On St. Patrick’s Day, we jumped at one last opportunity for a free day before baseball took over and accomplished State Park #30! Cedar Hill is south of DFW but still very much encroached upon by the cities’ ever growing suburbs. Even though it is a sizable park with numerous camping sites, I filed it under daytrip worthy because it just wouldn’t suit my camping style. Aka remote and quiet.

The park is less than 2 hours from our house, so we leisurely woke up and packed up some fishing gear and a lunch before heading out. The entrance to the park looks like it is set up for major crowds and we actually had to wait in line 5 cars deep to get in. A first! The large size of the park is spread along the shores of Joe Pool Reservoir containing multiple locations for boat ramps, fishing piers and swimming areas. We started with the far end of the picnicking site options and had our lunch beside the shore. I was really surprised by the flood evidence on other picnic pads that were once functional closer to the shore.

We started with some fishing after our lunch. There was a perch pond near our picnic area and hundreds of yards of shore line to choose from. Ashlyn and Daddy opted for perch pond, while the boys and I took Sally to the more manageable lake shore. The bottom was sand and pebble with minimal weeds, so we had an easy time casting and reeling shad and beetle spin baits. Weston managed his own and I told Archer if I hooked something, he could reel it in; although I found that unlikely. But surprise, surprise something snatched the shad and the hook was set! I dutifully let Archer reel it in…that’s true love, y’all. And he landed a small mouth bass! Weston did a solid job of gripping the mouth while I removed the hook and he released the undersize fish back in the water. Daddy and Ashlyn weren’t as successful, but enjoyed the wildlife around the pond.

A number of the hiking trails were closed due to muddy and standing water conditions from constant (and STILL constant) rains, but the remaining accessible one was just right for our day trip anyways. We enjoyed a nice stroll along side creeks and across bridges eventually making our way up to a hilltop for a view of the lake. There were more people on the trail than I prefer, but most everyone passed respectfully. You never know when you’re this close to Dallas 😉. I still find myself surprised when exploring these new close to home areas how much it can look like the hill country!

We finished out our itinerary with a tour of the Penn Farm historical site. Before the reservoir and suburbs, the area was farm land belonging to the Penns and their previous homes and equipment have been restored and maintained as relics viewable from outside. I tried my best to look inside windows. I like to draw inspiration for our ongoing renovation, haha. We were able to walk through the big barn and the kids spotted a buzzard of all things nested in one of the sheds!

By the end of that tour, we were pretty well spent and looked forward to sitting for the drive home. I suppose it would’ve been fun to have spent our 30th park as something more “ooh and ahh,” but I’m mostly grateful we got it done before baseball season kicked in. Cedar Hill state park is a very functional and entertaining park and I would definitely utilize it many times a month if I were a DFW dweller, but I’m not and this park is one and done for us. 😁

Hopefully I have another one to report before Summer starts!🤞🏻

-Lindsay