The Big Brown Creek makes a lake, and people come to play.
The origin story for Fairfield Lake is quintessentially Texan. In the late 1960's, the Big Brown Creek was dammed up to make a lake for cooling the Big Brown Power Plant. You can't make this stuff up. The state leased the land on the other side of the lake from the coal power plant and developed it into a state park.
The park resides in a transitory ecosystem between pineywoods and prairie grasslands. The only evidence of forest, though, is in the park itself. Any trees in the surrounding area were clear cut long ago, initially for cotton fields. The fields are now primarily used for cattle ranching.
When the coal power plant was in operation, it provided a tropical zone for fish in a temperate climate. This made Fairfield Lake a local mecca for winter fishing, and a large body of bathwater for summer swimming. With the uptick in alternate energy sources in west Texas, the plant lost commercial viability and shut down last year. Now, the tropical fish are no longer. (NB: there are plenty of temperate climate fish left, like bass; did you really need tilapia?)
We didn't visit until this summer, after the plant shut down, so I have no comparison to previous summers. But, I can say that the water was warm even without the power plant. It turned out to be fortunate because it was a slightly cloudy, slightly breezy day that would have been a bit chilly for a spring-fed body of water. As it was, the lake was perfect for a lazy afternoon (for me).
The kids played in the water with their inner tubes for several hours. I wandered around, exploring the day-use area. There were kayaks and paddle boards for rent (or BYOB) if that works for your little people. This is not yet an option for us. I know from experience that despite sky-high initial excitement, this particular set of kiddos have a very short span of interest in sitting on a boat with someone else in charge of making it go. Despite what they may think, I also can't give them both paddles and send them off. Imagine a cacophony of children jousting the air, water, each other...someone pulls crabs, someone gets a black eye, someone falls in the water, the boat floats off into the sunset, and the kids declare themselves the most amazing kayakers ever. That's the best-case scenario. I have vowed to work on paddling skills this year, though... on solo child trips. Wish me patience!
The lake is not as turbid as many east Texas lakes, but it has a lot of pond weed. Initially the kids were anti-weed, but they made their peace with it by attacking it with gusto.
They were super proud of their floating weed island, which was then dumped out to make a weed mountain, and later, a weed swing. Given the pro-weed fertilizer run-off from surrounding areas, and that the lake hardly has a natural origin to hold on to, I think I can safely call this a draw for eco-conservation.
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