The Neches River and surrounding bayous play an important part in the life of the Coonie Triangle…read more It's odd that so few businesses and public spaces take advantage of this. Maybe it's because of the occasional hurricanes, I don't know. Riverfront Park tries to rectify this situation, and does so splendidly. This is a typical city park, with a large lawn area, many picnic tables, playground, lots of oak trees. Many houses close by, so I'm sure that it's used quite a bit by residents who walk there to relax. The hunny and I visited during the annual Riverfest. Most of the large lawn area was taken up by food booths and carnival rides. At the eastern edge was a portable stage where several hundred sat to hear Tauren Wells sing. And now for the five-star rating: It's on the river. Yes, this is a true waterfront park. There is a large parking lot with boat ramp, and a classic Southern riverfront restaurant on the other side of that parking lot. It was a treat to see the barges go by during the Tauren Wells concert. Riverfront Park took advantage of its setting with a boat show on Sunday. I'm going to go back there. One of my favorite dates with the Hunny was when we drove into the California Delta south of Sacramento, stopped at a choke-and-puke deli and got some food, then crossed over the levee road to sit on a dock and eat. No improvisation is necessary here, although if you don't go to the nearby restaurant, you'll need to bring your own grub. She'll love the setting. And you will too. Parting thought: it's not an easy drive from the freeway, and FM 365 does not lead directly to the park.

The coolest park! It's a giant wooden park with lots of spaces for kids to play in. Across the…read morelittle street is a newer playground but we spent so much time at the wooden one. It is right by the lake. Super clean, it is our new spot.

We went to this park while on a road trip and it was fantastic! Enclosed space that has ample…read morerunning room, shade and benches, and a little lake to walk around next to it!

This playground is my favorite! It is gated for the safety of the kiddos, and located next to the…read moreevent centre pond, which means you can bring old bread, cereal, popcorn, etc to feed the duckies!! there is a walking path around the pond for exercise or casual stroll, in the playground itself is adapted for special needs kiddos as well! They have large seat & "tire style" swings with bottoms for handicapped kiddos, a wheelchair accessible ship that rocks, and tons of sensory equipment! There are a few picnic tables for the kiddos to have snacks or eat lunch, and right around the corner is the community skate park that is open to the public & FREE.99! It's mine & my son's favorite by far!

Great park lots of sun and shade and plenty of room to run or play on equipment (all in good safe…read moreworking order) plus the splash pad and water fountain all next to a library?! It's a win! :)

Best family park in Beaumont- offers a large playground and water feature for the kids, lots of…read morepicnic tables, tennis courts, a basketball court, a community center building, a walking/jogging trail, large green space, baseball backstop and restrooms. Plenty of trees for shade and located right next to the RC Miller library. This is the park where you see families having parties and people playing with rc cars and kicking the soccer ball around. LOVE this park!

The Neches River tour through Neches River Adventures is another gem in the area. It departs from…read moreColliers Ferry Park. It's educational, family friendly and goes at a leisurely pace for a really lovely Saturday outing. Our family enjoyed it so much.

This is one of the hidden gems of the Beaumont park system - if you don't have a boat, you may…read morenever know it's there. Stuck way back at the end of Pine street, near the country club, there is a park with covered picnic areas, multiple picnic tables, a playground, restrooms, a couple of docks and a boat ramp. Plenty of trailer parking as well as normal sized car/truck spots available. It's quiet here, and relaxing near the river. You can see people fishing from the dock on some days.

Awesome park located along the lake!…read more Plenty of picnic tables to choose from, has playgrounds for the kids, and nice view facing the lake and casinos. Nice place to take the family, friends, dates, or list to decompress

Great Park in Lake Charles, La!!…read more I was here in February 2020, and this huge park seemed to be very popular. It's a great place to either just chill in your car and zone out watching the water and bridges, or to take a stroll along the paved trails and wooden walkways. Very cool!!

Cute park in small town. Has soft playground flooring and fun water area. Plenty of parkingread more

Claiborne West Park is one of a few county parks in Orange County. Technically, it's in Vidor, and…read morethe Vidor city limits stretch just past this park to Cow Bayou. But really, it's located in the typical Piney Wood countryside of far eastern Texas, where the biggest sign of civilization is Interstate 10. Drive in, and there are so many picnic tables that I doubt they're ever all used. Walk a bit to the right, and you get to a medium-sized lake with trees in it, it screams "Louisiana" all over it. Keep driving, and you get to sports fields where you can play baseball, volleyball, basketball, football. The camping area is to the north, tents only in a semi-primitive setting Very large pavilion to the far west, enough for a cookout for several hundred people. And then you look north. The Piney Woods have several trails going through here, getting you deep into nature. With the thick underbrush and frequent flooding, this is a place where you need to stay on the trail. Popular with mosquitos. Clearly Claiborne West Park is developed for large crowds. And, when I first met this girl who is now my wife, we went to the Texas Barbecue Festival here. But now the rating gets taken down by one star: Although you can easily see the entrance from the freeway, getting to the entrance is difficult. Driving east, you'd need to drive one more mile to be able to get off I-10 and make a U-turn under the freeway to get to the north side of the freeway where the park is. Driving west, I don't know which exit to take, but it's before Cow Bayou; there is an exit in front of the park, and you can't turn right to get there. This inconvenient setup means that the park rarely sees big crowds, and you're likely to cuss up a storm trying to get to Claiborne West. This park has lots of potential, and is developed in such a way that big cities would love to have it. The road system surrounding the park makes it difficult to get to. Oh well, more for you to enjoy.

Basketball, Softball, Football ,concerts. Family gatherings, fishing, running and disc golfread more

The preserve itself is fascinating enough...but my destination inside the preserve is supposedly…read morethe most haunted road in Texas! The preserve is seriously huge. I only visited a small part in particular but spent about 30-40 minutes driving THROUGH the preserve to get to the part I visited lol! But it's a gorgeous drive regardless! The preserve is really a fascinating phenomenon in and of itself...biologists have identified at least 8-10 different ecosystems existing all within the preserve....harmoniously! Of particular interest to me was the Ghost Road Scenic Drive (AKA Bragg Rd). It's an 8 mile stretch of dirt road that falls between Hwy 787 in Saratoga, Tx and Hwy 1293 in Bragg, Tx. It's famous for the haunting Saratoga Mystery Lights, among other ghostly and mysterious sightings and is reportedly the most haunted road in Texas! It's actually a "public park" in Hardin County...but this is no "park"...it's a surreal dirt road that's like driving through a creepy, never-ending tunnel surrounded by swamps and clearings. I saw an abandoned wheelchair and flashes of lights that made my stomach swim with butterflies! But they all turned out to be cars haha! So I didn't end up seeing any spirits or ghosties...but it was an interesting experience! I highly recommend you have a decent set of tires for it though bc there are lots of potholes and mud...Tropical Storm Hanna had just been through and it was nasty weather!

Big Thicket National Preserve is an American treasure. It is a beautifully serene area of the…read morecountry located in East Texas that fully deserves all the attention it's due. The many ecosystems that this park encompasses is a geological mystery that starts millions of years ago with the movement of glaciers. We only had a short 2 hour time window to enjoy the exhibits at the visitors center, the short film in the theatre, and a quick hike close to the visitors center. The film is the same one you can view on their website, so if you are short on time, skip it and watch it at home. The gift shop is stocked with amazing items, so definitely save 5 minutes to browse around. My kids enjoyed speaking to Ranger Scott about his favorite animal in the preserve, the American alligator, and completing the Junior Ranger booklet for the badges. This program is targeted for 14 and under but adults can participate as well.