Lake Whitney and Meridian Lake State Parks are only about a 40-minute drive away from one another and offer very different hiking/camping experiences. I visited both parks in one camping weekend.

Here’s my take on both.

Lake Whitney State Park

I arrived at Lake Whitney State Park after dark and the first thing that I noticed is there were deer EVERYWHERE! It immediately reminded of home in northern Michigan. I was pleasantly surprised because I haven’t seen any wildlife on my visits to State Parks yet outside of a plethora of birds.

Lake Whitney was more of an “open-air” park. The campsite was completely open with minimal shade/coverage and the RV sites were mostly in open field space as well.

The lack of trees and forest did not make this park any less beautiful though as it was surrounded by beautiful Lake Whitney.

Campground Amenities

Since I arrived late, I did not stop at the headquarters until the following day and found it to be a bit of a stressful experience. The office is TINY and there were a lot of visitors crammed into the small space. There are two doors into the office and it wasn’t clear that one was an entrance and one was an exit and people were coming in both ways, which caused confusion because it was only large enough to really walk through, not conjure and wait around. I waited outside for people to clear out because it was just too much.

Trail Hiking Experience

Lake Whitney only has two hiking trails and both of them are fairly short (around 2 miles total for both trails). I hadn’t done much research on the park before I visited so I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of environment and hiking experience.

Towash Forest Trail

I think the name of the trail is very misleading. You start on a stone road in “the forest” and walk down a path for about 3 minutes. The entire rest of the trail is not in the forest nor does it have a forest feel in any way. It’s more like being out in an open plain.

Two Bridges Trail

The two trails offered at this park could not be further from the same experience. Although still not very much in a “forest”, I’d say this trail was more “forest-y” than Towash. There were some cool trees and cacti along this trail which made it a unique hiking experience.

The hike is short, less than a mile, but a nice little morning loop, or evening loop if you’re camping in the park. The part of the trail that leads out to the Lake was a really pretty spot to take a little break and enjoy the view.

If you had a bicycle you could easily ride over to Two Bridges trailhead from any area you’re camping. Since I did not have a bicycle, I drove over to the trailhead and parked right next to the entrance.

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Meridian Lake State Park

Driving inside Meridian Lake State Park is a whole adventure in and of itself! It’s curvy with a lot of hills to drive up and down and sometimes the streets are very narrow. You have to drive slowly in case there’s an on-coming car. But the drive is fun and scenic.

I was not planning on camping at Meridian so I didn’t explore the campsites, but driving to the trailhead allowed me to see some of them.

One really unique thing about this park was that you could hear from a really far distance. It was almost like we were all in a bowl. I could hear people talking from all the way across the lake (not make-out-the-words talking) but I could definitely hear them. Although that’s pretty cool while you’re hiking I feel like it would be a downfall at night if you’re camping.

Although there are only about 6 miles of trail, it was more than I could finish on my 1/2 day visit. I’d be happy to come back and visit again because I enjoyed the trails I was able to hike and it makes for a great day trip.

Trail Hiking Experience

When looking at the trail map, I wasn’t sure where to start my hikes because there’s no clear path through all the trails so I drove up to the Little Forrest Junior Trail (the yellow one on the map below) and started there.

I made my way from Little Forest Junior Trail to the Bosque Hiking Trail around the lake. I wasn’t able to hike The Shinnery Ridge Trail or Little Springs Trail this visit.

The Little Forest Junior Trail had these trees that I’d never seen before and couldn’t get enough of. They’re dark, dead-looking, and ominous. I couldn’t stop thinking about how cool it would be to have some kind of Halloween event in the forest here! 🎃 👻

And then last, but not least, my favorite part of my visit was the scenic overlook (number 3 on the map above). It’s just an open cliff overlooking the water and really made you feel on top of the world.

I took this adorable picture of an older couple who were just sitting on a ledge with their dog, enjoying the view and time together. ADORABLE.

Overall Review of Lake Whitney and Meridian Lake State Parks

Lake Whitney State Park –

Although the lake view at Lake Whitney State Park was incredible and there was actually wildlife to be seen, I don’t know that I would come back to visit. I am a hiker and that’s what draws me to parks so this one just really isn’t for me.

However, if you’re planning on being on the water, this could be a great park for you! Each campsite has a lot of space for bringing your boat trailer, RV, and vehicle without being cramped. The boat ramp was easily accessed and the lake is pretty big for boating, fishing, or doing any other water sports.

Although this isn’t much of a hiker’s park, I would still say, if you want to stop in on a day pass, it would be worth it to hike the Towash Forrest Trail.

Meridian Lake State Park-

As for Meridian Lake State Park, I 100% would recommend it if you’re a hiker like me! I would be happy to come back and finish the trails I wasn’t able to get to on my day hike and even hike the Bosque Trail again.

Although I didn’t camp here, I’d be happy to come back and do so. The campsites are all so unique and offer a variety of different experiences throughout the park. Here’s one campsite that is all by itself off a bend in the road.

As always, if you want to read about my visits to other Texas State Parks, check out my Texas State Parks page!