Choke Canyon State Park

Choke Canyon State Park sits on the shore of Choke Canyon Reservoir, a Frio River lake built to supply Corpus Christi. Construction of the dam began on October 13, 1978, and the project was dedicated on June 8, 1982. The lake covers about 25,000 acres across Live Oak and McMullen counties. The state took over the park in 1981 under a 50-year agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation, the city and the Nueces River Authority.

Two units share the lake. The South Shore Unit in Live Oak County, 385 acres, opened on March 5, 1986 and is day use only. The Calliham Unit in McMullen County, 1,100 acres, opened on August 21, 1987 and is the full-service side, with campsites, the headquarters and a birding trail. Texas Parks and Wildlife lists the park as a stopover for migrating water birds and songbirds. Largemouth bass and catfish are the main fish, and alligators live here, and the park links alligator safety tips.

People were here long before the lake. Paleo-Indian hunters crossed the Frio Valley more than 10,000 years ago after bison and mammoth, and Archaic bands camped along the river for thousands of years afterward, leaving their camps. The park often reaches capacity, so reserve day use or a campsite ahead.