You have boats launching constantly from the ramps, cutting across the reservoir while anglers pull fat channel catfish and slab crappie out of brush piles. Wind off the water keeps the gnats down by the shoreline. Great for a kayak. It doesn't take much effort to drag a canoe down the bank, though thick mud flats will eat your sneakers if the lake pool drops. Pack an extra rod.

Off the shore, the hookup campsites fill up fast every Friday. Expect plenty of gravel dust. Campers back thirty-foot rigs between the oaks, quickly getting fire pits roaring while dogs bark across the loop. Hikers get several quiet miles through timber and grassy breaks, completely away from highway noise. Once the sun drops behind the open hills, the darkness gets deep enough to see every star in the county.