Texas Parks Guide: Scenic Trails, Camping & Outdoor Adventures

Guadalupe Mountains National Park was established to protect the most extensive Permian fossil reef in the world, a diverse collection of fauna and flora, the four highest mountain peaks in the state of Texas, and stories of lives that were shaped by survival, cooperation, and conflict.

Visitors can experience canyons and mountains, dunes and desert, breathtaking vistas and clear night skies in a unique place within the National Park System. The park contains more than eighty miles of trails for hiking, providing nature walks that range from easy walks among desert flora to more moderate and strenuous hikes. Guadalupe Mountains National Park Map

Big Bend National Park is located in Far West Texas, a place where rivers carve canyons out of ancient limestone and night skies are as dark as coal.

Hundreds of different species of birds take refuge in the mountain range where the road ends, surrounded by a weather-beaten desert. Over one hundred miles of roads throughout the park highlight the stunning vistas of Big Bend National Park and invite visitors to marvel at the area’s geological splendor, view the impressive diversity of wildlife and plants that call the area home, and think about how the early settlers of the land lived. Big Bend National Park Map

The Caddo Lake State Park provides a wide variety of outdoor activities for visitors, such as boating, geocaching, camping, picnicking, hiking, paddling, and fishing. Guests can choose to stay overnight in the park at one of the forty-six campsites that range from only water to full hookup campsites or a screened shelter, or rent one of the park’s historic cabins, ranging from two-person to six-person cabins. ADA accessible cabins are available as well. Visitors can also bring their own kayak or canoe, or rent one, and explore over fifty miles of paddling trails, exploring the turns and twists of Caddo Lake.

Caddo Lake State Park, 245 Park Rd 2, Karnack, TX 75661, Phone: 903-679-3351

Romantic Texas Parks

The Cedar Hill State Park is great to visit for just a day or an entire weekend, providing a place for families and friends to view nature, geocache, camp, picnic, ride bikes, or go hiking. The state park is located on the shores of Joe Pool Lake, offering opportunities for paddling, boating, fishing, and swimming. Cedar Hill State Park features a campground with 350 developed campsites, all of which are situated near restrooms that include hot showers. All campsites contain electricity and water and 150 include sewer hookups. Visitors can also hike to primitive campsites when the trails are open.

Cedar Hill State Park, 1570 West FM 1382, Cedar Hill, TX 75104, Phone: 972-291-3900

The Daingerfield State Park provides visitors with opportunities for recreation on both land and water. The park offers land activities in abundance, such as camping, having a picnic, studying nature, geocaching, birding, and hiking. The eighty-acre lake provides fishing, paddling, boating, and swimming. Hiking trails include the 2.4-mile Rustling Leaves Trail, which offers an easy hike surrounding the lake, and the Mountain View Trail, a slightly more difficult, 1.2-mile hike to the park’s highest point. Campers can choose from basic tent campsites, full hookup campsites, and historic cabins. Daingerfield State Park also features a boat ramp and fishing pier.

Daingerfield State Park, 455 Park Rd 17, Daingerfield, TX 75638, Phone: 903-645-2921

The Fort Boggy State Park offers an array of recreational opportunities for visitors to enjoy, such as mountain biking, hiking, fishing, and swimming. The state park contains a boat ramp and the lake, which encompasses fifteen acres, is open to kayaks, canoes, and small boats. Visitors can stay overnight in Fort Boggy State Park in of the cabins. A group pavilion can also be rented out for day use, and fishing equipment can be rented for visitor use as well. Ranger programs offer a wide variety of opportunities for education and fun for children.

Fort Boggy State Park, 4994 Highway 75 South, Centerville, TX 75833

Texas Parks for Families

The Lake Mineral Wells State Park & Trailway is located in the heart of Texas cattle country, approximately forty-five minutes from Fort Worth, and boasts spectacular scenery and history. Visitors can also find recreation activities on the lake, trails that extend for miles, and an area for rock climbing. The trails in the park vary from easy to difficult, from scenic Cross Timbers trails to lakeside trails. The Trailway is twenty miles in length with gentle curves and flat grades. The Trailway and much of the park’s trails are accessible to hikers, horseback riders, and mountain bikers.

Lake Mineral Wells State Park & Trailway, 100 Park Rd 71, Mineral Wells, TX 76067, Phone: 940-328-1171

The Lake Somerville State Park & Trailway is made up of four different units. Birch Creek and Nails Creek are on the north and southwest sides of Lake Somerville, respectively. The slightly more than thirteen-mile Trailway connects these two areas. Also on the shores of the lake is the Somerville Public Hunting Land. Nails Creek and Birch Creek provide lake access for swimming, paddling, boating, and fishing. On land, visitors can go mountain biking, hiking, camping, have a picnic, play volleyball or horseshoes, and much more. The trail throughout the Lake Sommerville State Park encompass a total of almost forty miles.

Lake Somerville State Park & Trailway, 14222 Park Rd 57, Somerville, TX 77879, Phone: 979-535-7763

The Lockhart State Park offers an opportunity to camp beneath the stars, play a round of golf on a historic golf course, or look for wildlife and geocaches along the trails. Visitors can try their luck with fishing throughout the year in the Clear Fork Creek, swim in the park’s pool during the summer months, and buy a souvenir at the park store. The Persimmon Trail is a short, but rather challenging hiking trail, while the Clear Fork Trail is on the easy side and offers views of wildlife, plants, and the creek. Campsites with electricity and water or full hookups are available.

2012 State Park Rd, Lockhart, TX 78644, Phone: 512-398-3479

The Meridian State Park is a somewhat small state park, but still offers plenty to do. Lake Meridian, encompassing seventy-two acres, offers visitors with waters to go paddling on, drop a fishing line, or do some swimming. Back on land, recreation opportunities include camping overnight, look for wildlife, exploring the five miles of trails, enjoying a picnic lunch, or discovering historic structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps more than eighty years ago. The Bosque Hiking Trail is a little over two miles and circles the lake, traveling past scenic overlooks and limestone outcroppings. The Ridge Trail is wheelchair accessible.

Meridian State Park, 173 Park Road #7, Meridian, TX 76665, Phone: 254-435-2536