Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · TX · 31.38350, -95.15330
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 296 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Ratcliff Lake Recreation AreaNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area · National Forests in Texas · TX
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel1 mi
- @Mail10 mi
- GGrocery15 mi
- RxPharmacy18 mi
- MMechanic19 mi
- +Urgent care24 mi
- HHardware25 mi
- LLaundry25 mi
- EVEV fast charger27 mi
- ShShower51 mi
- WWater51 mi
- DDump60 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 51-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 1 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
296 ft
State
TX
Coordinates
31.38350, -95.15330
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area · National Forests in Texas · TX (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureRatcliff Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townAllen Chapel · ~0.8 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~1.0 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesBrookshire Brothers Express · ~14.6 mi
- PharmacyBrookshire Brothers Pharmacy · ~18.5 mi
- Hospital / clinicWoodland Heights Medical Center · ~23.9 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~25.7 mi
EV charging — from Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area · National Forests in Texas · TX — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger26.8 mi straight-line E — Hyundai Of Lufkin · Blink Network · J1772, CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 10 within 50 · 95 within 100 · 399 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)33.5 mi — Nacogdoches, TX - Tesla Supercharger, Nacogdoches
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO36.6 mi — PALESTINE TOY CPE250, Palestine
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)26.8 mi — Hyundai Of Lufkin · Blink Network · J1772, CCS · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 348914 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area · National Forests in Texas · TX — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Flush restroomRatcliff Lake · at this camp · USFS
- Flush restroomRatcliff Lake Day Use · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toilet566 Piney Creek Hc · ~5.0 mi SW · USFS
- Flush restroomKickapoo · ~23.4 mi S · USFS
Open Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area elsewhere
Other camps near Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- 566 Piney Creek Hc~5.0 mi
- White Rock Hc~9.1 mi · fee
- Neches Bluff Overlook~12.7 mi
The unit that manages Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area are set by National Forests in Texas, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Leave no trace →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →