Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area, Recreation area with lake in Davy Crockett National Forest, United States

Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area is a facility with a 45-acre lake surrounded by pine and oak woodlands in the Davy Crockett National Forest. The lake sits at the center of the property, with multiple camping loops and fishing piers positioned around its shoreline.

The site was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936, transforming a former log pond that once supplied water to a sawmill. This construction project was part of broader land improvement efforts during the 1930s.

The recreation area sits within a forest named after a famous pioneer, making it part of a landscape that draws people seeking outdoor experiences. Visitors from nearby towns regularly visit to fish, camp, and spend time among the trees and water.

The park is open year-round and lies just off Texas State Highway 7 near Kennard, in Houston County. Campground, picnic areas, amphitheater, swim area and trailheads cluster around the 45-acre lake, so most facilities are reached on foot from the campsites. The USFS operates the site; check current conditions before travelling, since storm and drought damage has closed it in the past.

The lake's 45 acres were created by a CCC earthen dam built to flood the old sawmill pond; the same CCC company planted an estimated 3,000,000 trees to re-establish the forest. The endangered red-cockaded woodpecker lives in the surrounding loblolly pine and oak woods.