TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE

Texas State and National Park System

Article by Ted Gresham
Photography by George Hosek

Texas has it all: mountains, prairies, sea coast, forests. The world beats a path to Texas’ cities and urban landscapes but it’s in wild Texas, found in an abundance of state and national parks, where true Texas adventure begins.

Texans value their treasures. They’ve established a multitude of parks to preserve important historical, sociological, and geological treasures. Texans love the outdoors, too. Hundreds of parks offer hiking, fishing, camping and swimming. Some even have such things as equestrian facilities or mountain climbing.

Texas State Parks are well maintained, clean, and highly accessible. Facilities are top-quality. Day trippers, Winter Texans with RV’s, Tent campers and wild country back-packers can all find plenty to keep their interest. Water and electric sites are the norm. Some State Parks have complete RV facilities. Virtually all of them have an RV service station. Quite a few State Parks have screened shelters for a very reasonable rate. A few even have cabins.

Texas State Parks are incredibly popular with the locals, proving how Texans value their outdoor opportunities. Popularity, however, has its drawbacks. Folks who want to visit a State Park, especially at peak times like Spring Break, during major holidays, and in the summer, need to choose their park and make reservations early.

National Parks in Texas vary as much in the facilities they offer as they do in the attractions found within them. Several federal agencies have parks in Texas. Most are administered by the National Parks Service (NPS), National Forest Service, or the Army Corp of Engineers. NPS parks are the most well developed and the most popular.

Forest Service parks are located throughout the National Forestlands of Eastern Texas where the U.S. Government works hard to protect and maintain the treasure of Texas forests. Corp Parks are usually found at Corp projects like dams and reservoirs. Forest Service and Corp parks vary a great deal. Some are fully developed while others are bare-bones, having only a few picnic tables, primitive camping, sometimes a boat ramp to an adjacent lake and possibly a toilet.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Whether you prefer a strenuous three day hike to a remote backcountry campsite or an easy day hike through a stunning canyon...

Star Trails Guadalupe Mountains
From the top of the Guadalupe Mountains in west Texas,
Ancient light from distant stars illuminates the night.

Dog Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains National Park
I arrived at the Guadalupe Mountains at 4:00 am, I folded the seat back and slept for a couple of hours until sunrise.

Light Painting, Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Early one morning while waiting for the sun to come up and hopefully break through the dense clouds, I decided to try some light-painting.

Big Bend National Park
Visit Big Bend for all the reasons you avoid cities: big skies, clear air, big adventures in the outdoors. Changing seasons are mere blinks in Big Bend country.

Wildflowers Big Bend National Park
Early Spring at Big Bend National Park can be remarkable. Sometimes when the conditions are right the park transforms itself.

Lightning Big Bend National Park
Lightning exploded onto the hills in the distance. I watched hoping one would strike a little closer, then, out of nowhere a bright flash crashed to the ground.

Big Bend Lodging
Welcome to Texas Explorer's Big Bend Lodging, RV and River Rafting, Travel and Information webpage. The source for Big Bend phone numbers, addresses, links and pictures.

Big Bend Ranch State Park
Huge mountains tower over a vast desert expanse, rushing water carves massive canyons out of solid stone.

McDonald Observatory
The McDonald Observatory is one of the great Observatory Centers of the world. Built in the 1930's under terms of legacy from William Johnson McDonald.

Texas Coast
Starts just west of Sabine, and stretches 370 miles south to the Rio Grande Valley. In between is a vast ecosystem of shallow bays, barrier islands, salt and freshwater marshes.

Texas Birding
Fall is a great time of year in Texas as thousands of Ducks, Geese, Cranes, Shorebirds and the Raptors that prey on them converge.

Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge
The thunder of thousands of geese taking flight from the coastal marsh, bathed in the soft hues of a crisp, cold morning is something to behold.

Brazos Bend State Park
One of Texas finest parks. National Geographic Traveler magazine listed Brazos Bend as one of America's Top Ten State Parks!

Washington on the Brazos Historical Site
At the entrance of Washington county, on U.S. 290 West, there is a sign which reads “Washington County: Birthplace of Texas”.

San Antonio Missions
The missions of San Antonio are a main factor in the history of Texas and the core of the development of the city of San Antonio.

State Park Information
Texas has many outstanding State parks, from the remote Big Bend Ranch State Park in West Texas to the much visited Brazos Bend State Park near Houston.

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