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Carlson Lake

Hidalgo, Texas — Hidalgo County.

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331Surface acres
0.8 miShoreline trails

Surface area: The USGS National Hydrography Dataset outline (NHD Permanent ID 113375342, 2 mapped parts).

Location & fast facts

Where Carlson Lake is in Texas

The red circle marks Carlson Lake.

Fast facts

About Carlson Lake

  • County: Hidalgo
  • City or town on the shore: Hidalgo
  • Mapped as: Reservoir (USGS National Hydrography Dataset)
  • Distance: about 126 mi from Laredo and 130 mi from Corpus Christi, straight-line (not driving distance)

Towns and counties: U.S. Census Bureau boundaries overlaid on the USGS lake outline (Texas: incorporated places touching the lake, otherwise the nearest one).

Fishing in Texas

Official TPWD pages. Rules and fees change; check before you go.

Lake map

Carlson Lake shoreline

½ mileN

No public access sites are listed for this water in the OpenStreetMap boat ramps (TPWD publishes ramp names per lake, not coordinates) data.

Shoreline trail

Shoreline: USGS National Hydrography Dataset (NHD Waterbody, Permanent ID 113375342, plus 1 more mapped parts), public domain. State outline: U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb. Points: OpenStreetMap boat ramps (TPWD publishes ramp names per lake, not coordinates). Dashed trails: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Interactive map: Leaflet with © OpenStreetMap contributors. Not for navigation.

Shoreline trails

0.8 miTrail within 100 m of shore
About 20%Of the shoreline
NoLoops the whole lake
North shoreWhere

OpenStreetMap shows about 0.8 mi of public hiking and walking trail within about 100 m (330 ft) of the Carlson Lake shoreline, mostly along the north shore.

Trails along the shore

The dashed brown line on the lake map shows these trails. We include paths, footways and marked trails that OpenStreetMap doesn't mark as private, and leave out roads, sidewalks and snowmobile corridors. Mapped trails can still cross private land or close for the season, and not every trail is mapped, so follow posted signs.

Trails: © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL). Map data as of Oct 8, 2026. Trail lengths count only the parts within about 100 m of the USGS NHD lake outline.

Campgrounds near Carlson Lake

We found 4 campgrounds and RV parks within 15 miles of Carlson Lake. Distances are straight-line from the nearest point on the shoreline, so driving distance is longer.

All campgrounds & RV parks in Texas

Green tent icons on the lake map mark campgrounds near the shore, and the interactive map shows the closest 12. Amenities are listed only where a source records them; call or check the campground's website before you go, since seasons and rates change every year.

Campground data: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Pulled Oct 12, 2026.

Conditions right now

Air temperature & conditions (nearest NWS station)Loading…
Fetching the latest National Weather Service observation…

Live from the National Weather Service API for the lake's coordinates (26.0826, -98.2438). The nearest station may be several miles away. NWS forecast for Carlson Lake. No live water-temperature sensor is shown because we haven't found a public one for this lake.

Sun, moon & best fishing times

Sun & moon at Carlson Lake

Best fishing times

Major periodMinor periodDaylight

    Based on solunar theory, an estimate. Major periods (about 2 hours) center on when the moon is directly overhead or underfoot; minor periods (about 1 hour) center on moonrise and moonset. The 0–100 activity score rises during those periods and gets a boost near sunrise and sunset and around the new and full moon. Weather, water temperature and pressure often matter more. Sun and moon times are calculated in your browser from the lake's coordinates with standard astronomy formulas, shown in CT (America/Chicago), and accurate to within a few minutes.

    Contact & official info

    Lakes & ponds nearby

    Straight-line distance between lake centers. All Texas lakes & ponds · All waters in Hidalgo