Brazos Bend State Park

Brazos Bend State Park
Needville, Texas

March 17-18, 2010

WOW!

That's right, wow! We really enjoyed this stop on our 2010
Spring Break trip. We stayed at this park for several days and had plenty to do. As you drive into the park, you notice the
three different eco systems. Off the highway, you have farm land,

then there are prairies with tall grass and then on both sides of

the park road, fresh water marshes.

As we went in the park road , we came across a pack of wild pigs. Then when we hit the swamps, I knew we were in for a different kind of park. When I went to check in, the ranger gave me a safety speech on the park rules for alligators. I thought OK, thanks for the heads up. We've been to other state parks (Huntsville, Lake Livingston) that had alligators and never saw a

single one. Boy was I in for a big surprise. This park is known for it's alligators. They have over 400 tagged alligators in the park.

The park has over 80 electric and water sites and a dozen cabins located in three different loops. We stayed in the Burr Oaks loop and our site was decent size with a nice level paved pad and a fire ring.

The park is pretty big and I would recommend bikes for traveling. Just make sure your riders are proficient, you don't want to crash into any ditches in this park.

There are several lakes/ponds located in the park and there are hiking and biking trails around them. There is also an observation tower were you can view wildlife (alligators) in two of the lakes. But you don't really need a tower to see them. In fact, you have to be careful of not stepping on them. Seriously! The alligators like to sun themselves and can be often found laying in the middle of the trail. So be careful riding your bike and walking your dog. My son almost ran over a huge eight footer on his bike. And I had to carry our dog on most of the trails......she would of made a nice

snack for some of those gators.

Elm lake is were most of the activity was. This has one of the day use sections and it was quite busy with hikers, bikers and picnic goers. Elm lake is very scary looking with tons of huge dead trees towering out of the lake. I couldn't imagine stepping foot in that water. BTW, none of the lakes/ponds allow canoes or kayaks. You can fish and we did see some guys fishing from two of the fishing piers.

My wife did come across a litter of baby alligators and the mom was very protective. That was the only time that we heard a gator hiss. We were about twenty yards away but were still too close for my comfort.

The nature center is one of the best SP centers we've ever visited. My kids got to touch some snakes and some baby gators. The center also has a convenient park store. We really loved the nature center.

The park also has the George Observatory which is open from 3 -10 pm on Saturdays. This is very popular so be perpared for the que.

This is an excellent park for Spring and Fall. It would still be OK for winter, but without the gators. We like to be around and in water during the summer and you couldn't touch the water here. So summer might now work for us. However, for Spring we give it top marks.