Bastrop State Park - Revisited

Bastrop State Park
Bastrop, TX
December 30-January 2, 2011

Village Creek State Park

Village Creek State Park
Lumberton, Texas
December 30, 2010


We were not very impressed with this State Park. It is located


ten miles north of Beaumount in Lumberton Texas. The
park is right on the outskirts of town and actually feels like you
are still in town when you get there. It reminded me more of a

KOA site then a state park

There are twenty five RV sites that are long and narrow. They
are right next to each other. Not much space between each other.
However, each spot did have a nice paved picnic area immediately
behind each pad. The area had a fire ring, picnic table and bench
seats that encompass most of the area. Some spots even had a
tent box located behind each picnic area.

Village Creek is located one mile from the camp grounds. The

trail is well marked and easy to hike down. The creek is great
for canoeing and swimming. It is slow moving.



PROs

- nice creek
- liked the bench seating

CONs

- one mile hike to the creek
- spots are way too close together
- didn't like the entryway. I've never been to a more confusing park entrance. The driveway entry has a stop sign, but also says "no parking". There isn't anywhere to park. I stopped and parked to check in and the park ranger told me to not park there. She wanted me to go find a spot and come back and check in. I can't image doing this during busy season. They really need a better solution.

Sam Rayburn Lake - Twin Dikes Park

WORK IN PROGRESS

Twin Dikes Park

Lake Sam Rayburn

Jasper, TX

December 30, 2010

Martin Dies Jr. State Park

Martin Dies Jr. State Park
Jasper Texas
December 30, 2010

This was a nice surprise. We were not expecting much but had a good time at this park. We were really surprised at how big this park was. It has 180 camping sites and 50 air conditioned cabins. The park is split into two sections by Highway 190. We stayed on the Hen House Ridge side of the park but did a tour of the Walnut Ridge Unit as well. The park HQ is on the Hen House side, but the nature center is on the Walnut Ridge side.

Highway 190 goes to Jasper an crosses the huge BA Steinhagen reservoir (15,000 acres). I would not recommend cross the reservoir pulling your camper. It's two lanes with out any shoulders. There are tons of logging trucks using this route and they are just like 18 wheelers when passing. They tend to blow you around a little. We missed the turn into the park and had to cross the reservoir which was several miles of white knuckle driving.

The park has several swamp areas and some shoreline to the reservoir. There are alligators present, but because of the time of year, we didn't see any. There were lots of canoers fishing the swamps and shoreline.

The pull through sites were in good shape and large enough for our rig. We did have some trouble pulling in because of all the pine needles covering the pad and driveway. We had to sweep it off first so we knew where to go.

We some hiking and lots of bicycling in this park. However, we didn't attempt to cross HW 190 with our bikes. It was too busy to attempt. So, we drove over to visit the other side. We went to look into the nature center because we knew it was closed and we scared someone that was inside doing some inventory. She was the nature center's director and opened the center to us and gave us a private tour. She has to be the nicest state park employee we have ever encountered. She made our day / visit.

One note of interest is this park was not built by the CCC. Instead, prisoners from Huntsville prison built the park back in the 1960s.

Pros

- Nature Center

- Lots of sites

- Lots of Shade

- Lots of birds - wood peckers everywhere

- Good fishing

Cons

- Highway 190 splits the park into two sections.

- Don't miss the turn into the park. Crossing the reservoir is a little scary.

Rusk State Park - Texas State Railroad

Rusk State Park - Texas State Railroad
Rusk, TX
December 29, 2010

On the way back from Nachadoches we stopped by this Ex-State Park

located in Rusk Texas. This park was transferred to American

Heritage Railways and operates as the Texas State Railroad Rusk park in 1997. The sister park is located in Palestine Texas and the railroad goes

back and forth between the two parks.

We didn't camp at this park but did appreciate the camping grounds.

The park reminded me a little of Bastrop SP with all of the tall pines

and wonderful shade. The railroad tracks go right through the

middle of the camping area.

The train station is a large complex located at the west end of the park.

We were interested in taking the train to Palestine, but it would of taken

over 4.5 hours and cost $275.

PROS

- ver y pretty park

- train

CONS

- close to highway - we could hear the roadway from the camping area.

Caddo Indian Burial Mounds

Caddo Indian Burial Mounds
Alto, Texas
December 27, 2010


This historical site was located just minutes down the highway
from Mission State Park. The site includes a visitors center with
displays, exhibits and a small gift shop. There is usually an
admission charge but the attendant was out to lunch. We waited a bit
and then went and explored the site.

A walking trail guides visitors around the earthern mounds

There are three burial mounds and are just a short walk away
from each other on a nice path with interactive panels.

My kids really liked this site. There wasn't much too it, but they
found the idea that hundreds of Indians and their posessions were
buried under the mounds was facinating.

Well worth the stop.

Mission Tejas State Park

Mission Tejas State Park
Weches, TX
December 28-29, 2010


This park is located in the Davy Crockett National Forest. It is pretty small compared to other state parks (only 15 RV sites). There were a lot ofhunters using this park. I think we were the only family there. The park is heavily wooded and has several pull through sites. However, the sites were not very level and the asphalt pads were in bad shape. We did have difficulty pulling in to a couple of the spots.

The park has a commerative representation of Mission San Francisco de los Tejas. The first Spanish mission in Texas. There is also an old log cabin. The Rice family log cabin was built in 1828 and is one of the oldest structures in the area. It was a stopover for travelers going across Texas on the old San Antonio road.

The park had some hiking trails that were well marked and a small pond. It also has a small playground.

Pros

- On the way to Nacogdoches.
- Close to other attractions. (Caddo Burial Grounds, Texas Railroad).
- Interesting mission and log cabin.

- Lots of shade.


Cons

- Small park with small pull thru sites that needed repair.
- Out in the middle of nowhere. Closest store was 22 miles away.

- Lots of hunters.

Fairfield Lake State Park

Fairfield Lake State Park
December 27, 2010

We were really looking forward to visiting this State Park.

I wasn't able to reserve a camping spot so we thought we

would plan a day visit to check it out. We stayed at

nearby Fort Parker State Park and did the easy one hour

drive. Unfortunately, the park was closed due to a public

deer hunt. We had some trouble turning around, we couldn't

even enter the park to turn around.

The lake is small with a power plant on it. I've heard

that fishing is really good and we thought inititally the park

was closed/booked full due to a fishing tournament. I do wish

they would of posted the park being closed on the SP web page.

Fort Parker State Park & Old Fort Parker

Fort Parker State Park

Mexia, Texas
December 26, 2010

This is a nice small State Park. It reminded me of a mini Huntsville State Park (without the gators). It has twenty five RV spots and ten cabins. It has a boat ramp with a canoe shop with three fishing piers. It has a rec hall with some really cool group cabins (great for a family reunion).

The lake isn't very big (800 acres) and only 8' deep. We did see one small john boat out fishing. I think it is restricted to 25 HP motors. So it's not a good lake for water sports. It does have a very nice swimming area with a sandy beach.

There were not many people at this park when we visited, but I

can see this park being popular during the summer. The pads

are paved and level and the sites are decent sized with adequate

shade.

The trails are well marked and we had a good time biking the

Springfield trail and exploring the Springfield Cemetary.

There were some really old headstones and the cemetary has several historical markers the kids enjoyed reading. Some of the graves were from the Commache attack on Fort Park in 1836.

PROS

- RV spots close to the water

- nice swim area

- nice fishing piers and boat/canoe house
- good trails

- great playground and mini fort

- nice area for my daughters to learn how to ride their new
"big girl" bikes.

CONS

- small lake - good for fishing - no water sports

- no park store

- Old Fort Parker not part of State Park

OLD FORT PARKER

Kind of wierd but Old Fort Park is actually not part of the State Park. It's located down the highway about two miles away. There is an admission charge. The fort is a recontruction of the 1830's fort that the Parker family built. The fort is known for the abduction of Cynthia Ann Parkerin 1836 by Commanche Indians. Really cool state history. My kids loved it.