Wide open spaces. Tons of space to run, walk and frisbee golf. It is also full of pecan trees- yes,…read morethat means the ground is full of pecans ready to eat at various times of the year. How cool is that? It also has a lot of shade and trail-routes. So only three stars because: the grass is dried up and the ground is dusty dirt; the playground is rusty and there isn't much signage.

The drive thru Safari was a lot of fun.It's such a beautiful place! They have over 700 different…read moreanimals and some of them are huge! The animals are very used to people and some of them are pretty brave and will stick their head in tour window! The camel even bit my mirror when I didn't give it any pellets! There's a really nice welcome center with two sweet ladies that work there. Bathrooms are clean and they have some snacks and souvenirs. We'd definitely go back!

A beautiful maintained preservation with more than 600 animals about an hour away from Tyler,…read moreTexas. And 3 hours from Austin, Texas. My children aged 8 and 15 had the best time! Feeding, observing, getting a really close look and feel of these beautiful, mainly Safari animals. Some were impressively large like the bison, longhorn, buffalo, zebra's, camels with extremely long tongues and large teeth! It was quite pricey, because you get charged per person and not per car. It rang up $79 total for our party of four. I would definitely recommend to bring wipes for your hands, to clean up, and a car wash afterwards because your car will be covered in saliva. This was quite the experience and very well loved!

Finally made it out to Blue Lagoon in Huntsville, Texas. Vis was 10-15ft due to recent rain. 68° at…read morethe surface and 64° bottom temp at 25ft. They have an underwater rope course you can use to navigate from one side to the other. The waters color and clarity come from its origin. It was originally a Limestone Rock Quarry. Spring water has filled it up making this a good dive location. Another feature I found to be very cool for instructors is the large underwater decks. These are part of the course and make a great place to perform dive skills without disturbing the silt on the bottom. My dive site had an easy entry and exit. The depth ranges depending on the amount of rain throughout the year. This is a great place to teach new students, practice your skills, or train as a dive team. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Being this was my first time here they answered all of my questions.

I have always been curious about this place. Today I finally got the chance to go. I am not a diver…read moreso my perspective is limited to swimming. 1. I kept thinking when I was there that the city of Huntsville or some wealthy person should buy this place and fix it up. It has so much potential. Right now it is "rustic". Roads unpaved, covered picnic areas falling apart. It's a shame. 2. The water itself is like lake water. It's ok but not as lovely as pictures seen online. I kept thinking...at least no alligators! The term BLUE lagoon is misleading. 3. I understand that this is primarily a scuba diving place. But the attitude in phone calls and the employees was like you were second class Citizen if you were a "swimmer". Finally, I was the only one there! I guess $30 is way too much for what you get here. I enjoyed my swim but I will not return is

About 15 minutes drive outside of Nacogdoches is a lovely, secluded forest trail that's free and…read moreopen to the public. It's part of the Angelina National Forest. The Jack Creep loop is about a mile, flat path and is a well maintained path with benches along the way. There are a few signs along the way identifying different kinds of trees. There's also a "management loop" trail that's a couple of miles long, but when we visited, it was so overgrown that you couldn't hike much on it. However, it was really lovely to walk along the roads (FS 400 and FS 401 on the map) that are actually meant for cars. They were closed to vehicles when we were there because of recent rain, but I don't think they get any traffic most of the time, and the path is very wide and pleasant. There's a lot of shade, and the trees are tall and simply beautiful. I was so happy in the forest that I literally hugged a tree. There's a small parking lot - turn left when you reach the main gate; if you go straight, you'll wind up far from the trail around a bunch of research buildings. There is a water fountain at the trail head, and bathrooms, though the bathrooms were still closed in June 2021 because of the COVID pandemic. We visited on a weekday morning and saw only two other people on the trail the entire time. Check it out!

Went camping with my mom and my kids for a weekends trip. We stayed in one of the 2 cabins because…read moremy mom needs her sleeping machine. It was a nice little trip. I took a hike with my little man to see the pine trees lined up and then the next morning took my daughter the short way. The kids loved the lake and my mom loved the fishing. The power plant across the lake lights up pretty but the constant hum coming from it is a bit strange. All and all it was a nice little trip and I'm looking forward to going back. I didn't get a chance to go on the island and I'd really like to go back to do that trail.

Fairly small park with not much to offer. I was supposed to do a campout here with my hiking group…read morelast year in December, but I was moving. So, after Thanksgiving, I was already in East TX and decided to drive to the park to check it out. Checkin was easy at the ranger headquarters. I went inside to purchase a magnet. Their stickers selection was limited and the designs were unappealing. My first impression with the creek lake that it was very beautiful and reminded me of Lake Catherine State Park in Arkansas. The beach portion doesn't allow dogs, so I just viewed it from the park. There's a total of three trails. I found one, but not the other. I searched high and low to find it, but was unsuccessful. I ended up going on the Island Trail. The view of the power plant was nice. The plant was loud. The Island trail was a smooth hike. The path is covered in pine needles and if you look closely, you can find armadillos, rabbits, and field mice. Now the camping portion was very crowded and the sites were close to each other. I didn't see any private sites. It reminded me of Blanco State Park; where you're just close enough to your neighbors where you can see and hear them. How fun! This park isn't worth coming back to explore. I didn't like it much.

relaxing, nice little dog park, has a bench to sit on and nice green grass as well as dog fountain…read more And split for smaller dogs. So two fenced-in areas. we did have an issue with one dog owner. Just let her dog all over the other dogs. almost getting I to a fight, and she did nothing. so. but one bad experience isn't too bad. The dog park only had a few dogs at first, which was nice and quiet. that is until one owner came in with a dog that was out of control.

Traveling from Texas to Tennessee with my two dogs. Stopped in here to give them a break & blow off…read moresome energy. Nice park! Even had water available, you have to provide the bowl. They even provide Port-a-potty for humans. While that's always a gross experience, it's a handy thing to have available.

Great hiking trails and the staff is very knowledgeable and helpful! Had a great day fishing at the…read morepond as well.

As an outdoors goer, I love visiting this park with the exception that the people around there wait…read morefor others to pick up trash if they see it. So guess who ends up picking up trash all the time? That's right, me! Sadly, I see more and more trash every time I go, and that is a disgrace. A clean park lies on the citizens like us. If you see trash, please pick it up. Bring a bag with you. Every lit but that we do, will. Ake a big difference collectively. Don't expect others to pick up trash, please help and pick it up!

Steam Locomotive Passenger Train Rides are awesome. Rusk Depot is neat place to hang out and relax…read moreand see steam locomotives operate.

We took the Texas State Railroad from Palestine to Rusk and it was a great trip! Rusk Depot kinda…read moreleft a lot to be desired but it is a small town so i guess I don't know what i was expecting. There were picnic tables and a large gazebo to eat lunch at and we walked around on some trails that went through the trees and close to a pond. It was a nice break off the train. We did eat lunch on the train because it was a little too warm for us and our 3 year old. There was a souvenir shop and some old railroad stuff to look at inside the depot.

But I truly remarkable experience. Many years ago the Caddo people lived and worked on this land…read more They were resourceful and used their knowledge to make this part of Texas home. I was amazed seeing the different mounds with different purposes. Each mound was constructed by hand out of mud that they collected from a mud pit on site. The burial mound was used to bury the bodies of their people and family. The low platform mound was where they went to have important political discussions. And the amount of separated by the highway was religious purposes. On the vast land that's where they grew crop for food. And unlike other villages the men weren't so much in charge. It was the women that built the mounds grew the food took care of the children they ran the show! It is a beautiful thing that women were able to put their best foot forward and take the lead! I do wonder why did the Caddo people abandon this village? And I also wonder why did the US government force them to move to Binger, Oklahoma? I also wonder do the cuddle people living in contemporary Oklahoma come back to visit where their ancestors lived and worked? Also fun fact: Caddo Lake State Park is a region of where the Caddo people also lived before going to Oklahoma. This historical site cost $5 admission and pets are free! It is very dog friendly museum that you can bring your dog on the inside to watch the small 9-minute video that they have also they have little treats for your pup as well. Sneakers and I had a very fun time! It is a lot of walking but well worth it.

Caddo Mounds is a peaceful and meaningful place to explore history. The trails and ancient mounds…read moregive a strong sense of the past, and the visitor center explains the Caddo culture clearly. It is quiet, well kept, and worth a visit if you enjoy history and nature.