Ratcliff Lake was a millpond before the CCC made it a recreation lake

Ratcliff Lake started as working water. Its 45 acres served as the log pond and water source for the Central Coal and Coke Company sawmill. Company tramways moved East Texas timber through the surrounding forest. The mill operated from 1902 until it closed in 1920. The pond and tramway grades still show how much work once gathered around this quiet water.

The Civilian Conservation Corps gave the old industrial site a second life in 1936. Workers built a recreation area around the pond. Camping, picnicking, swimming, fishing, and short walks now occupy ground once arranged around logs and machinery.

Ratcliff is not primitive in every sense. The recreation area has potable water, flush toilets, and two bathhouses with showers. Some single campsites can be reserved, and those sites allow up to eight people and two vehicles. The day-use area is listed from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The 20-mile Four C Trail begins here and follows some abandoned company tramways. That connection does not mean the whole route is currently passable. A July 2025 trail alert was still active when checked July 29, 2026: Big Slough was impassable and six bridges were unsafe. Ratcliff Lake can be open while a full Four C hike remains a different question.