Description:  Birch Creek Unit facilities include restrooms with and without showers; 3 group picnic pavilions; primitive campsites; walk-in tent sites; campsites with water and electricity; equestrian campsites; a group trailer area with water and electricity sites adjacent to the group dining hall (dining hall may be rented separately for day-use); a fishing Jetty; a fish cleaning shelter; a family fishing pond; trailer dump stations; a convenience store adjacent to the park entrance; a sand and a grass volleyball court; basketball; horseshoes; two double-lane boat ramps; a boat dock; and multi-use trails. Total trail mileage (including the Trailway) is 19 miles with 13 for backpacking and equestrian use and the entire 19 for day hiking, mountain biking, birding, and nature study. Ground fires are prohibited along the trail and in primitive camping areas. Be sure to visit the Texas State Park Store.

The Lake Somerville Trailway, located around the west end of the reservoir, connects Birch Creek State Park with Nails Creek State Park via 13 miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, backpacking, birding, and nature study. Flag Pond, located approximately 4 miles from Nails Creek State Park and 9 miles from Birch Creek State Park along the Somerville Trailway, provides waterfowl hunting and non-consumptive wildlife viewing opportunities in conjunction with a system of interpretive trails, nature study, outdoor classrooms, and wildlife photography. The Flag Pond Nature Theater provides an excellent wildlife-viewing platform. The management objective is directed toward wintering waterfowl and increasing food supply to better condition the birds before their journey to spring nesting grounds. Strategies to accomplish these objectives include planting of domestic grain crops, moist soil management, and water level control. This project will increase waterfowl hunting opportunity and non-consumptive wildlife viewing opportunities in conjunction with a system of interpretive trails, as well as opportunities for nature study, outdoor classrooms, and wildlife photography. Campgrounds for equestrian and backpackers are located along the trailway. Well water for horses only is available at Newman Bottom and Wolf Pond. Chemical toilets are in the area. There are also trails accessible to the disabled in both parks.

History: Lake Somerville State Park Complex consists of four units: Birch Creek, Nails Creek, Lake Somerville Trailway, and the Somerville Wildlife Management Area. It is northwest of Brenham in Lee and Burleson Counties. Birch Creek is 2,365 acres in Burleson County on the north shore, and Nails Creek consists of 3,155 acres in Lee County on the south shore near the west end of the reservoir. The two units are connected by a 13-mile trailway system. The Somerville Wildlife Management Area (WMA) consists of 3,180 acres with the Yegua Creek Compartment in southwest Burleson County and the Nails Creek Compartment in northeast Lee County.

The Somerville Reservoir was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Work was started in June 1962, and deliberate impoundment of water was begun in January of 1967. The dam is located on Yegua Creek, 20 miles upstream from its confluence with the Brazos River, and about two miles south of Somerville. Somerville Reservoir covers 11,630 acres with a shoreline of 85 miles. Its main purposes are flood control, municipal water supply, and recreation. The state park complex was leased from the Federal Government in 1969 and opened in 1970.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department manages the Somerville WMA under a license agreement and in cooperation with the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Flag Pond is a 350-acre impoundment in the Yegua Creek watershed; it is located within the Lake Somerville State Parks along the Somerville Trailway. The pond is a natural depression which has served as wetland habitat for waterfowl wintering (mid-October to mid-February) in the Lake Somerville vicinity. Flag Pond was originally developed by a private hunting club in 1926.

Hours: Open 7 days a week, year round. Busy Season: First weekend in March through the Fourth of July.

Reservations: Check Availability/Make Reservations for Lake Somerville State Park - Birch Creek

Admission fees: so apply, see Park website for details.

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