Bicycling Around Degray Lake Resort State Park

Today was another beautiful day on Degray Lake.  It might be one of the last, because a big rain system is blowing in this evening.  It was too windy to paddle, so we decided to ride our bikes around the park and explore all that it has to offer.

Our campground is located at the eastern end of the north shore of the lake, near the dam that impounds the lake.  We pedaled out to Small Dike Road, which took us across the dam, and turned on State Park Road, which took us to the Visitor Center, where we picked up some maps and other information.  On we pedaled to the Golf Course Pro Shop, where we got all the lowdown on the driving range and golf course.  Our next stop was the marina --

 

 -- where we were greeted by a goose family, who decided we didn't look like the sort of company they wanted to keep:

The park has three main campground areas.  Aside from ours, the other two are west along the north shore, one being up on the hill north of the lake, and the other perched on a peninsula down on the lake.  As we rode out the peninsula toward the lower campground, we got pretty views of the lake from a shady pine forest, both west --

--and east (complete with fishing boat):

 

 

The lower campground boasts several yurts that visitors can rent.  The family that rented this one brought a huge utility trailer full of camping gear, making this probably the most elaborate Rug Rat Camping setup we've seen in a long time!

 

 

It was a short ride further out the peninsula from the lower campground to Caddo Bend, which boasts a beach and swimming area, with a sweeping sandy beach:

We peddled all the way out to the point, parked our bikes --

-- and took a walk along the beach, rockhounding as we went.  We didn't find any remarkable rocks, but we did find small scallop shells that had been buried in limestone many millenia since this area was covered by an inland sea, and then eroded out to be washed up on this beach by the lake's waves.

By the time we finished our walk and returned to the point, the wind had picked up significantly.  If you care to, take a look at this 360 degree video of wind on the lake at the point of Caddo Bend. 

This was the far point of our bike ride.  We worked our way back to the Resort Lodge and Restaurant for a scrumptious lunch -- well earned -- and, with bellies full, pedaled slowly back to our campground.

Here, Kathy works her way across the lake's dam as we neared our campground:

The ride totaled about 14.5 miles, so it was a medium-length ride for us.  We were back by early afternoon, with time for David to give Ruby a walk and Kathy to sort further through her Crater of Diamonds treasure.  We hope to enjoy the rest of the afternoon with a leisurely hour or so at the driving range, hitting some golf balls and stretching and warming up for a possible round of golf on Sunday -- weather permitting.