Lake Ray Roberts is a beautiful lake with mostly undeveloped shoreline, making it a fantastic escape from the city. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) manages most of the lake's shoreline, which keeps it wild and beautiful. 

The area surrounding the lake has been divided up into 9 different units by TPWD, 2 of which offer improved campgrounds: Isle Du Bois on the southeast side (Pilot Point / Aubrey area), and Johnson Branch on the north side (Valley View area). 

Both of these units have over 160 camp spots that fill up when the weather is nice in the spring and fall, and they both have lots of amenities to enjoy while you're camping. 

Lake Ray Roberts State Park - Isle Du Bois Unit

Isle Du Bois is the closest campground to the metroplex, and it draws the bigger crowd. Day trippers fill the park on summer weekends to picnic, swim and fish, and hikers, bikers and equestrians love the fantastic trail systems that has something for everyone. 

This park is great for families, because the playground area right on the water is great for kids. The swim area is well made, and goes out a little deep. The fishing pier extends off of a rock jetty, with plenty of room for lots of people to fish on. Boaters love the wide boat ramp with plenty of trailer parking nearby. 

There is both shorefront and forest camp spots for RVs, small campers and tents. The tent-only areas are rural and beautiful, with hike-in spots all along the water. 

The trails at Isle Du Bois are awesome and very well maintained. There are dedicated mountain biking trails for all levels of riding, along with paved walking paths and mixed-use trails. Equestrians love to ride horseback in this unit. 

There is almost always wildlife that can be seen around the park at dawn and dusk, from deer to turkey and waterfowl. 

Isle Du Bois is rated 4 out of 5 stars by Texas Outside from 6 criteria. 

Lake Ray Roberts State Park - Johnson Branch Unit

Johnson Branch is just across the water from Isle Du Bois as the crow flies, but it is a much longer drive from the metroplex since you have to go all the way around the lake either east or west. Because of this, it's a much quieter campground. There isn't much to do outside the park, but there is plenty of room within the park to stretch out and have fun. 

The swim beach area at Johnson Branch is a very fun place to swim with plenty of shady trees and picnic tables. The dedicated swimming area is definitely the bigger of the two units. There is sand that goes fairly deep, but it does end before the buoys. On shore there is a wide sandy beach with lots of grass, and even a beach volleyball court. There is a sidewalk that connects the parking lot to the beach. 

There is a nice mix of trees, shore and even prairie grasses with wildflowers at this park. It's not as hilly as the other unit, but it is pretty expansive. There are plenty of pretty shaded and shoreline camping spots for all types of campers. The boat ramp is decent. 

Johnson Branch is also rated 4 out of 5 stars by Texas Outside.

Lake Ray Roberts Campground Comparison

Both parks require a state parks pass in order to enter, whether you're camping or just visiting. That is a fee above and beyond the daily camping rate, and is good for one entire vehicle no matter how many people are in it. I really recommend getting the annual pass, which allows you to drop into any state park at any time, and will even save you money in the long run if you like camping at state parks. 

Now you know the difference between the two campgrounds on Lake Ray Roberts, so you can pick for yourself which one fits your trip the best!