Possum Kingdom State Park

Possum Kingdom State Park
Picnic and swimming area
Location in Texas Show map of Texas Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Palo Pinto County, Texas
Nearest city	Caddo
Coordinates	32°52′10″N 98°33′40″W / 32.86944°N 98.56111°W / 32.86944; -98.56111
Area	1,528.7 acres (6.186 km²)
Established	1940
Visitors	68,068 (in 2022)^[1]
Governing body	Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Possum Kingdom State Park is a state park in Palo Pinto County, Texas, USA, that was built in the 1940s by Civilian Conservation Corps Company 2888 and opened to the public in 1950.^[2] It covers approximately 1,530 acres (620 ha), and lies in the Palo Pinto Mountains and Brazos River Valley of Texas. The park borders the large Possum Kingdom Lake, a 20,000-acre (8,100 ha) lake known for its clear blue waters. Possum Kingdom winds for 65 miles (105 km) down the Brazos River, and has more than 300 miles (480 km) of shoreline. A privately owned store and marina in the park cater to boaters and campers.

The Boy Scouts of America have a summer camp "Constantin" on the shores of Possum Kingdom Lake as does the YMCA at camp "Grady Spruce".

Camp Grady Spruce is directly across from the most well known geological feature of the lake called "Hell's Gate", a channel which cuts between an island and a row of cliffs.

The title of the song "Possum Kingdom" by Toadies is derived from Possum Kingdom State Park.^[3]

On April 15, 2011, the park was closed due to wildfires, and was reopened on May 25, 2011.^[4]

Due to Texas' severe drought, another breakout of wildfires that began on August 30, 2011, plagued the Possum Kingdom Lake area. The fires burned into September, and though the park was not damaged, 39 homes and 9 recreation vehicles were destroyed.^[5]

References

↑ Christopher Adams. "What is the most visited state park in Texas? Here's the top 10 countdown". KXAN.com. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
↑ "Possum Kingdom State Park History — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department". tpwd.texas.gov. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
↑ Todd Lewis, Lead Singer of the Toadies, 1995 interview appearing in Rip Magazine according to SongFacts accessed online at http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4014
↑ Associated Press in San Angelo Standard-Times accessed online at http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2011/apr/15/wildfires-force-evacuations-close-possum-kingdom/
↑ Texas Forest Service as quoted by NASA accessed online at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=52028

External links

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Protected areas of Texas

Federal

National Parks	Big Bend Guadalupe Mountains
National monuments and memorials	Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Castner Range National Monument Chamizal National Memorial Military Working Dog Teams National Monument Waco Mammoth National Monument
National Historical Parks and Historic Sites	Fort Davis NHS Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Palo Alto Battlefield NHP San Antonio Missions NHP
National Historic Trails	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
National Recreation Areas	Amistad Lake Meredith
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Rio Grande
National Wildlife Refuges	Anahuac Aransas Attwater Prairie Chicken Balcones Canyonlands Big Boggy Brazoria Buffalo Lake Caddo Lake Grulla Hagerman Laguna Atascosa Little Sandy Lower Rio Grande Valley McFaddin Muleshoe Neches River San Bernard Santa Ana Texas Point Trinity River
National Forests	Angelina Davy Crockett Sabine Sam Houston
National Grasslands	Caddo Lyndon B. Johnson McClellan Creek Rita Blanca
Other Protected Areas	Big Thicket National Preserve Padre Island National Seashore

State

State Parks and Natural Areas	Abilene Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area Atlanta Balmorhea Barton Warnock Visitor Center Bastrop Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Big Bend Ranch Big Spring Blanco Bonham Brazos Bend Buescher Caddo Lake Caprock Canyons Cedar Hill Chinati Mountains State Natural Area Choke Canyon Cleburne Colorado Bend Cooper Lake Copper Breaks Daingerfield Davis Hill Davis Mountains Devils River State Natural Area Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area Dinosaur Valley Eisenhower Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Estero Llano Grande Fairfield Lake Falcon Fort Boggy Fort Parker State Park Fort Richardson State Park Franklin Mountains Galveston Island Garner Goliad Goose Island Government Canyon State Natural Area Guadalupe River Hill Country State Natural Area Honey Creek State Natural Area Huntsville Indian Lodge Inks Lake Kickapoo Cavern Lake Arrowhead Lake Bob Sandlin Lake Brownwood Lake Casa Blanca International Lake Colorado City Lake Corpus Christi Lake Livingston Lake Mineral Wells Lake Somerville Lake Tawakoni Lake Whitney Lockhart Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Martin Creek Lake Martin Dies Jr. Matagorda Island McKinney Falls McKinney Roughs Meridian Mission Tejas Monahans Sandhills Mother Neff State Park Mustang Island Old Tunnel Palmetto Palo Duro Canyon Palo Pinto Mountains Pedernales Falls Possum Kingdom Purtis Creek Ray Roberts Lake Resaca de la Palma San Angelo Sea Rim Sheldon Lake South Llano River Stephen F. Austin Tyler Village Creek Walter Umphrey Wyler Aerial Tramway
State Historic Sites	Acton Admiral Nimitz Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos Battleship TEXAS Caddo Mounds Casa Navarro Confederate Reunion Grounds Eisenhower Birthplace Fanthorp Inn Fannin Battleground Fort Griffin Fort Lancaster Fort Leaton Fort McKavett Fort Richardson State Park Fulton Mansion Goliad Hueco Tanks Kreische Brewery Landmark Inn Levi Jordan Plantation Lipantitlan Lyndon B. Johnson Magoffin Homestead Mission Espiritu Santo Mission Rosario Monument Hill Penn Farm Point Isabel Lighthouse Sabine Pass Battleground Sam Bell Maxey House Samuel T. Rayburn House San Felipe San Jacinto Battleground Sauer-Beckmann Farm Seminole Canyon Starr Family Home Varner–Hogg Plantation Washington-on-the-Brazos Zaragoza Birthplace
State Forests and Arboretums	E.O. Siecke I.D. Fairchild John Henry Kirby Masterson W. Goodrich Jones Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum Olive Scott Petty Arboretum
State Wildlife Trails	Great Texas Coastal Heart of Texas Panhandle Plains Prairies and Pineywoods

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

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