Purtis Creek State Park is a 1,582.4-acre state park in Henderson and Van Zandt counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The park opened in 1988 under the authority of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
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Deep in the heart of East Texas, nestled among the piney woods and suspiciously aggressive squirrels, lies Purtis Creek State Park—a serene fishing haven by day, and by night… well, that’s when things get weird.
Legend has it, back in the 1970s, a man named Carl “Catfish” McGee decided to break the world record for “most catfish caught using Vienna sausages and interpretive dance.” Folks thought he was just another eccentric fisherman, but Carl had ambition, and a fanny pack full of dreams.
On the final day of his attempt, a freak lightning bolt struck his aluminum canoe (which he’d named “The Fish Whisperer”), launching him into the sky like a bottle rocket filled with ambition and trout slime. He was never found—just a smoking Vienna sausage floating in the reeds. Since then, odd things have happened at Purtis Creek after dark.
Campers report a ghostly figure dancing wildly along the shoreline, shimmering with ghost-sweat and flinging sausages into the water. Fishermen swear they hear someone whispering “wiggle your bait, baby” in a deep East Texas drawl right before a giant catfish yanks their pole into the water.
One ranger claimed to see Carl’s ghost water-skiing barefoot across the creek at 3 a.m., pulled by an invisible force and flipping off a family of raccoons on jet skis. “He winked at me,” she said, “and my marshmallows burst into flames.”
And that’s not even the weirdest part.
Every year, on the anniversary of his disappearance, the fish in the creek rise to the surface and spell out “BRING MUSTARD.” No one knows why. No one dares ask. Except one old man named Lenny who tried to barbecue a fish that day and was chased out of the park by a spectral catfish wielding a spatula.
So if you’re camping at Purtis Creek and hear the unmistakable squish of soggy boots doing the cha-cha—don’t be alarmed. That’s just ol’ Catfish McGee, living his best afterlife, one sausage-fueled shimmy at a time.
And whatever you do, don’t forget...
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The park is great and clean. Staff is a little pushy and aggressive about getting you out by 12 but still was friendly. Over all was a great park.
The whole weekend we had low water pressure at the park. I wound up using the booster pump to get some pressure. The host said it's normal there to have low pressure so make sure your prepared if you have a tankless or your going with out hot water When it's evening time and there lots using there water too.
Sites are small and just barely as big as the rv. Most sited were 9 ft wide and that only left me 3 inches to play with on both sides so was really tight. Be sure to pack extra steps for the bottom. We had to stablise ours with extra things due to the pad is narrow and it leaves a large gap.
Even the minor issues were made up for with trails that are kept clean and clear so you can hile or bike them. Lake and sides are well mowed so the kids can walk right to the water and fish. Lots of great places to fish
The racoons are great entertainment when they steal your fishing bate and than complain that the catfish bait wasn't any good. There so fat that they can't run. There like tellatubies and you will laugh watching them yell and get mad when they...
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Never go to Purtis State Park. They just falsely accused my nephew of being drunk. He's 45 and not a drinker, ZERO alcohol!! Said they would handcuff him. They took many drivers license from Reunion guests to "run for warrants" I guess since they couldn't find a drunk! On our family? His daughter was leaving the Reunion and a Barney Fife on a mule stopped and ask them to repark somewhere. The girl was leaving already. But the park monitor was across the street and said he smelled alcohol on his breath! They called the TPW officer and he came to the campsite. He accused first and ask questions after. He wouldn't even offer a breathlizer. A complaint is being filed on the short people on the mule(supposedly a retire cop and his wife) which I'm sure tax payers money paid, supposedly Park Rangers. They smelled alcohol on a non-drinker. Publicly humiliated him and our entire family. Falsely accused, refused to apologize? And the TPW Officer who also accused him. They wrongly identified him as a drunk. Actually they asked him to move a car. That was all. We were all in our campsite. Laughing and catching up. Many drove hours to see our family. No apology, no, nothing! Filing a complaint with the...
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