State Park

Ray Roberts Lake State Park has a unit in Cooke County

The Pecan Creek unit of Ray Roberts Lake State Park sits in Cooke County and offers camping, fishing, hiking, and water access about an hour north of the DFW metroplex.

Cooke County The Great Outdoors

Ray Roberts Lake State Park has nine units spread across Grayson, Denton, and Cooke counties. The Pecan Creek unit is the one in Cooke County. The park sits on a 29,000-acre reservoir on the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. Day-use entry costs $7 for adults; kids 12 and under are free.

You can fish from shore or a pier inside the state park without a Texas fishing license — that is a statewide rule for state parks. For fishing from a boat on the open lake, you need a license. Activities across the park include camping, hiking, biking, horseback riding, paddling, and swimming. The park's Johnson Branch unit (Valley View) and Isle du Bois unit (Pilot Point) are nearby.

Source to confirm: TPWD — Ray Roberts Lake State Park

More Cooke County notes

Property Tax Basics

Two offices handle your property taxes in Cooke County

The Cooke County Appraisal District sets your property value; the Tax Assessor-Collector collects the bill — and they are two separate offices.

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Homestead Exemption

Homestead exemption can lower your school tax bill

Texas law requires school districts to cut $140,000 off a home's appraised value for owners who live in the home as their main residence.

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Agricultural Valuation

Farm and ranch land can be taxed on production value, not market value

If your land is actively used for farming, ranching, or wildlife management, you may qualify for a special lower tax appraisal based on what the land produces, not what it would sell for.

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School Districts

Cooke County has eight school districts — your address determines yours

Eight separate school districts operate in Cooke County, each with its own tax rate, so the ISD for your specific address can meaningfully affect your property tax bill.

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