A nice quiet place with minimal traffic..loved the winding, scenic route to the trails & picnic arearead more

It was very clean and nice. Nice fairy homes decorations. Just very relaxing. A good get away from…read moreelectronics and daily life

The staff is very inviting and informative! Did you know you could book a room here for a baby…read moreshower or take wedding, prom photos ? Fall festivals every year! Spring break events are wonderful. The nature and views are so vibrant and beautiful. Calming and peaceful to experience this place. By the way, membership is the cheapest! Love this place and I know you will too!

Went to check it out and get some exercise. Even though it is winter and things weren't in bloom…read moreyou can tell the beauty in the paths and design. It was very clean, well marked and has something for all. It has hiking, history, bridges and tons if photo ops. The person in the office was cheerful and knowledgeable. The memorial to veterans is beautiful. Take s ride and do something different. It does cost bit plenty of discounts if you qualify. January 1st prices will go up. Be careful of the roots on trails. Wear good shoes that support your ankles. Not all the paths are full of roots. Take your time be mindful and be careful. Worth it. It has handicap paths too.

Our family rode the Piney Woods Express in the Presidential Car, and it was the perfect finale to…read moreour East Texas vacation. We booked seats in the Presidential Car, "Miss Joyce," and the experience was outstanding from beginning to end. The car features a comfortable mix of couches and chairs, with seating selected when you book your tickets. It created a relaxed atmosphere that made the four-hour excursion feel special without being overly formal. Our train attendant, Miss Joyce, was absolutely wonderful. She was warm, welcoming, and attentive throughout the trip, and it's easy to see why the car proudly bears her name. When we arrived at our seats, each passenger had a complimentary bottle of water and a snack box filled with watermelon, grapes, pretzels, and cheese cubes. The trip began with a champagne toast for the adults and sparkling apple cider for those who preferred it, which was a fun touch that made the experience feel like an occasion. Additional drinks, candy, and popcorn were available for purchase throughout the ride, and the attendants happily took orders and kept a running tab, making everything very convenient. During the stop in Rusk, we had time to stretch our legs and enjoy lunch. A converted railcar serves as a concession stand, offering items like hot dogs, nachos, chicken salad sandwiches, hoagies, and pulled pork sandwiches, with the option to purchase meals that include chips and a drink. There are picnic tables available, or you can take your lunch back to the train while it's parked at the station. We later learned that meal pre-orders are available, although we didn't notice that information when booking our tickets. The return trip to Palestine was a little quicker but just as enjoyable. From departure at 11:00 a.m. until our return around 3:00 p.m., the entire excursion was relaxing, scenic, and very well organized. If you're looking for a unique family outing in East Texas, we highly recommend upgrading to the Presidential Car. Between the comfortable seating, thoughtful amenities, excellent service, and beautiful scenery, it was an experience we'll remember for a long time.

My wife and I drove up from Austin for an overnight trip to Palestine, Texas, to take the evening…read moredinner train ride on the Texas State Railroad. We sat in the skylight car. Our experience was okay, but just okay. The train car was comfortable, though noticeably dated and in need of some freshening up. The bathroom was unpleasant -- no soap, no paper towels -- and it felt like the cars hadn't received any real attention in years. The train ride itself was pleasant enough, but too long for what it offered. The scenery consists mostly of trees lining both sides of the track, with occasional glimpses of meadows. Nothing dramatic. The train crept along at a snail's pace -- more, I suspect, to fill time than for any safety reasons. The midpoint stop was the highlight of the trip. We had dinner with live music in a lovely setting near a small lake -- genuinely enjoyable. However, the scheduled 1¼-hour stop stretched to nearly 1¾ hours, as we sat on the train for almost 30 minutes without moving before heading back. We arrived over 15 minutes later than scheduled. A few other notes: the train has no Wi-Fi, and the entire three-hour ride is accompanied by piped-in 1940s big band music. The first 30 minutes were fine; after that, it became tedious. Overall, I'd give this experience a 3 out of 5 -- and that's being generous, given the price.

This park is substantial in size! It has two boat ramps (north and south), at least three fishing…read morepiers, hike/bike trails, one of the largest swim areas I've seen at a State Park, at least twenty picnic tables in the day use area, a picture-perfect swing set by the swim area, three camping loops (each includes a restroom with at least two showers per restroom), a cemetery, historic well, amphitheater - the park covers so much area that it takes around 15-20 minutes to travel from one end to the other following the park speed limits. Our first visit to this park included a first-time, somewhat terrifying spotting of a feral hog on Bird Blind trail which was creepily overgrown, eerily vacant (reminiscent of a "ghost town"- it gave us a spidey-sense...not to mention a few cobwebs we stepped through) and full of rutted dried ground. The reason this was a bit terrifying is that a park ranger at another park had recently elaborated to me just how dangerous feral hogs can be--especially if you accidentally come between them and their young! Thankfully, we were able to keep a respectfully fearful distance from the hog we spotted and must not have come between it and its young cause we survived! Following Bird Blind loop, we took a short hike on the nature trail where I was relentlessly harassed by a horsefly which regularly buzzed by my ears and then landing on me--I fully grabbed the bug at one point trying to swat her away which freaked me out more. That night I learned that female horseflies diet on mammal (including human) blood which helped me to feel justified in my drop of spirits and frightened outburst on the hike. Despite having bug spray on, my sweat, bright shirt, movement, exposed skin, breath and simply being a living being with blood in my veins...made me a prime target for that lady horsefly's advances--she wanted to slice my tender skin and have my blood for her dinner. Thankfully we were able to redeem our first visit with a mother deer and baby fawn sighting (seeing that feral hog was pretty cool too), alligator gar spotting, sunset float and picnic dinner, and refreshingly cold showers before our drive back to Dallas! On our second visit, we did not return to either trail (maybe worth a try in cooler, less COVIDy weather/times) and instead stuck to the water as our main activity which made for a much more pleasant experience. I was even able to paddle over to the swim area buoys and observe a few terns and one double-created cormorant closer than I think I've been to most any wild birds in my life! We were then treated to sightings of a white egret and two great blue herons just before and after sunset which flew to the nearly-vacant swim area to hunt! To top all of that off, we took a small, post-sunset walk from one fishing pier (south boat ramp to the other-in day use area) which was enhanced by friendly small talk with fisherpeople on that South Boat Ramp pier/dock, a random, psychedelic arrow in the middle of the woods, a tribe of adorable scavenging trash pandas and two little boys exuberant over their dad's catch of a sizable catfish just as it got dark! This warmed my heart more than I can say--seeing a family making these precious memories and making me long to fish with my far-away dad again like old times!

What a great place. I tried this because it was the only park we could get into. The reviews were…read morego so we booked. Awesome place. Camp grounds are nice, spread out and you have plenty of seclusion. Playground for kids, volleyball court and swim beach. We kayaked and fished, hiked and hit the store. Staff were all super. Highly recommended- we pull a 30' trailer. Side note - one dump station lines take too long. Go the loves at I-45 pay $10 much quicker.

Truly beautiful park with a HUGE PLAYGROUND and with RESTROOMS! There is also a trail wide enough…read morefor bikes and families to walk and a basketball court. They also have plenty of street parking. *PARENTS* Please watch your kids they can easily run off into the rest of the park and there are ditches and water near by.

Great recreational trail in nature. Beautiful trees near a creek. On the trail is a Fun Southside…read moreplayground for all ages. Annnd this playground has restrooms ! The park also has a filtered hydroboost to fill your water bottle.

What a nice little stop! Super friendly staff - I wish I remembered her name - with some great…read moreresources in a neat little historic building that had been relocated from elsewhere. My good buddy was looking for info on a saloon from the 1800s that his family owned long ago, and he got some good info and good leads. Definitely a good stop if you're looking for info on Palestine TX!

Staff is knowledgeable and provides great recommendations specific to your trip. Don't be afraid to…read morestop in and ask questions.

Lots of animals to see . Admission includes a bag of food pellets for each person . The animals…read morewill come right to your car . Some will stick heads right into car if windows are down . Watch out for the camels , they can be kinda mean . One tried to eat my tailgate and scratched the paint . The grandkids had a blast .

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!

Run by the Corsicana Parks and Recreation Department, this Beach Park has a nice, sandy beach area…read morewhere you could potentially sunbath or swim with an alligator if you'd like - as the signs state "Swim at Own Risk" just above "Alligators Have Been Sighted in This Area". Maybe I'm not carved from the same metal as Texans from East Texas. Despite being an avid swimmer, I haven't yet warmed up to the idea of swimming in a lake where alligators have been sighted. But hey, to each their own! I've swam in the ocean many times. Sharks have been spotted there so maybe this is similar!? Just know that you can potentially knock "swimming with alligators" off of your bucket list by swimming at this lovely beach;). This beach park also includes gravel parking and four, nicely spaced shelters with picnic tables and grills, not a bad place to spend an afternoon or evening;)

this is a great spot to relax. swimming is decent. plenty of parking. would highly recommend…read morestopping by!

Mission Tejas State Park is a quiet scenic spot that is perfect for a low key outdoor escape. The…read morepark blends history and nature well with a replica mission peaceful hiking trails and tall pines that create a calm East Texas atmosphere. It is not huge or packed with amenities but that is part of its charm making it great for picnics short hikes or simply unplugging for a while.

Park is nice and has a lot of good hiking trails. The first night we were there a bad storm blew…read morethrough and knocked the power out. After several hours with no power called headquarters to see if they had any idea when the power would be back on. The guy on the phone informed me "he doesn't own a power company or generate power". We go to state parks all over Texas and this was our first negative experience with park staff. I understand they can't control the power but a little courtesy would have went a long way.