Rusk State Park

State Park Texas

Visited March 2007

Rusk State Park is located just west of Rusk, TX, on US-84. The park is co-located with the eastern terminus of the Texas State Railroad, which offers train rides behind steam locomotives between Rusk and Palestine. Shortly after our 2007 visit, the railroad and campgrounds at Rusk and Palestine were privatized.

Arriving on a Wednesday, we found the park practically empty. Park Office is closed on Tue-Wed, so you pick a site and pay the Iron Ranger. Here we are on Site #56.

Greetings from

Rusk State Park

Arriving on a Wednesday, we found the park practically empty. Park Office is closed on Tue-Wed, so you pick a site and pay the Iron Ranger. Here we are on Site #56.

Ribbit! The WxToad

Around the campground

Sites 1-32 are pull-throughs with W/E(50/30A)/S hookups. This shows site 6 on the left and 7 on the right.

Site 29 sits right beside the wye track, used for turning trains.

Sites 33-55 are laid out around the perimeter of a large parking lot. In the immediate foreground are sites 52-55, while the 5'ver in the background is on 48. These sites do not have sewer hookups. There is a dump station nearby.

Sites 56-71 are designated as tent and pop-up sites only, although RV's are allowed if there are spaces available. These sites have W/E(30A) hookups.

Each of the three camping sections has a bathhouse. We weren't overly impressed. Each has a Mens and Womens bathroom, with sink, toilet, and shower in one room. In some, you can lock the door, in others, there is no lock. The tall part of this one is just a community room, which was locked at the time of our visit.

There's a small lake in the park, which has a number of picnic sites along its shore. There is also a tennis court.

The main attraction of the park is the Texas State Railroad. The Rusk depot, shown here, is just a short walk from the campground.

Nearby campgrounds

Magnolia Ridge COETX · 85 miles away

Martin Dies Jr State ParkTX · 89 miles away

Sandy Creek COETX · 91 miles away

South Toledo Bend State ParkLA · 103 miles away

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