Are you state park fans? (Galveston, McKinney: for sale, how much, hotel)

[brock2010]

How many of you are state park fans? Which ones have you visited?

[Trainwreck20]

We buy the Texas State Park Pass every year, at least for the last 10 years or so. We have two kids and we usually end up camping two to four times a year and then have another few days that we just go for a day here and there.

I couldn't possible recall all the ones I have been to over the years, but Inks Lake, Pedernales, and Enchanted Rock are all on our schedule at least once per year. McKinney Falls for some day trips. Palemetto and Buescher have had several day trips, as well. Lost Maples and Garner have been overnight trips in the past but not the last few years. Galveston State Park when we are down in Galveston. Random trips in the past to Sea Rim and Davis Mountains. I am sure there are others I am missing.

[texasdiver]

We visited perhaps a dozen state parks in TX with our popup camper during the decade that we lived there.

My favorite was Davis Mountains State Park: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/davis-mountains Beautiful setting. Lots of fabulous hiking plus great driving loops to make through the Davis Mountains and the McDonald Observatory nearby for stargazing. They have a hotel with a decent restaurant if you decide you don't want to cook in the camper. Marfa is not far away if you want to drop in there to see what's up. And the pools at Balmorhea are not far away for another quick road trip.

We also did a few trips to Caddo Lake State Park which is a completely different experience from anywhere else in TX.

Of course if you live in TX the Arkansas State Parks are not far away and many are frankly superior to anything in TX.

[StealthRabbit]

Texas has some nice state parks, but also has a LOT of visitor pressure (few parks / open space for relevant population / land mass) <1% park coverage.

I visited (6) Texas state parks last week, and live quite near (16) of the 89 Texas State parks, but it is nothing like the freedom and access to accessible public federal and state lands in the western states.

https://www.playgroundequipment.com/...park-coverage/

[tmtex]

Yes they arent bad. We camp alot in a camper and mainly go to Ray Roberts. They are usually always filled with kids. Some people say the staff are mean but I havent experienced that. Will be going to caprock in June.

[futuregleam]

I’ve been to padernales falls and brazos bend. I really love both of them. Hoping to visit more

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Texas has some nice state parks, but also has a LOT of visitor pressure (few parks / open space for relevant population / land mass) <1% park coverage.

I visited (6) Texas state parks last week, and live quite near (16) of the 89 Texas State parks, but it is nothing like the freedom and access to accessible public federal and state lands in the western states.

https://www.playgroundequipment.com/...park-coverage/

I agree with your point but that link is very deceptive...OR and ID have a ton of public land that is neither National Parks or State Parks...and while MA has quite a few Parks, none of the state is actual wilderness.

[StealthRabbit]

I was looking for a map that would but include all federal, state..BLM.. land, of which Alaska would be first and texas close to last. It is very difficult to find public access lands within Texas, makes recreation a challenge for people like me who grew up next door to a huge national park, with National Forest surrounding our ranch in colorado.... Then the texans arrived in the 1960's....

My Washington home is in a National Scenic Area, so lots of public lands, and National forests and National Parks and monuments. + Non profits buy neighbor homes that go up for sale, tear the homes and barns down, and convert the land back to non-residential (for $3m recently). I'm just glad I am not a sport (?) hunter or fisherman in Texas! That would be expensive, crowded and very boring.

I'm Getting by... 23 deer in front yard tonight, and just returned from traversing 200+ miles of dirt ranch roads this afternoon, enjoying bluebonnets, indian paintbrush, poppies... stream crossings, Critters and dust. And a lot of snakes!

[Treasurevalley92]

Hey OP, big state park fan here, been to quite a few of them.

i get the pass because based on how much I go..if you go often enough it is quite worth it since you get free day use at state parks with the pass.


My one gripe with the state parks is there there simply isn't enough land for the number of people who live here.

We have plenty of state parks...top 10 in terms of the number of parks...the problem is out parks are mostly small and not large enough for the number of people who want to visit every year...well at least that is the case of the popular ones.

With a few exceptions, the state parks don't offer much for primitive camping experiences....alot of them are located on lakes and are more geared towards parking an RV and boating than they are for primitive camping and hiking. You can absolutely throw a tent and many parks have a nice tent area, but it isn't really back country...it's more glamping. I've tried the "Back Country" spots at Ink Wells and Dino Valley....and while it was nice to get out of ear shot of the RVS it wasn't a true back county experience.

Big Bend State Park is a notable exception.


That said:

There are some nice trails for day hikes in many of the parks.

State Parks also provide a pretty good cross section of the state. Lakes and Woods? Yep. Hill Country Rivers? Yep. Canyons? Yep. The State is pretty well represented.


Standout Parks in my opinion:

Enchanted Rock-Also a great place for star gazing.

Dino Valley- nice scenery and unique!

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

I was looking for a map that would but include all federal, state..BLM.. land, of which Alaska would be first and texas close to last. It is very difficult to find public access lands within Texas, makes recreation a challenge for people like me who grew up next door to a huge national park, with National Forest surrounding our ranch in colorado.... Then the texans arrived in the 1960's....

My Washington home is in a National Scenic Area, so lots of public lands, and National forests and National Parks and monuments. + Non profits buy neighbor homes that go up for sale, tear the homes and barns down, and convert the land back to non-residential (for $3m recently). I'm just glad I am not a sport (?) hunter or fisherman in Texas! That would be expensive, crowded and very boring.

I'm Getting by... 23 deer in front yard tonight, and just returned from traversing 200+ miles of dirt ranch roads this afternoon, enjoying bluebonnets, indian paintbrush, poppies... stream crossings, Critters and dust. And a lot of snakes!

Yeah...I feel that on a spiritual level. I grew up in Idaho (but was born in CO, so hey!) You can drive north of town and go for hours and see nothing but Public Land: National forests etc....or go south into BLM land.

I've enjoyed the public land we do have here, but it is hard to get to. The National Forests in SE Texas are nice but about 3 hours from me. LBJ Grasslands are not so bad, but they are small and kinda patchy....not really the room to really get out and roam.