We visited Brownwood State Park

October's trip was to Lake Brownwood State Park. When looking at the lake, it appeared to be close to flood stage. The front office staff informed me that it was 95 percent full. The water level has been below 50 percent for years due to a five year drought. Over 8 inches of rain came down in a 24 hour period recently. This, plus other rainy days, brought up the water level. The reason the lake got full so quickly is because there are approximately 1600 square miles of watershed draining into this lake. Lake Brownwood provides the drinking water for Brown County as well as providing a great place to swim or fish for park visitors. Park Manager John Holland provided information about the drainage and drinking water.

The front office where fees are paid and park information is given out.

CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) buildings in the area are worth viewing. This park has the largest number of buildings constructed by this group, during the 1930's, of any park in Texas. The front office assistant manager, Debra, gave me this information. The buildings were constructed of timber and native rock found in the park. I took pictures of the boat rental building next to the dock. (See one below.) It had asphalt shingles on the roof. This may have been the original roofing material since shingles were used on roofs in the 1930's. The CCC also built the park's roads.

I liked the information in the park map hand-out. Points of interest were listed as well as the six trails and the distance of each trail. I walked the Council Bluff Trail; it was a long .31 mile trek. Most of the way to the Council Bluff Camping Area was uphill. I started out at the fishing pier area and thought it would be a good hike for a Billy goat that loves to climb rugged rocky paths. I enjoyed the downhill trip back.

Fishing pier. Rugged path below.





The signs telling visitors what is along a particular road are easy to read and blend in well with the natural setting. The same can be said about signs at the entrances of the walking paths. There seemed to be a real effort to keep the park as natural looking as possible. The pedestrian bridge at the boat launching area, with it's metal and wood construction, also blended in with the surrounding water and trees.


When I looked for trash, I found most of it in the fishing pier area. The park was well kept up but those fishing need to pick up their snack papers, beverage cans and bait containers. I found most of the discarded items in this area. A pair of adult size flip-flops, that were falling apart and left on a picnic table, can also be seen in my trash bag picture.


The front desk staff mentioned that the park's 81th birthday is being celebrated this month. Happy birthday Lake Brownwood State Park!