Boykin Springs Recreation Area — Attraction in Jasper

I've always loved this area. Used to come here a lot in the 90's. Camped for one night, recently, and it's still beautiful. The main issue here is the facilities. It's run down compared about 15 years ago. You also have a culture of visitors that don't mind littering. Our fire pit was full of trash. You can see coke bottles, etc in the creek as well. Same for Bouton Lake. If the picnic tables were new, the facilities upgraded and someone regularly did a trash sweep, it would be the perfect place. For instance, I found a broken bottle under some tree roots in the spring. The area itself is still charming and beautiful and worthy of 5 stars. Sexton Lake is gorgeous, the springs and creek are great, and the surrounding area is stunning. Overall, it was a good experience, but would be great without the trash or the run down bathrooms.

Edit: 3/21 Camped again recently and this review holds up pretty well. There's really nothing like this area in East Texas. The camping and sightseeing were great. Not too much trash this time, except the random Funyun bags?! (I've been here 2-3 times this year and always see Funyun bags!) The host or cleaning crew really need to clean the bathrooms regularly and deeply. The showers and sinks didn't work (possibly from the snowstorm, it happens), only one toilet was functional. Again, the facilities need a fresh update...new wood on old picnic tables and a daily deep clean of the bathrooms is really about it. The other thing is one couple BLASTED their music both day and night until someone complained. It was surreal they could play it that loud for that long with people screaming at them. They finally shut it down. Great trip otherwise!

I think imposing a day use fee and upgrading the facilities (bathroom fixtures, toilets, shower, picnic tables, etc) and hiring someone to come in and do a daily deep clean, would make this area a great 5 star camping spot. Interestingly, Ratcliff Lake isn't as nice geographically, but their facilities are much better...it's the opposite with Boykin. Would be great if they could open up some of the old camping spots and run electricity for RV's, etc.

Edit: 6/23 Popped out for a mini day trip. They've revitalized the place with improved parking. The area where kids camped and blasted music late at night is paved over for cars (good!) There is a $5 day fee now and from this trip, the park was much cleaner. The only thing that still is sort of crummy is the bathroom facilities. The interior needs a redo. Other than that, I was glad to see the improvements. It would be nice to see them stocking the lake with something besides catfish...

Mostly flat trail, but with a few steep inclines, intermittently that could cause some strain to stiff ankles and bad knees. 4 older, but stable small wooden bridges and one sketchy “balance beam” type crossing. Takes about 2 1/2 miles to get out to the old sawmill, but if you’re not looking to do a 5 mile round-trip hike, there is a nice 1&1/2 foot waterfall next to the trail, about a half mile from the start of the trail, which would be a nice goal spot for tiny hikers and young kids. Bring more water than you think you need, and we suggest sunscreen, because it is mildly shaded. The trail is poorly marked at the very beginning. When you leave the parking lot and cross the bridge, go to the left at about 10 o’clock towards the bush line, and you should see a break in the bushes, with a sign for the Sawmill Trail. It leads you across some concrete cobblestones in a creek, and then to the right directly through the middle of a campground with tent-pads. It feels sort of weird walking between people who have their tents set up, their picnic tables laid out, their trucks parked there, but if you keep walking across their campsite, you should eventually start to see a tiny one-person-wide trail. That’s it, no sign, and it’s a while down that trip before you start to see markers nailed to the trees. Keep going until you hit the road crossing and see the trail start sign, and have a good time! There are distance markers about every 3/4 of a mile. When you get to the dead end at about 2&1/4 mile, and the trail splits to the right and left, go to the right, that gets you to the sawmill quicker. Back behind the three main buildings, there is also a section with 20 small pillars/pylons that are...

Our grandson loved it ! Has shallow streams ( use normal precautions , rocks are slick as nature produces algae growth in wet areas!) He had trails to walk. The water fall is gorgeous and a great photo opportunity! Swimming area on one end of spring water filled lake with decent sandbar to relax on if you wish.. He caught his first fish on his mini Spider-Man rod/ real combo. Older kids were out enjoying the trail and fishing. Awesome lake to go canoeing or tubing on. Has bathrooms and showers has some spots with spring water on tap if you’re camping. Really great place to spend the day our camp for a couple of days if you need to get away, especially if you have younger children are even older children that might enjoy nature trail hikes. As an adult, this is a great place to camp where you are not 10 miles from the nearest boat ramp and access to Rayburn. So if you wanted to shower and relax for the night and go fishing the next day on Rayburn, this is an optimum place to do just that. Has covered open sitting tables. Room enough for six - seven families. And each camper site had table/ grill . Other tent...