Lake Bob Sandlin State Park

Lake Bob Sandlin State Park
Lake Bob Sandlin State Park
	The day use area at Lake Bob Sandlin State Park.
Location	Titus County, Texas; Camp County, Texas; Franklin County, Texas; Wood County, Texas
Nearest city	Pittsburg
Coordinates	33°03′14″N 95°05′57″W / 33.053955°N 95.099155°W
Area	639.8 acres (258.9 ha)
Established	1987
Visitors	79,274 (in 2022)
Governing body	Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Lake Bob Sandlin State Park is a state park in Titus County, Texas managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The park covers 639.8 acres of land on the northern shore Lake Bob Sandlin about 10 miles southwest of Mount Pleasant.^[2]

History

The land in the area was occupied by the Caddo people until the mid-1800s. Fort Sherman, a Republic of Texas stockade, was established by 1838, and eventually the land was used for farming and ranching by settlers, until it was acquired by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1978.^[3]

Lake Bob Sandlin is located on Big Cypress Creek. It was impounded in 1977 with the construction of the Fort Sherman Dam. Lake Bob Sandlin is named after Bob Sandlin, a major proponent of the lake, who was a local businessman, civic leader, and president of Titus County Fresh Water Supply District No. 1.^[4] A formal dedication ceremony occurred on June 25, 1978.^[5]

Facilities and activities

The park offers over three miles of hiking and biking trails, a fishing pier and boat ramp, and opportunities for swimming, picnicking, geocaching, kayaking, and other outdoor activities. It also features campgrounds with recreational vehicle hookups, covered shelters, and primitive cabins and tent sites for overnight stays.^[6] The historic Fort Sherman Cemetery in located the park.

Nature

Animals

The park is located at the intersection of the Piney Woods and Blackland Prairie ecoregions, and thus has a diverse variety of wildlife including white-tailed deer, raccoons, coyotes, gray foxes, fox squirrel, and bobcats. There are at least 188 bird species that have been sighted in the park such as the bald eagle and eastern bluebird, and the lake offers many species of fish, including Florida bass, and channel catfish.^[7]^[8] A trout pond in the park is stocked with rainbow trout.