Oh So Many Deer at Lake Whitney State Park

Date Visited: 4/25/2018

What a day this has been! We left the place of my childhood dreams and headed north. The clouds were building and it looked like we were in for a wet night. In all we drove 381 miles from Kincaid Campground with a stop in Waco before finally camping at Lake Whitney State Park.

We arrived at 5:45 pm so the campground office and store were closed. We grabbed a map, drove around until we found a suitable campsite and self-registered. Having secured our spot we did a little exploring to check out the rest of the park, but the temperature was dropping rapidly and the sky was getting darker. We had seen deer roaming around the park and of course I wanted to get a few pictures but the wind picked up and we knew we didn’t have much time to get the SUV ready to sleep in before it started to rain. I was a little disappointed thinking I’d missed my opportunity to photograph the white-tail, but I’d later learn I’d have more than ample opportunity the next morning.

Upon returning to our campsite we spotted two of the local residents freely roaming about the campsite next to us. Now I’m from Florida, born, raised, never left, so I had no idea what this crazy looking bird with the really long tail that was speeding around was called. That’s when Mr. McGee informed me that I had just seen my first Roadrunner. A few “meep-meep” noises and jokes about looking for the coyote later and I learned to appreciate just how neat these little guys were.

Did you know that when they walk the footprint they leave behind is x-shaped? Turns out it’s a pretty cool adaptation that keeps predators from knowing what direction they are headed. Maybe that’s how they earned their cartoon reputation for outwitting their enemies. You also have to admire a bird that would spend more time running than flying. Personally I’d glide on the wind before taking a jog any day of the week, but if your into cardio – I say go for it!

The next morning was all blue skies, sunshine, and Deer, Deer, Deer! They were everywhere. Now Lake Whitney is no small state park. It has 135 campsites ranging from water only to full hookups. There is a dump station for you campers that are lucky enough to bring the house with you and there are public showers and flush toilets for those of us who aren’t. One note about the showers: there are no curtains on the stalls! Privacy is only as good as the courtesy you’re given. The lake is a popular place for fishing, swimming, boating, hiking, and even scuba diving. Even though we were there on a weekday early in the season and had our camp circle all to ourselves, there was still plenty of activity on the lake and a number of vehicles driving through set up for bank fishing. I imagine that on weekends and during the summer the place is pretty packed. Why the healthy deer population is such a busy place is beyond me, but we weren’t complaining.

The morning was down right cold so even though we had been up since 6:30 we were dragging our feet and it was almost 9:30 before we hit the road. We had a 500 mile journey ahead of us this day, so unfortunately we weren’t able to take in the two nature trails at each end of the park. That’s okay though. Now we have an excuse to come back.

By dinner we’ll arrive in the state to which we were headed… New Mexico; The home of lava, petroglyphs, caverns, white sands, Aliens and Jack Rabbits! Our first stop Lake Brantley State Park. See you there!

Amenities

• The park store sells: Ice, firewood, T-shirts and caps
• Restrooms
• Showers
• Water only Sites
• Water and Electric Sites
• Full Hookup Sites
• Dump Station
• Screened Shelters
• Playground
• Hiking Trail
• Interpretive Trail
• Bike Trail
• Picnic Area
• Group Picnic Area
• Group Camping Area
• Recreation Hall
• Designated Swimming Area
• Boat Ramp
• Fishing Point
• Fish Cleaning Station
• Wheelchair Accessible

If your interested in visiting Lake Whitney State Park here is their address and contact information:

Lake Whitney State Park 
433 FM 1244
Whitney, TX 76692
(254) 694-3792 

For Park Reservations 
(512) 389-8900 
TexasStateParks.org

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