Wright Patman is more than boat ramps: there's hiking in the pines

Most people know Wright Patman Lake for its boat ramps, but the Corps of Engineers cut trails into four of its campground parks (Clear Springs, Rocky Point, Piney Point, and Malden Lake), adding up to close to five miles of walking. The trails run through the bottomland hardwood and pine that define the Piney Woods, the kind of mixed forest that turns a fishing trip into a place worth slowing down in.

The best-known stretch links two campgrounds: a 1.3-mile path from Piney Point over to Rocky Point and its swim beach, so campers at one can walk to the other without driving the lake road. The surrounding Corps land, tens of thousands of acres of public forest around the reservoir, holds wild turkey, white-tailed deer, squirrel, and waterfowl, with bald eagles passing through in winter.

Trails sit inside the developed parks, so they're easiest to reach as a registered camper or day-use visitor. The lake office at 64 Clear Springs Park can tell you which trailheads are open before you head out, at 903-838-8781.