Martin Dies, Jr. State Park — Attraction in Jasper

It is perfect for us tent campers who like a little glamping... electricity, water, firepit on each site... but they are nicely wooded so we don't feel like we're exposed on an RV plot. The bathrooms are nearby... the showers are hot.

We, however, will not be back... . The problem wasn't with the campground itself this year. It was with the State Police. We are a group of all adult campers... mostly in our 40's and 50's. There are about 10 of us... all fully employed adults.

The first interaction occurred at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. There were five of us sitting outside. The police officer walked up and told us to turn our music down. We did. He told us that we needed to make sure all of our vehicles were parked in the driveways (one wasn't). Then he said, "and most importantly ... just be honest with me. Where's the marijuana?"

We looked at each other perplexed. There was no marijuana... He said "Don't lie to me. It has a very distinct smell... it's coming from that shelter."

We invited him to go in there and look around. He did. There was nothing. About five hours later... around 8 o'clock... all of the vehicles are in their proper places. about ten of us are around the campfire. We are talking... have just finished eating prime rib and jerk chicken... a flashlight turns on behind us... and he says, "Officer Friendly again...."

He had parked around the corner somewhere and walked up to us sitting around the campfire. He tells us we are too loud. One of our group apologizes about the music. He says "The music is actually fine. It's your voices." Again, this was around 8 o clock at night. We apologize... but are getting a little bit angry. We camp in January so that there are few people in the park. We don't like to be disturbed or disturbing...

He says "I see beer cans on the ground over there. Public display of alcohol is not allowed." This is a rule of which we are aware. We know that it is not one that is usually enforced in a state park... but we should not have had alcohol in public.

Then, he says... "Again... I CLEARLY smell marijuana. I KNOW what it smells like."

We HAD NO MARIJUANA. One of the people in our group says "Some of us are smoking cigars..." Someone else says "Maybe it's the campfire."

The officer says "I know the difference between marijuana and a cigar..." Clearly, he does not... because there's NO MARIJUANA!!!

This is particularly troublesome because many members of our group have professional licenses (truck driver, teacher, doctor) which could be affected by any sort of infraction. He was clearly lying about smelling drugs and we have no idea WHY he would lie... but if he was willing to lie about it.... how MUCH would he be willing to lie? Would he make something up entirely?

It made for a bad evening. We truly felt we couldn't talk or laugh... that he was literally waiting around the corner to catch us opening a beer... and his mentioning that we were there every year makes us feel no longer welcome.

I just wanted to be sure any group of friends who planned to travel to the park had full disclosure.

I'm sorry my memories of this park had to be tarnished by the actions of the police. I"m sorry these few police officers made me feel harassed and intimidated because I have great respect for the police. I wanted to be sure any other groups who plan to go to this campsite are aware that this could happen if they choose to go with a...

Decent enough park visually. Not much to do, but that is why most people go camping right?! The roads are resurfaced and the sites are very level, at least ours was. Know that if you have a larger RV or Motorhome that it will be SUPER tight driving around and backing in. There are some sites that will accommodate a big set up but not many. We only have a 31ft and had a tough time backing in because of all of the trees that they have left close to the pads and at the entrance of the pads. Look at the map when choosing a site. Don't even think about one of the loops if you have a big rig! They are tiny! You have to turn so sharply you literally have to go off of the pavement into the grass filled ditch in the middle of the loop to make the turn to get out. It is all great to look at but not practical for big RVs. There is also a bridge over the reservoir and you hear traffic noise ALL night. Alligators - yes...mosquitoes -yes...intrusive park rangers - yes...slimey swamp - yes...cute armadillos - yes. We had a ranger stop and ask my husband about his vape pen...it was a flashlight! He made him turn it on to prove it wasn't a vape. There were also armadillos cruising around in the unmowed grass the whole time which was neat. Don't expect to relax in this park. There is a continuous parade of white trucks observing every activity! (2 different Park Ranger trucks, one State Park Police truck, and the dude on the gator are just circling the whole park. Literally, one of those four vehicles drives by every 5 minutes going faster than the posted 5 miles per hour!) One neighboring campsite was told that he was displaying alcohol because he had a beer bottle in the drink holder of his folding chair. Another neighbor was told that he could not use the electricity in a vacant site to blow up his air mattress. It has been a long time since we have been to this park. (15 years when out kids were little) It is nice enough but... we won't be back. The road noise and the overzealous staff have...

The shelters were nice in the heat, because they had electricity so we were able to bring a fan. They were full of spiders though, so beware upon arrival. We arrived late at night and used the broom that was inside to clear out all the webs & spiders before setting up our cots. There's picnic tables inside the shelter as well as outside which was very nice! The bathroom was less than 50' from our shelter, and they had a nice bench area, with hooks inside the shower area, so unfortunately my dry clothes were damp after my shower because I didn't want to change in the open bathroom area. (There's no cover between the bathroom main door and the shower area, so anyone coming in & out can see you) The stall doors are awful, I had to stand behind the toliet in order to close the door, they should change the direction of the doors) BRING DEET! Can't emphasize this enough, the trails were so full of mosquitoes and gnats that I couldn't stop long enough to get many pics. Every time you stopped walking they swarmed you, and we were covered in deet. Trails were nice and easy to follow. Seen deer, fish, frogs, armadillo, hornets nest I think, lots of cool spider webs, and other small critters. Brought our own canoe, since they weren't renting out. Paddled almost 10 miles around the island as well as to the 2nd Bridge and back to our shelter. Seen an alligator in the water about 25' from us that was longer than our 14.5' canoe. He left us alone and we sure left him alone! The ranger said there was several in the lake that size or bigger. The paddling trail was beautiful & serene! I just wouldn't advise swimming in the water as we heard several gators sliding into the water from the bank along the trail. There is a really nice designated swimming area though, and even though you can't swim at night it has a gorgeous view of the night sky! Overall, this park is definitely a nice...