Athens, Texas, a Gateway to East Texas

Surrounding the historic Wofford House Museum, the East Texas Arboretum is a must-visit attraction for all nature and gardening enthusiasts. The beautiful arboretum covers around 100 acres of outdoor beauty comprising mature trees, thousands of shrubs and flowers, streams, bridges and nature trails.

The trail: There is a rugged 2-mile trail where nature lovers can expect to see plenty of birds and small wildlife as well as a paved accessible trail which covers around 1/3 of a mile.

Themed gardens: You will also enjoy exploring 4 themed gardens (including a special Children’s Garden) and the Discovery Barn, now home to a collection of vintage farm implements. Visiting the arboretum provides a great day out for all ages.

Find it at this Address: East Texas Arboretum, 1601 Patterson Road, Athens, TX 75751, 903 675 5630

It is not exactly like diving the reefs in the Caribbean, but diving in Lake Athens offers lot of fun to the local scuba enthusiasts. Athens Scuba Park is an all-inclusive dive facility that provides all kinds of diving service, classes, travel and sale of diving equipment. They are one of the very few dive resorts in the States that has its own full service dive shop, training pool, classroom and an open water lake, all in one location.

The dive site: There are 35 sunken wrecks to explore and 11 diving docks around the lake, so more groups can dive at the same time and there is no waiting. They have all diving gear needed in their well-stocked store – tanks, masks, BCDs, air and more. They offer scuba diving classes of all levels. Warm, spring-fed lake water of Athens Scuba Park has a visibility of 35 to 70 feet. The lake's depth is from 20 to 35 feet.

Find it at this Address: 500 N Murchison St, Athens, TX 75751, Phone: 903-675-5762

The Retreat Massage and Day Spa is designed as a place for people to gather, escape the stressful environment, retreat for a short time from the life’s problems and let someone else take care of them. Each of the five spa rooms have a different theme.

The Massage Rooms are called the Tropical Palmetto Room, the Magnolia Room and the Tuscan Room for Couples. The Haute-Couture Room is the room for Facials and The Rose Room for Nail Services. The stylish waiting room is also decorated as Magnolia Room. The Retreat can accommodate up to eight clients only at a time in order to provide intimate and customized service with a full attention to each client. Each staff member is an independent contractor and all appointments with each staff member is by private appointment only.

Find it at this Address: 225 S Prairieville St, Athens, TX 75751, Phone: 903-677-4211

The Jalapeno Tree is a family-owned Mexican chain of restaurant with a large menu of classic Mexican food. They use fresh, seasonal ingredients in the made to order kitchen where everything is made from scratch.

Like all their store, their Athens location is spacious, brightly colored and cheerful, with two large outdoor patios for those warm summer evenings. Besides all Mexican favorite dishes on the menu that guests are used to expect such as tacos, quesadillas, nachos and burritos, there are also Mexican traditional dishes as well as American favorites. While most guests go for the delicious sizzling fajitas, there are also wonderful salads such as Summer Salmon Salad with salmon, oranges, greens, pineapple and watermelon.

Find it at this Address: 1112 E Tyler St, Athens, TX 75751

3 P’s in a Vine Winery and Vineyard is a family and friend business which strives to offer visitors an enjoyable and relaxing wine tasting experience.

You do not need to know anything about growing grapes or making wine – all you need to bring is a sense of adventure. The winery has been constructed in a log-cabin style and offers comfortable indoor seating (around the fireplace, in winter) and outdoor tables with a view of the vineyards. They currently produce 8 varieties of Texas wines ranging from sweet to dry and everyone is bound to find a few favorites. You can enjoy a tasting flight, a glass or a bottle of wine as you enjoy some tasty appetizer plates.

Find it at this Address: 955 Douglas Road, Athens, TX 75751, 903 677 9463

Tara Vineyard and Winery is the oldest vineyard and winery in Henderson County, and is family owned and operated. At the heart of the property guests will find the gracious Tara Inn, which occupies the former historic Murchison home which dates back to the 1880’s and was moved to its current location from downtown Athens.

The beautiful winery building has a spacious outdoor terrace, ideal for wine sipping, as well as limited indoor seating for inclement weather. You are invited to come and join them for a tasting flight or to enjoy a glass of your favorite Texas wine as you enjoy the far-reaching country views. They also serve some delicious country-inspired cuisine.

Find it at this Address: 8603 CR 3914, Athens, TX 75752, 903 675 7023

For more than 50 years the Henderson County Performing Arts Center has been enriching the lives of East Texas residents and visitors by bringing the joys of live theatre to their doorstep.

Their mission statement confirms that they exist to entertain, educate and change lives and they certainly live up to those expectations, presenting a full calendar of live theatre each year. The performances offer something for everyone including comedy, suspense, music and dance shows. New performers are always encouraged to come and audition for one of the shows. If you are fortunate enough to live close by you can take advantage of their Season Ticket and catch every show of the season.

Find it at this Address: 400 Gibson Road, Athens, TX 75751, 903 675 3908