CAMPANAC.Powered by public lands intelligenceMore Than Just Parks

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · TX

Sowell Creek

ReservableBookable through December 31; a peak season follows January 1 to December 31.

Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book

Right now: Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:02 UTC
A night: $24–$44Across the site types the agency prices
Sites: 62All of them booked ahead

Photos · Stephanie Jones

175 ftLongest rig

1,180 ftElevation

436 ftWater · Proctor Lake

8.5 miSE of De Leon, TX

0%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 6 notices

In the agency’s own words

Sowell Creek Park is nestled within the beautiful Cross Timbers Region of Texas and located on the east side of Proctor Lake. Sowell Creek appeals to sportsmen, birdwatchers, naturalists or those simply wanting to relax in the outdoors. Keep reading

Recreation

Sowell Creek offers families and friends with an excellent venue to enjoy the outdoors. The park offers overnight camping as well as two day-use areas for picnicing and several swim beaches for folks to soak up the sun and enjoy the beautiful lake water. Fishing is Proctor Lake's main attraction: anglers enjoy the lake's tremendous populations of Bass, Crappie, and Catfish. The lake is also recognized as one of the best Hybrid Striped Bass fishing areas in the state. Sowell Creek offers two boat ramps that provides guests with easy access to the lake. Also, two fishing docks are located within the park to provide guests with further fishing opportunities. High Point Park, located a few miles from Sowell Creek on FM 1496 (31.999944, -98.470486), offers more than 10 miles of hiking and equestrian trails.

Facilities

Sowell Creek offers 61 campsites and one group site during the summer (April - September); and 30 campsites during the winter (October - March). Campsites are equipped with electric hookups ranging from 50 amp, 30 amp, and 20 amp; water hookups; sewer hookups; and a covered picnic table. Amenities include flush and pit toilets, showers, drinking water and a dump station thus creating a comfortable camping environment for visitors.

Natural Features

Large, open grassy areas; Black Willow; and Buttonbush characterize the park:. Shade is sparse, but lake views are plentiful.

Nearby Attractions

The nearby town of Comanche, Texas offers historical attractions, antique stores. museums, events and more.

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

What the agency tells you

Rule

The park gate closes at night for security. Entrance into the park is not allowed between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Please plan accordingly.

Rule

Off-road vehicles, golf carts, ATVs, or UTVs are NOT permitted in the parks.

Rule

Campsites are allowed 2 extra vehicle permits at a cost of $4 per permit. Each campsite is not to exceed a total of 4 vehicles per campsite.

Everything else this campground posts · 3

Rule

Don't Move Firewood: Protect your forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.

Rule

Gray water must be held

Rule

STOP THE SPREAD OF INVASIVE SPECIES. Remove plants, seeds, animals, and mud from boots, gear, pets, and vehicles. Clean your gear before entering and leaving the recreation site. Stay on designated roads and trails, and follow local guidelines for firewood. CLEAN, DRAIN, DRY boats and any other recreational equipment that contacts water. Dispose of unwanted bait, worms, fish parts, or other organisms into the trash and not into the environment. For more information visit https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/rec.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Source: recreation.gov facility notices, quoted verbatim · Sep 9, 2026

Tents and rigs

Sites: 62 · 2 group
Hookups: 62 electric, 61 water, 14 sewer
Longest rig: 175 ft
Paved pads: 61 of 62
Accessible sites: 2
Pets: Allowed
Shade: Every site

Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets: Pit Toilets; “…table. Amenities include flush and pit toilets, showers, drinking water and a dump station thus…”
Showers: Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind; “Amenities include flush and pit toilets, showers, drinking water and a dump station thus creating a comfortable camping environment for visitors.”
Drinking water: Yes; “…include flush and pit toilets, showers, drinking water and a dump station thus creating a comfortable…”
Dump station: Yes
Boat ramp: Yes
Stay limit: 14 nights; recreation.gov facility rule maxStay

Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026

Water, toilets and showers: read from the agency description, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

On the water: Lake, Creek, Beach; Boating; Fishing; Hiking; Swimming
Night sky · 42nd darkest of 154 in TX: Bortle 4

Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026

Night sky: VIIRS Day/Night Band annual cloud-free composite, VNL V2 2024 (Earth Observation Group, Colorado School of Mines), read at the published coordinate · Sep 8, 2026

19 of 58 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:02 UTC

Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.

OpenBooked

Booking windowThrough December 31Bookable now through December 31, 2026, the end of the off-peak season. The peak season that follows runs January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2028; recreation.gov releases it on its own schedule, so check there before counting on those nights.recreation.gov

Max stay14 nightsthe facility record

A night$24–$44plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule

A weekend$56–$96DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above

If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservationrecreation.gov’s schedule

Runs itU.S. Army Corps of EngineersBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record

Watch for a cancellation

Full? Watch it.

One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.

Tell me when the season opens

Watch for the season to open

One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.

Book on recreation.gov

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 19

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Army Corps of Engineers

A night, per site$24–$44

Sngl 30 Amp - No Sewer$24

Sngl 50 Amp - No Sewer$26

Sngl 50 Amp - Full$30

Dbl 30 Amp - No Sewer$34

Dbl 50 Amp - No Sewer$38

Dbl 50 Amp - Full$44

Group areas, a night$56–$190

Rates for the season the campground is in now, Sep 30, 2026 to Dec 31, 2026.

The booking feerecreation.gov

Reservation fee, booked online$8

One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.

Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.

What this campground addsits own record

Extra vehicle$4

“Campsites are allowed 2 extra vehicle permits at a cost of $4 per permit.” · the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’s own agency notice

What a stay costs

One nightDerived$32–$52

A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$56–$96

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $24–$44 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

If your plans changerecreation.gov

Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10

Cancellation fee$10

Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night

No-show$20 + your first night

Who keeps the booking fee

The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →

How we know this receipt · 6

Sign price: recreation.gov facility rate schedule, quoted as the agency publishes it · Oct 1, 2026

Booking fee, change fee, cancellation fee, no-show: Rules and Reservation Policies, Recreation.gov, the published fee schedule, curated by hand into lib/reservation-fee-schedule.json (9 rows, each carrying its own verbatim sentence). The publisher states these policies were last updated September 2019. · Sep 9, 2026

What this campground adds: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’s own fee record and notices for this campground, quoted verbatim. An extra-vehicle charge is set locally and appears on no national schedule, so it’s never assumed. · Sep 9, 2026

The two totals: Derived by CAMPANAC by adding the agency’s own published nightly rate to recreation.gov’s own published reservation fee. Both components are cited above; the addition is ours and is shown only where every component is known. · Sep 9, 2026

Who keeps the booking fee: Recreation.gov facility policy text, Dead Swede Campground (facility 234221) · Not on the national policy page. This is agency policy text recreation.gov publishes on individual campground pages; this site holds it verbatim on 45 active campgrounds (campground_rules.cancellation_description, scripts/load-facility-rules.mjs). · Sep 9, 2026

The contract: Reservation Gods: Who Stole Our Campsites and Sold Them Back to Us, More Than Just Parks, April 2025 · Apr 1, 2025

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

recreation.gov availability, read 16:02 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

62 sites · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 62 mapped sites

76 ftbetween you and the next site, typically

Most roomL#5 G1 357 ftL#5 55 195 ftL#4 31 122 ftL#4 32 122 ftL#1 03 118 ft

Least roomL#2 16 43 ftL#2 17 43 ftL#2 10 44 ft

Source: Derived by CAMPANAC from recreation.gov per-site coordinates (nearest-neighbor distance) · Oct 12, 2026

All 62 sites

62 of 62 sites located

RV / electric60Group2

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 G1

Aerial · Esri World Imagery

Sites: recreation.gov (RIDB), coordinates as published · Aug 23, 2026

Imagery: Esri World Imagery

SleepsTakes aUp to

Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 62 of the 62 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 62 of the 62 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.


L#1	01	standard electric	75 ft	50 amp		95 ft	349 ft	129 ft	$24–$44
L#1	02	standard electric	70 ft	50 amp	yes	95 ft	269 ft	176 ft	$24–$44
L#1	03	standard electric	65 ft	50 amp		118 ft	166 ft	296 ft	$24–$44
L#1	04	standard electric	70 ft	50 amp		64 ft	136 ft	392 ft	$24–$44
L#1	05	standard electric	60 ft	50 amp	yes	64 ft	152 ft	404 ft	$24–$44
L#1	06	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp		76 ft	183 ft	421 ft	$24–$44
L#1	07	standard electric	65 ft	50 amp		117 ft	286 ft	360 ft	$24–$44
L#2	08	standard electric	40 ft	30 amp		54 ft	523 ft	379 ft	$24–$44
L#2	09	standard electric	40 ft	30 amp		48 ft	494 ft	460 ft	$24–$44
L#2	10	standard electric	35 ft	30 amp		44 ft	471 ft	398 ft	$24–$44
L#2	11	standard electric	40 ft	30 amp		48 ft	446 ft	474 ft	$24–$44
L#2	12	standard electric	40 ft	30 amp		44 ft	433 ft	408 ft	$24–$44
L#2	13	standard electric	40 ft	30 amp		50 ft	397 ft	490 ft	$24–$44
L#2	14	standard electric	55 ft	30 amp		53 ft	345 ft	523 ft	$24–$44
L#2	15	standard electric	60 ft	30 amp		89 ft	256 ft	582 ft	$24–$44
L#2	16	standard electric	70 ft	30 amp		43 ft	173 ft	625 ft	$24–$44
L#2	17	standard electric	55 ft	30 amp		43 ft	196 ft	592 ft	$24–$44
L#2	18	standard electric	65 ft	30 amp		74 ft	211 ft	547 ft	$24–$44
L#2	19	standard electric	30 ft	30 amp		61 ft	327 ft	482 ft	$24–$44
L#2	20	standard electric	70 ft	30 amp		61 ft	352 ft	433 ft	$24–$44
L#3	21	standard electric	70 ft	30 amp		76 ft	437 ft	227 ft	$24–$44
L#3	22	standard electric	40 ft	30 amp		76 ft	385 ft	302 ft	$24–$44
L#3	23	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp		112 ft	200 ft	453 ft	$24–$44
L#3	24	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp		91 ft	219 ft	436 ft	$24–$44
L#3	25	standard electric	50 ft	30 amp		76 ft	309 ft	346 ft	$24–$44
L#3	26	standard electric	40 ft	30 amp		51 ft	230 ft	442 ft	$24–$44
L#3	27	standard electric	55 ft	30 amp		51 ft	241 ft	448 ft	$24–$44
L#3	28	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp		73 ft	337 ft	335 ft	$24–$44
L#3	29	standard electric	40 ft	30 amp		73 ft	389 ft	309 ft	$24–$44
L#3	30	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp		94 ft	418 ft	243 ft	$24–$44
L#4	31	standard electric	40 ft	30 amp		122 ft	84 ft	907 ft	$24–$44
L#4	32	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp		122 ft	45 ft	968 ft	$24–$44
L#4	33	standard electric	110 ft	30 amp		64 ft	164 ft	787 ft	$24–$44
L#4	34	standard electric	40 ft	30 amp		60 ft	52 ft	891 ft	$24–$44
L#4	35	standard electric	60 ft	30 amp		46 ft	57 ft	859 ft	$24–$44
L#4	36	standard electric	55 ft	30 amp		46 ft	75 ft	824 ft	$24–$44
L#4	37	standard electric	50 ft	30 amp		53 ft	130 ft	715 ft	$24–$44
L#4	38	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp		53 ft	165 ft	668 ft	$24–$44
L#4	39	standard electric	40 ft	30 amp		64 ft	178 ft	742 ft	$24–$44
L#4	40	standard electric	55 ft	30 amp		73 ft	220 ft	601 ft	$24–$44
L#4	41	standard electric	55 ft	30 amp		92 ft	278 ft	649 ft	$24–$44
L#5	42	standard electric	85 ft	50 amp		80 ft	261 ft	1,549 ft	$24–$44
L#5	43	standard electric	110 ft	50 amp		95 ft	64 ft	1,541 ft	$24–$44
L#5	44	standard electric	70 ft	50 amp		58 ft	211 ft	1,629 ft	$24–$44
L#5	45	standard electric	95 ft	50 amp		95 ft	100 ft	1,617 ft	$24–$44
L#5	46	standard electric	45 ft	50 amp		58 ft	182 ft	1,685 ft	$24–$44
L#5	47	standard electric	75 ft	50 amp		101 ft	68 ft	1,711 ft	$24–$44
L#5	48	standard electric	40 ft	50 amp		77 ft	162 ft	1,762 ft	$24–$44
L#5	49	standard electric	80 ft	50 amp		97 ft	55 ft	1,799 ft	$24–$44
L#5	50	standard electric	40 ft	50 amp		77 ft	186 ft	1,825 ft	$24–$44
L#5	51	standard electric	80 ft	50 amp		88 ft	78 ft	1,879 ft	$24–$44
L#5	52	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp		84 ft	206 ft	1,898 ft	$24–$44
L#5	53	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp		92 ft	178 ft	1,944 ft	$24–$44
L#5	54	standard electric	75 ft	50 amp		88 ft	98 ft	1,954 ft	$24–$44
L#5	55	group standard electric	175 ft	30 amp		195 ft	53 ft	2,035 ft	$56–$190
L#5	56	standard electric	70 ft	50 amp		101 ft	124 ft	1,845 ft	$24–$44
L#5	57	standard electric	70 ft	50 amp		96 ft	62 ft	1,770 ft	$24–$44
L#5	58	standard electric	70 ft	50 amp		96 ft	54 ft	1,685 ft	$24–$44
L#5	59	standard electric	70 ft	50 amp		90 ft	49 ft	1,599 ft	$24–$44
L#5	60	standard electric	70 ft	50 amp		90 ft	71 ft	1,511 ft	$24–$44
L#5	61	standard electric	70 ft	50 amp		111 ft	77 ft	1,410 ft	$24–$44
L#5	G1	group standard electric	50 ft	30 amp		357 ft	251 ft	610 ft	$56–$190

Price: Derived by CAMPANAC: each site takes the per-night rate this campground publishes for the site’s own site type (recreation.gov rate schedule). recreation.gov publishes no per-campsite fee, and a site whose type carries no published rate is left blank rather than called free · Oct 1, 2026

25 of 62 listed

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number

Coordinate31.99000, -98.46000

The mapSee it on the map

The driveDirections ↗

The phone254-879-2322

The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Also near here

Promontory1.9 mi

Copperas Creek3.1 mi

Plowman Creek57 mi

Kimball Bend Park57 mi

Cedron Creek61 mi

McCown Valley63 mi

Getting there

From Comanche, Texas, take Highway 67/377 east for 12 miles to the town of Proctor. Turn left on FM 1476 west and continue 2 miles to Recreation Road 6. Turn left and continue for 1/2 mile to the park entrance.

Directions: Driving directions as the agency wrote them · Sep 9, 2026

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Overnight42°Mostly Clear

Saturday63°Sunny

Saturday Night41°Mostly Clear

Sunday69°Sunny

NWS forecast for Proctor, TX

Source: National Weather Service, FWD forecast office · Oct 17, 2026

Typical weather

Typical October night 54°F, day 80°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical January night 34°F. Bring the bag rated for it.

110°30°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more

A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.

Measured at: PROCTOR RSVR, TX (USC00417300), 3 miles away and 41 ft higher

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, monthly normals · Sep 8, 2026

The land, and who answers for it

who answers for it

Who answers for this land

Sowell Creek is in Texas’s 25th congressional district. Its representative, Roger Williams (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

Source: U.S. Census district boundaries and the MTJP Congressional Public Lands Score

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from

Right now: recreation.gov is offering sites on 30 of the next 30 nights, which isn’t something a closed campground does.

Sites on recreation.gov: recreation.gov’s own month availability payload for this facility, asked for October 2026 and November 2026. It names 62 of the 62 campsites the agency files here, and every one of them carries an answer either way. A campground nobody has read carries no answer at all, never a no. · Oct 14, 2026

Elevation: USGS 3DEP elevation point query at this campground’s coordinate · Sep 7, 2026

Tree cover: NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC), one 30 m cell at this coordinate, taken as the median across the 62 campsites here that carry a reading · Sep 9, 2026

Water: USGS National Hydrography Dataset, nearest perennial lake, reservoir, river or stream to this campground’s coordinate · Sep 8, 2026

Night sky: VIIRS Day/Night Band annual cloud-free composite, VNL V2 2024 (Earth Observation Group, Colorado School of Mines), read at the published coordinate: 0.34 mcd/m² of artificial all-sky glow, ranked against the 154 rated federal campgrounds in Texas · Sep 8, 2026

Sky-glow model: Duriscoe, Anderson, Luginbuhl and Baugh (2018), a simplified model of all-sky artificial sky glow derived from VIIRS Day/Night band data, the National Park Service sky-glow model

Cell signal: the Army Corps’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.

Nearest place of any size: Proctor, TX, 1.4 mi W (a census designated place). Straight line.

Nearest town: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 places, measured by CAMPANAC to the town boundary; population is the ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimate · Sep 9, 2026