the third time.  Turn left and retrace your steps out the Farkleberry Trail to return to the parking lot and complete the hike.

Cooper State Park, Doctors Creek Unit (Blog Hike #1116)

Trails: Cedar Creek South, West, East, and North Loops
Hike Location: Cooper State Park, Doctors Creek Unit
Geographic Location: south of Cooper, TX (33.34136, -95.66988)
Length: 2.1 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: February 2026
Overview: A loop hike through young shrubby forest on the north side of Jim Chapman Lake.
Park Information: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/cooper-lake
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming March 2, 2027)

Directions to the trailhead: From Cooper, take SR 154 east 1.4 miles to FM 1529 and turn right on FM 1529.  Drive FM 1529 south 1.6 miles to the park entrance on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, pay the entrance fee, and drive the main park road 0.7 miles to the Pelican Point Day Use Area on the left.  Park in the right (west) side of this parking lot.

The hike: Formerly known as Cooper Lake State Park, Cooper State Park occupies 3026 acres on the shores of Jim Chapman Lake, which had a somewhat tortured beginning.  Area residents first proposed building the lake in the late 1930s, and a favorable feasibility study was published by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1950.  Due to planning snafus and administrative delays, construction on the dam that would form Jim Chapman Lake did not start until 1986.  The lake was finally completed in 1991, and the park, consisting of land leased from the Corps, opened in 1996.

            Cooper State Park consists of 2 separate units on opposite sides of the lake: the 466-acre Doctors Creek Unit in Delta County and the 2560-acre South Sulphur Unit in adjacent Hopkins County.  Both units have camping and recreation on Jim Chapman Lake, and both units offer several miles of trails.  Yet most of the trails at the larger South Sulphur Unit are designed for horses or mountain bikers.  Thus, I went to the Doctors Creek Unit and hiked the Cedar Creek Trail, which is open only to hikers.  The Cedar Creek Trail is organized as 4 loops, one named after each cardinal direction.  This hike uses parts of all 4 loops to form a grand tour of the Doctors Creek Unit's trail system.

Trailhead at Pelican Point Day Use Area

            From the Pelican Point Day Use Area parking lot, pick up the Cedar Creek Trail's south loop as it heads west; a simple wooden sign marks this trailhead.  The trail heads through a wetland area, and I saw several frogs and turtles in these wetlands.  Where the trail splits to form the south loop, stay left to head clockwise around our loop.

Jim Chapman Lake

            At 0.2 miles, a spur trail that leads a short distance to the shore of Jim Chapman Lake exits left.  This spur is your only opportunity to get a view of the lake on this hike, so I recommend hiking the short spur to the sandy lakeside area.  Back on the main trail, continue northwest through young forest that is a mixture of cedars and oaks.

Hiking through young forest

            0.5 miles into the hike, you cross the main park road.  3 trails continue on the north side of the road, and you want to take the left-most trail, which is the Cedar Creek Trail's west loop.  The trail soon crosses an old dirt road that used to be CR 1007, and then the park's main campground comes into view through the trees on the left.  Ignore spur trails that head into the campground, and ignore a short-cut trail that exits right.

Starting the east loop

            At 1.1 miles and just before you close the west loop, turn left to begin the Cedar Creek Trail's east loop; another simple wooden sign marks this intersection.  Soon the trail breaks out of the young forest and enters a prairie area with a thick grassy understory.  I saw a large number of vultures in this area.  Also, the persistently flat terrain ensures that rainfall has nowhere to drain.  Thus, heavy rains the previous night left parts of this trail submerged when I came here on a sunny afternoon in mid-February.

Hiking wet trail

            An old farm pond comes into view on the left while the trail curves right as you round the east end of the trail system.  At 1.9 miles, you reach a trail intersection where the east and north loops cross.  Turn left to leave the east loop and begin the north loop.  Very quickly you cross the park road and return to the south loop.  A left turn and short walk past the wetlands returns you to the Pelican Point Day Use Area and completes the hike.