Double Lake Still Carries Its CCC Bones

Double Lake has an older feel than a newer park because it started as a Civilian Conservation Corps project in 1937. The Forest Service lists the same basic ingredients that make it a real forest day: camping, fishing, swimming, picnicking, hiking, and a lake stocked with bass, bream, and catfish.

The outdoor choices stack up without turning the place into a resort. A 21-mile mountain bike trail loops around the lake, and hikers can take a five-mile one-way connection on the Lone Star Hiking Trail toward Big Creek Scenic Area. The Forest Service directions bring drivers in from U.S. 59 at Cleveland by way of FM 2025, or from I-45 at New Waverly by way of SH 150.

That route matters because Double Lake is not a lakeside strip-mall outing. It sits back in the forest system, close enough to the county's main roads but still tied to trailheads, camp loops, and the old CCC idea of making public woods usable without sanding off their rough edges. It shows the forest as a lived-in place, not just a green patch on a map.