A lot can happen in three months, like a pandemic, all classes online, and visiting 20 different Texas State Parks!
Wow! It’s been three months since we started this adventure of visiting all 78 Texas State Parks, and we have been to 20 already! We have been fortunate to have been able to go out to just about one, sometimes multiple, parks in a week. In reality, it really doesn’t seem like it has been that long since we started. Now, it may not seem like we have been to 20 parks based on the amount of parks we have actually posted up on the blog. When we started this, we decided to post a park a week (sometimes more) so we would be able to spread out the content over more weeks. There are still plenty more state park adventures to come! Now, looking back, Bryce and I are able to see some ways things have changed and stayed the same since we started.
The biggest thing to have an impact on these last three months was the coronavirus. The virus gave us plenty of free time to go visit parks between school being moved online and work at the ticket office being canceled (because sports were canceled). Bryce and I were very excited about this, not work and everything being canceled, but that this gave us time to explore the outdoors! I believe that the state parks did a great job adjusting the social distancing guidelines and being able to go with the flow of the situation. The only time that was disappointing was a brief two week period when the parks were closed down altogether. Lucky for us, this meant an additional two months was added to the expiration of our State Parks Pass.
Our mindset of how we treated the parks also changed within these three months. We went from driving around to the ‘Points of Interest’ within the park and walking what was necessary to tackling longer hikes and squeezing every last bit out of the park that we could. Looking back, Bryce and I have come to a conclusion that Lake Somerville was the first park where we decided to walk more trails just to see the park. Since then, we have looked at the trails map before going to a park and laying out a plan for the next day.
Despite these changes, some things have stayed the same over these three months. Our signature sack lunches filled with ham and cheese sandwiches and various snacks is always a must. When we bring along a positive attitude and low expectations, most parks blow our expectations out of the water! So, we are always sure to have those handy in our back pockets for any situation. We are now 20 parks in, only 58 more to go!
Also, if you haven't noticed, we placed a ranking board of all the state parks we have been to on the home page of our website. I also wrote a little about each park visit to help you figure out the best ones to go to. These state parks are ranked in order of our favorites to parks we still enjoyed (just not as much as others).
Pedernales Falls
This park had so much to explore! We mostly stayed around the Falls and River area, and there were parts of the park we didn’t even get to. However, most people do come to Pedernales Falls for the Falls, so it is understandable to explore that area for the majority of your stay. (We did check out one more trail within the park, and it wasn’t as impressive as the Falls and River.)
Dinosaur Valley
The main attraction is obviously the dinosaur tracks, but those can be a little hit or miss depending on the weather conditions. There is a main track site where it is the easiest to spot ancient footprints, but Dinosaur Valley offers so much more! There is the Paluxy River to swim in or hike along the shoreline, as well as numerous trails with some challenging terrains.
Lake Mineral Wells
At first, we thought this might be another lake park with a few small trails to walk on, but we were totally wrong. There is one ‘Point of Interest’ that is a must for everyone to go see: Penitentiary Hollow. It had more to offer than meets the eye. We recommend taking in the view from the top that overlooks the Hollow and the lake, but then you must climb down into the Hollow and explore all the nooks and crannies of the area.
Brazos Bend
There are a lot of different ecosystems at Brazos Bend including a pond, swamplands, tree cover, prairie, and the Brazos River. There is also a chance to see alligators; we saw two different gators in the water (but some people have seen them walk right in front of them across the trail). Another interesting feature was Yellowstone Landing. Bryce and I were a bit rushed here, but still a must to go see this part of history.
Bastrop
The Lost Pines make up a lot of what there is to explore at Bastrop State Park. In 2011, a forest fire burned down a lot of the pine trees within the city of Bastrop. Even though they seem a little broken, these trees are still a sight to see. Broken things are often beautiful and has allowed room for new pines to grow in. Along with the history of the Lost Pines, there is a significant amount of evidence that the CCC took up residence in this area.
Mission Tejas
This park is filled with some challenging trails with lots of twists and inclines, along with so much history wrapped up inside of it. There were some trails that Bryce and I walked just for fun, but we had to take some of the more challenging trails to get to some of the ‘Points of Interest.’ We recommend bringing a lot of water and some sturdy shoes to tackle the trails on the way to see all of the historical sights (it is totally worth it)!
Palmetto
This is an extremely beautiful park. There is so much to look at including the palmetto palms and San Marcos River. There is a low water crossing across the river that also provides a good area to access the river to just sit and relax or float down the river. Also, these aren’t marked on the trails map, but there are some good overlook spots along the San Marcos River trail to pause and gaze out at the bend of the river.
Mother Neff
If you’re looking for a smaller park with good hiking trails and some historical ‘Points of Interest,’ this is the park for you. All of the trails are small enough that Bryce and I were able to walk (almost) every trail and see every attraction in about two to three hours. I would recommend walking the Bluff Trail for a little bit more of a challenge and some “rocking” views.
Buescher
This goes for any park, but don’t go hiking through a park after three days of rain unless you’re prepared to walk through some mud and water. Buescher State Park is in Bastrop County, so evidence of the fires and the Lost Pines can be seen here as well (Buescher and Bastrop State Parks are actually connected by Park Road 1C). If you are looking for a quick trip and can only choose one trail, I would recommend walking the Pine Gulch Trail and take Roosevelt’s Cutoff to connect Pine Gulch.
Huntsville
Get those sturdy shoes and water bottles back out because we recommend taking the 6.8 mile hike along the Chinquapin Trail. This trail gives you the ability to see four of the six ‘Points of Interest’ within the park. It may seem a tad long, but bring some snacks and plenty of water and you’ll have a great time! We actually packed a full lunch and found a nice bench to sit down and eat along the trail.
Lockhart
If you want to enjoy a nice round of golf, head out to Lockhart State Park. This park was built by the CCC to be a golf course with a few hiking trails around it. We only played a few holes, but the golf course was set up well. Right now, there weren’t that many people at the park to play golf, so there is plenty of space on the course. The trails were also very walkable, with some challenging inclines.
Stephen F. Austin
Our time at Stephen F. Austin was shorter than we wanted, but we still got to experience some great things during our visit. There is a one mile long trail that goes from one side of the park to the other (Ironwood Trail). However, Bryce and I decided to walk the Cottonwood Trail to the Brazos Bottom Trail to see the bottomlands of the park and experience a little bit of elevation change.
Lake Somerville
Lake Somerville has two different units, so there are plenty of trails to hike and land to explore. Bryce and I actually wound up on a completely different trail then intended, but it led us down a path of new sights (and a bridge!). I would recommend going in the springtime because we came up on a field of bluebonnets right off the water.
Cedar Hill
Definitely stop by Penn Farm; lots of history on that little farm and very cool to see the old buildings and farming equipment. Some of the trails were pretty underdeveloped, but they are still walkable and lead you around to some good scenic overlooks. There isn’t a whole lot of shade on these trails, so be sure and pack sunscreen with you on your visit (trust me, I know).
Lake Livingston
Some of the trails at Lake Livingston were closed due to renovations when we went to visit. However, we were able to take the Pineywoods Boardwalk Trail towards the end of our visit and would recommend checking that one out. There is also a fishing pier and a tower that extends up for a scenic overlook of the lake so you can see out to an island in the middle of the water.
Galveston Island
Unfortunately, the beach side of Galveston Island State Park is closed for renovations until 2022, but there is still another half of the park to explore. There are two towers that provide great views on the side of the park that is open; one is closer to the parking lot than the other. The one further away is obviously harder to get to (we actually had to walk through quite a bit of water to get to it), but you should definitely check it out, it provides a nice scene of Galveston Bay and the surrounding area.
Lake Tawakoni
If you have a couple of hours and want to spend it outdoors, Lake Tawakoni is a good place to do a little bit of everything. You can swim in the lake, ride some bikes around, or take a walk along the trails. Bryce and I walked all but three trails in the park and were able to get it done in about two hours. There is also a pond near the front of the park that is a great place for a little picnic!
Fort Boggy
This is a very small park with a lake being its main feature. You can swim, fish, and take a kayak out on the water. There are two trails within the park: one that goes around the lake and one that goes through nature around the other side of the parking lot. If you want a place to hang out with friends and grill some burgers and hot dogs, Fort Boggy is a great place to do it!
Ray Roberts Lake
The Isle du Bois portion of Ray Roberts offers a great look of the lake as well as some good hiking and biking trails. We spent most of our time down the road in the Greenbelt portion of Ray Roberts Lake State Park. If you love bridges like I do, check out the McKinney Bridge along the Hard Surface Trail. It was very cool for it being over 100 years old, but the bottom of it was missing with just the steel holdings left.
Sheldon Lake
If you have children, this is the place to take them. There are a lot of teaching tools at Sheldon Lake because it is also an environmental learning center. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus, the labs were closed and there were no workers/volunteers there to provide teaching demonstrations. But we were able to see families out on the pier teaching their kids how to fish, so take advantage of free time and learn something.
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