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You are here: Home / Everything Texas / Texas State Parks / East Texas State Parks

Outdoor Activities Recent Texas State Parks

East Texas State Parks

East Texas State Parks

East Texas State Parks

It’s the centennial year of Texas State Parks, and East Texas State Parks are celebrating. Check out these piney woods state parks and start planning your visits.

Let’s talk about State Park Tips:

  • Fishing from a pier or shore, a fishing license is not required in Texas State Park. But on a boat – you’ll need one.
  • Most state parks reach capacity for day trips and camping, so call ahead for reservations into the park or make them online.
  • Every state park charges admission. Most allow children 12 and under for free.
  • A Texas State Park membership allows everyone in your car free admission.
  • All state parks celebrating the 100 Years of Texas State Park charge NO FEE on the day of the celebration.
  • Most parks offer a Ranger program for kids.
  • Geocaching in state parks is fun because what you are looking for will be in its spots, unlike some wild rides you go on via the app.

NEXT READ: 7 Grea East Texas Weekend Getaways

 

Caddo Lake

East Texas State Parks

Please Note: Entry to a park is free on the day it hosts an official 100-Year celebration event (applies to day passes only), but you must reserve your spot online.

Related: East Texas Lakes With Cabins

 

Atlanta State Park – Atlanta, TX

Atlanta State Park sits on the shores of Wright Patman Lake in the far northeast corner of Texas. Pines trees and hardwoods shade the park, providing color year-round.

Things To Do

  • Fish – catfish
  • camp
  • birding
  • waterskiing
  • swim
  • picnic
  • wildlife viewing
  • geocache
  • hike on roads, trails, & shoreline

What To Know

Entrance Fee: $3

The busy season is summer, and best to make reservations online, especially for camping.

Park store: Yes

100 Years Celebration

Oct 21st, 10 am

Parks Through the Years – Celebrate 100 years of Texas State Parks with a blast from the past and a festival of events, booths, music, vintage vehicles, and food.

Attractions Nearby

  • O’Farrell Country Winery
  • Atlanta Historical Museum
East Texas State Parks

Balk Cypress Trees at Caddo Lake

Caddo Lake State Park – Jefferson, TX

Caddo Lake State Park is considered one of Texas’s most beautiful state parks. It’s different than any other state park we have.

Things To Do

Canoe, fish, and boat can explore the picturesque bayou and many bald cypress trees sprawled on each side. You can also picnic, camp, and geocache. Yes, alligators are out there …but you’ll probably never see them. Canoe rentals are available for rent at the park.

Hike the Caddo Forest Trail.

What To Know

Entrance Fee: $4

Park Store: Yes

A boat tour is one of the best ways to see and get to know the bayou. It’s pretty darn cool. Several outfitters do this. The one I used is no longer in business.

100 Years Celebration

Apr 14th, 8 pm

Caddo Homecoming – The park will celebrate 100 years of Texas State Parks and 30 years of exemplary conservation with the Caddo Lake Institute. Canoeing, fishing, games, art, and a sock hop will be the day’s activities. Be sure to visit an outreach table or local presentation. If you’re camping, decorate your campsite with a retro theme and grab a bite to eat!

Attractions Nearby

  1. The town of Jefferson. With a historic home, beautiful quaint BnBs, an excellent general store
  2. Scarlett O’Hardy’s Gone With The Wind Museum
  3. Lake O’ The Pines

Daingerfield State Park – Daingerfield, TX

Daingerfield State Park is southwest of Texarkana and offers a blanket of beautiful fall colors in autumn with its tall trees and forest. The park is located in Morris Country –one of the smallest counties in Texas.

Things To Do

Wander the trails, paddle Little Pine Lake, camp, hike, geocache, fish on the pier, rent a pavilion, and more.

What To Know

Entrance Fee: $4; make a reservation online, even for a day trip.

Park Store: Yes, and get your worms there!

100 Years Celebration

May 13th, 10 am

New Experiences, New Memories, A New You – New to the outdoors? The park will showcase the various outdoor activities to experience the world at each person’s comfort level.

Attractions Nearby

  • Country club
  • Cinema

Huntsville State Park, Huntsville, TX

Huntsville State Park is a wooded recreational area southwest of town. Enjoy yourself among the majestic pine trees and natural beauty of East Texas, just a short drive north of Houston, in the Sam Houston National Forest.

Things To Do

Spend a fabulous day by renting a canoe, exploring the trails, and relaxing by the lake. Picnics, water sports, and fishing for crappie, perch, catfish, and bass are popular outdoor activities too.

Screen shelters for camping are available.

What To Know

Entrance Fee: $7

Park Store: Gator Junction has plenty of things should you forget something.

100 Years Celebration

Sorry, the celebration has passed.

Attractions Nearby

  • Lots of museums
  • Visiting Center
  • wineries

Lake Bob Sandlin State Park – Pittsburgh, TX

Lake Bob Sandlin State Park is known for great fishing, massive trees, tall grasses, and fascinating native plants and animals.

Things To Do

Swim, fish, paddle, and boat on the lake. Or picnic, hike, camp, geocache, mountain bike, and enjoy nature.

There is a stocked trout pond, and anglers can try their luck fishing for largemouth bass, catfish, and crappie.

What To Know

Entrance Fee: $5

Park Store: Yes, and souvenirs, bug spray, and camping supplies.

Become a Junior Ranger – grab a free activity journal and complete the tasks to earn a badge.

Attractions Nearby

  • The Farmstead – home, barn, antiques
  • Museum
  • Governor Hogg Shrine in Quit­man, TX
  • winery
  • shopping
  • restaurants

Lake Livingston State Park – Livingston, TX

Lake Livingston is one of the largest lakes in Texas. You’ll find that Lake Livingston State Park is a refreshing place to get away from Houston – about an hour north.

Things To Do

The lake has a good amount of white bass for everyone to fish, hiking trails through the forest, and you can camp under the trees. Alligators live there!

What To Know

Entrance Fee: $6

100 Years Celebration

Mar 11th at 9:00 am

Pioneer and Settler Day – A frontier-themed day at the park with programs that cover how people lived and worked in the pioneer era.

Attractions Nearby

  • Big Thicket National Preserve
  • Sam Houston National Forest

Martin Creek Lake State Park – Tatum, TX

Martin Creek Lake State Park is just twenty miles southeast of Longview, where the fishing is good!

Things To Do

Year-round waterskiing, paddling, lake swimming, 4 miles of hiking and biking, waterskiing, picnicking, geo­caching, and nature photography.

What To Know

Entrance Fee: $4

Reserve a picnic pavilion for your next group gathering.

100 Years Celebration

Apr 15th, 9 am

Bait and Boats – Join in for an introduction to water-based recreation

Attractions Nearby

  • Starr Family Home State His­toric Site
  • Texas State Railroad
  • Marshall, Texas

Martin Dies, Jr. State Park – Jasper, TX

Neches and Angelina rivers meet deep in the piney woods, creating wild and diverse forest habitats. Explore the lake, sloughs, and forest trails of Martin Dies, Jr. State  Park at the edge of the Big Thicket—an excellent place for family reunions.

Things To Do

Paddle, hike, bike, geocache, tent camp. Ranger programs consist of nature and night hikes, learning about animals, plants, and trees of the forest: art activities, paddling tours, star parties, and more.

What To Know

Entrance Fee: $4

Attractions Nearby

  • Historic Jasper
  • Museums and art centers
  • Town of Woodville

Mission Tejas State Parks – Grapeland, TX

See a replica of the first Spanish mission.

Things To Do

Enjoy the peaceful piney woods at Mission Tejas State Park, located at the north end of the Davy Crockett National Forest. While you’re here, look for remnants of settlers who claimed the area, see the home built by pioneers in the early 1800s, and more.

What To Know

Entrance Fee: $3

Bring plenty of water for the 8.5 hiking trails. Also, check out the guided tours offered.

100 Years Celebration

Apr 22nd, 10 am

16th Annual Folk Festival at Mission Tejas

Attractions Nearby

  • Caddo Mounds State Historic Site
  • Varner-Hogg Historic Site
  • Texas State Railroad
  • Davy Crockett National Forest
  • Texas Forestry Museum

Tyler State Park

Tyler State Park features a spring-fed lake, tall trees, and historic structures. You will love this peaceful getaway in east Texas!

Things To Do

Canoe the lake, fish, walk through the woods, or hike the trails, and don’t forget your binoculars to watch for birds. You can tent camp or camp in screen-in shelters, which I did many years ago – the kids loved it.

What To Know

Entrance Fee: $6

Attractions Nearby

  • Tyler – the “America’s Rose Capital” of Texas
  • Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens
  • 1st Monday Canton

Village Creek State Park – Lumberton, TX

The heavily forested park sits along Village Creek, one of the few free-flowing creeks in Texas.

Things To Do

Camp, picnic, fish, hike, mountain bike, geocache, and study nature. Tent camp, bring your RV, or rent an 8-person cabin.

What To Know

Entrance Fee: $4

Park Store: Yes

100 Years Celebration

• April 22nd, 10 am
Village Creek Fun Day

A fun day will feature activities for all ages, including early skills practice, paddling tutorials, archery, yoga, fishing, and guided hikes.

• April 22nd, 5 pm
Camping with a Ranger

Village Creek is excited to host its first-ever Camping with a Ranger event! Join us to learn how to set up your site, a few skills, and how to keep yourself entertained while camping.

• May 5th, 8 pm
Full Moon Night Trek

Join this ranger-led hike for your chance to see the unseen, learn how nocturnal creatures communicate, and what effect the moon can have on the natural cycles of plants and animals.

Attractions Nearby

  • Big Thicket National Preserve
  • Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site

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About Kim Croisant

Travel writer, travel blogger, and road trip enthusiast Kim Croisant is a proud native Texan passionate about seeing Texas by car. Kim is raising her grandson and takes him on as many trips as possible. When she's feeling the love, she lets her darling 83-year-old mother come along as well. But her favorite way to travel is solo. When Kim's not writing, she is hiking through nature and camping in the woods in a cabin full of amenities.

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