Lake Tawakoni FAQ

Lake Tawakoni lies 20 miles southeast of Greenville, Texas, and 40 miles east of Dallas, in Hunt, Rains, and Van Zandt Counties. Lake Tawakoni covers 37,879-acres. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) manages the Lake Tawakoni State Park (LTSP), which offers RV and tent camping, cabin rentals, canoe rentals, fishing, hiking trails, and a swim beach.

What Is Lake Tawakoni Known For?

Lake Tawakoni is known as the “Catfish Capital of Texas” with forests of live oak and post oak trees. This lake is also known for wildlife viewing with armadillos, beavers, coyotes, white-tailed deer, red and gray foxes, frogs, minks, opossums, raccoons, snakes, squirrels, and turtles, plus elusive bobcats and cougars living amongst its flora.

Lake Tawakoni hosts over 30 fishing tournaments a year, and trophy cats are common catches, especially during the winter months. The LTSP saw 100,000 visitors between 2007 and 2022, so it is not one of Texas’ busiest state parks, but from spring break to fall, the park can fill up. Shaded campsites with picnic tables are scattered throughout the park.

What Are Some Interesting Facts About Lake Tawakoni?

Lake Tawakoni has approximately 200 miles of shoreline.
Lake Tawakoni is on the Sabine River.
Owned and operated by the Sabine River Authority of Texas.
Located in the Prairies and Lakes region of Texas.
The Tawakoni and Waco Indian tribes conflicted with Stephen F. Austin’s Anglo-American settlerments in the 1820s.
The Tawakoni brought the Comanche and the Wichita tribes together to sign a peace treaty with the United States in 1835, the first Plains Indian treaty with the U.S. over their territories in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.
Approximately 258 Tawakoni were removed to the Leased District in Indian Territory (Oklahoma) in August 1859.
In 2007, 2015, and 2021, enormous spider webs were discovered in the state park and surrounding areas. This discovery gave rise to arachnologist’s surprise, as experts previously thought that spiders worked alone, not in communities. These spiders are Tetragnatha guatemalensis, or the Guatemalan long-jawed spider.

Can You Swim at Lake Tawakoni?

There are lots of little parks dotting Lake Tawakoni’s shores, where you can swim. The beaches at Lake Tawakoni are rocky, so wearing water shoes is a good idea; but water shoes are a good idea at any lake. Some beaches are only boat accessible. Lake Tawakoni is extremely popular for swimming and day use because of all the trees shading the areas if you do not want to get too much sun.

Yes, you can swim at Lake Tawakoni. The Lake Tawakoni State Park has a large swim beach with picnic tables in a boat-free zone, and it also has 5 miles of shoreline access. There are loads of other places and parks you can swim at also.

What Is the Best Part of Lake Tawakoni?

Lake Tawakoni is in one of the most beautiful region of Texas’ Blackland Prairie. It is nestled in an unpopulated area with little development. The lake is divided into East Tawakoni and West Tawakoni. The housing developments are in the middle sections of the eastern and western shores of the lake. The northern and southern ends are undeveloped.

The best part of Lake Tawakoni, according to thousands of online reviews, is the Lake Tawakoni State Park. It is a large, well-maintained park with plenty of privacy at tent and RV sites. Lake Tawakoni is alive for birding with 340 species of birds recorded at the lake, and 78% of those species hang out in the LTSP.

What Does the Word "Tawakoni" Mean?

The Tawakoni Indian tribe belongs to the Wichita confederation of the southern U.S. Plains Indian tribes, whom historians believe originated from today’s central Kansas and indigenous to Oklahoma and Texas. They spoke the Caddoan family language dialects of Wichita and Kichai. The Tawakoni tribe has also been known as the Tawakaro, Tehacanes, Tancaro, Toucara, and Tuacana people.

Tawakoni translates to "river bend among red sand hills". The U.S. federally recognizes the Tawakoni people as part of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. The Wichita tribes also include the Keechi, Kichai, Taovaya, Waco, and Yscani people. Lake Tawakoni takes its name from the Tawakoni people.