Every time I take the kids to Six Flags taking highway 360 North I see this huge tower that reads “Loyd Park, camping, swimming, hiking…”  something like that…anyway…I always think to myself “I’ve never been there, I wonder what it’s like”.

So, this labor day weekend we did not get out of town as planned and I needed somewhere local to go, since I’m in the business of scouting out new places I decided this was the time to finally see what Loyd Park on Joe Pool lake had to offer.

I got some of my favorite supplies for the day gathered and off we went…

 Loyd Park in Grand Prairie Texas

What we found: Lot’s of people enjoying recreational activities on the water, barbecuing, and having a good ole’ time (even dancing). It was labor day weekend and there were plenty of families enjoying the lake. 

Although it WAS busy and campgrounds were full, my kids and I found a nice spot to put our (friends) kayaks in the water and hang out WITH a picnic table for the entire day (or what was left of it) y’all we didn’t even get to our staked out spot till probably 2:30 pm and we had plenty of room and privacy.  Loved our little place that we hung out at for the day.

Whenever I go to a park for the first time the first thing that I do is get an idea of the area.  I drove through the park and got familiar with everything that it had to offer and found where points of interest were located.  I was looking for the best places to put the kayaks in the water, swim, fish, hike, bike, picnic and relax!.

Cost: The price of admission into the park.  It’s normally $10 but because it was a holiday weekend the charge was $20.

 Perfect for: Anyone needing some r&r and laid back time without the stresses of everyday life, and especially for me, no walls.

Adventure Level: Beginner

Is this worth the trip?  100% yes!  We had to get out of the house.  We couldn’t go far because we had other commitments just the day before…this was such a perfect place to unwind and let my kids play in the water and enjoy the outdoors. 

Other things to know:

• There is a trail, but honestly, it was at the end of the park and we didn’t walk it because it looked kinda shady, meaning, I was a little nervous of who else could be on the trail.  There was really no one else in that area and I just had my two young kids.  And really we were wanting a bike trail, I know that this park has one, but was this it?  I couldn’t really tell…so unfortunately we did not hike or bike any trail at this park, not to say I wouldn’t on another visit though.
  

Here is where we most likely would have fished…

Drive past the picnic areas and past the large pavillion that is available through rental and you will see a dirt road on the left.  There were people here fishing, and if I was to let my kids fish this is probably where I would have taken them…although I did see there was a fishing dock at this park…I mean I saw a sign for one but did not actually go to it because it said it was not for people with “day passes” like we had.

This is also where I would put my kayak in if I had a large one that I needed to drive right up to the water.

And some more things to know:

• There is a paddling trail.
• They do offer Kayak and Canoe Rentals.
• There is a camp store.
• Shelters are available to rent or you can rv or tent camp.
• There was an AWESOME playground.
• The swim beach looked clean!
• The whole place look clean, maintained and safe.

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There were plenty of staff, rangers and police that were patrolling at all times to make sure that all was well.  The park was clean and maintained.  Everyone looked like they were having a GREAT time.

Oh and last but not least, the person at the gate was so friendly and made a GREAT FIRST Impression.  Thank you person at the gate ;).

Way to go Loyd Park  I was definitely impressed and would come back for another visit.

Have questions or comments about this park?  Leave a comment here or send me an e-mail at explore@upforadventure.com.

Some helpful links for this park:

http://www.joe-pool-lake.org/loyd-park-camping.html

http://www.grandfungp.org/lakeparks/loyd.htm

https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/boat/paddlingtrails/inland/grandprairie_walnutcreek/