Village Creek State Park: Bike Trail Lumberton, TX. Village Creek State Park, which opened in 1994, contains 1,090 acres and borders Village Creek. Walking the Bike Trail is not a long hike and will give you a glance into the Texas Big Thicket. Trail Information Length: 1.2 miles Skill Level: Easy Season: Year-round Share on […]
Category: outdoors
The Big Thicket National Preserve
The Big Thicket National Preserve- “One’s fondness for the area is hard to explain. It has no commanding peak or awesome gorge, no topographical feature of distinction. Its appeal is more subtle.” – Big Thicket Legacy, University of Texas Press, 1977. The Big Thicket National Preserve is a heavily forested area that lies within Hardin, […]
Archery Deer Season a Silent Strong Opener
Archery Deer Season a Silent Strong Opener AUSTIN – Unlike the symphony of shotgun blasts signaling the opening weekend of dove season, few will hear the whisper soft “string music” of archery-only deer season. But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of hunters making bowstring music; archery hunting stamp sales are up substantially this […]
Sam Houston National Forest: Stubblefield North Hike Trail
Sam Houston National Forest: Stubblefield North Hike Trail New Waverly, TX. The Sam Houston National Forest is one of four national forests in Texas. It contains more than 163,000 acres and is located between Huntsville, Conroe, Cleveland, and Richards. Archeological evidence that dates back 7,000 years has been found in a number of sites in […]
Trail Between the Lakes
Trail Between the Lakes Pineland, TX. Sabine National Forest is one of only four national forests in the state. Its 160,000-plus acre count is cumulative, not contiguous; it is a hodgepodge of forest service land interspersed with private tracts. Trail Information Length: 28 miles Skill Level: Moderate Season: Best in Spring Share on Facebook Tweet […]
Outdoor Fools Day Offers Food, Fun and Outdoor Activities
Outdoor Fools Day Offers Food, Fun and Outdoor Activities ATHENS—Life’s better outside, especially during springtime in Texas. And nowhere will it be better on April 7 than at Outdoor Fools Day at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC). The annual event will run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and all activities are free with […]
Pineywoods Autumn Trail
Athens & Palestine, Texas – Each autumn in Athens and Palestine, the picturesque landscape transforms to the vibrant colors as leaves begin to turn throughout the East Texas woodlands. The City of Athens Department of Tourism and Palestine Visitor Center have partnered together to offer visitors a 145-mile scenic driving trail along breathtaking scenic highways […]
Challenger Seven Memorial Park: Boardwalk Trail
Challenger Seven Memorial Park: Boardwalk Trail Webster, TX. This hike takes you from the campgrounds around the Challenger Learning Center to a part of park that has very few people. You pass a fishing lake, hike on a boardwalk, and visit wetlands next to Clear Creek, a natural tributary that empties into Clear Lake, which […]
Lake Holbrook
Lake Holbrook is located three miles northwest of Mineola, in Wood County. The lake is 653 acres, with an average maximum depth of 30 feet. Cattails and other emergent aquatic species are prevalent along the edge of the reservoir, providing limited shallow-water habitat. Recent native aquatic vegetation introductions by TPWD have successfully established pickerelweed and […]
How Much Do You Know About Bluebonnets?
Texans hold wildflowers in high regard, but none is as distinguished as the Texas Bluebonnet. The flower has inspired legends, myth, folklore, festivals, family portraits, all kinds of art, and Texas road trips. Historian Jack Maguire once said the bluebonnet is “a kind of floral trademark almost as well known to outsiders as cowboy boots and […]
Lake Tyler
Lake Tyler is located southeast of Tyler, in Smith County, off Texas 64. The lake is composed of two bodies; Tyler West which is 2,224 acres and Tyler East which is 2,276 surface acres, both with a maximum depth of 40 feet. Aquatic vegetation in the lake consists of moderate native, floating, submergent, and emergent, […]
Resolve to Tread Texas State Park Trails in 2014
Resolve to Tread Texas State Park Trails in 2014 AUSTIN – Vow to battle the post-holiday letdown and shed those unwanted pounds by pounding a Texas State Park trail, beginning Jan. 1, at more than 60 organized First Day Hikes that will kick off the New Year as part of a growing nationwide tradition. Remember, too, that […]
Master Fly-Fisher to Teach Class at TFFC
Master Fly-Fisher to Teach Class at TFFC TPWD Press Release ATHENS—Expert fly-fisher Bob Cappallo of Corsicana will teach fly-fishing for beginners at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens January 14, 2012, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The class is open to adults 18 and older. No fly-fishing experience is required. Equipment will be […]
North Texans Urged to be on the Lookout for Exotic and Invasive Mussels
North Texans Urged to be on the Lookout for Exotic and Invasive Mussels © USGS July 27, 2011 – In April 2009 Lake Texoma and Sister Grove Creek, which empties into Lake Lavon, were invaded by an aquatic critter known as the zebra mussel. Zebra mussels have become well established in Lake Texoma; however, to […]
Cherokee Neches Paddling Launch
Jacksonville, Texas- Have you ever thought of paddling down the Neches River? Here is your opportunity. The public is invited to help launch the new Cherokee Neches Paddling Trail at a Launch Event Saturday, March 21, 2015! The Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce is partnered with Texas Parks and Wildlife in designating the Cherokee Neches Paddling Trail. […]
Sabine River
Sabine River The two upper forks of the Sabine River, the South and Cowleech Forks, are formed in eastern Collin County and northwestern Hunt County respectively. These two forks meet in Hunt County forming the main stream which flows southeast through pine woods for approximately 555 miles, partially forming the boundary between Texas and Louisiana. […]
Chinquapin Trail
Chinquapin Trail Huntsville, TX. The Chinquapin Trail, located in Huntsville State Park and adjacent to Sam Houston National Forest, is a hot spot for hikers, trail runners, and many mountain bikers. It crosses several fascinating habitats typical of the East Texas Pineywoods. The Chinquapin Trail surrounds the 210-acre Lake Raven, the centerpiece of Huntsville State […]
How Do Ya Like Them Apples?
How Do Ya Like Them Apples? Horse apple trees, also known as Osage orange trees or Bois D’Arc trees, produce neither apples or oranges but rather a green brain-looking fruit. Horse apples are in the eye of the beholder according to who you are talking to. East Texans and their neighbors in Arkansas refer to […]
Sea Rim State Park
Sea Rim State Park is composed of 4,141.1 acres of marshland, and 5.2 miles of shoreline along the Gulf of Mexico. The park is located in Jefferson County, just south of Port Arthur. The property was acquired in 1972, from Planet Oil & Mineral Corporation and Horizon Sales Corporation. The park opened to the public […]
Lake Livingston
Lake Livingston Livingston, TX. An easy day hike through the woods of Lake Livingston State Park. Attractions include a lake and flourishing woods. Trail Information Length: 4 miles Skill Level: Easy Season: Fall – Spring Share on Facebook Tweet on twitter Share on google+ Pin to pinterest
Sam Houston National Forest: Richards Loop Trail
Sam Houston National Forest: Richards Loop Trail Richards, TX. The Sam Houston National Forest is one of four national forests in Texas. It contains more than 163,000 acres and is located between Huntsville, Conroe, Cleveland, and Richards. Archeological evidence that dates back 7,000 years has been found in a number of sites in the national […]
Lake Livingston State Park
Lake Livingston State Park is located one mile southwest of Livingston. The park is composed of 635.5 acres along the shores of Lake Livingston, an 84,800 acre reservoir. The park property was acquired in 1971 and was opened to the public in 1977. The park is near the ghost town of Swartwout, a steamboat landing […]
Purtis Creek State Park
Purtis Creek State Park is composed of 1,582.4 acres in Henderson and Van Zandt counties. The property was acquired in 1977 from private owners and opened to the public in 1988. The area was once roamed by the Wichita and Caddo Indians. To the east of the park is a cliff over hang that was […]
Sheldon Lake State Park
Sheldon Lake State Park and Environmental Learning Center is a 2,800 acre outdoor education and recreation facility located in northeast Harris County. The park is split into two units and provides access to the 1,200 acre Sheldon Lake. Eight hundred acres of Sheldon Lake are permanently inundated, while 400 acres are marsh and swamp land. […]