AUSTIN — The typical visitor to a Texas state park is a middle-aged white non-Hispanic from out of town traveling with a spouse or other family member, but no children, to camp, hike, relax or just enjoy the scenery. Those are just some of the results from a comprehensive statewide visitor survey conducted between 2002 and 2007 at 70 state parks, and whose results were recently compiled and analyzed by Sam Houston University.
AUSTIN — The Friends of McKinney Falls present the first annual McKinney Falls Duck Dash on Feb. 20, when visitors will send hundreds of rubber ducks over the falls for a chance to win prizes, with proceeds from the event to support the park.
WESLACO — The increasingly popular Texas Outdoor Family program comes to Estero Llano Grande State Park in the Rio Grande Valley on March 13-14 to help adults and youngsters become comfortable with camping beneath the stars and reconnecting with nature.
AUSTIN — Outdoor recreation specialists with the state’s Texas Outdoor Family program will be sharing their camping, cooking and various outdoor skills on Feb. 20-21 at Caddo Lake State Park and March 6-7 at Tyler State Park.
AUSTIN, Texas — In September 2008, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Trust For Public Land announced that the views from inside Palo Duro Canyon State Park will remain grand thanks to the addition of a 2,912-acre property known as Fortress Cliffs Ranch. Now, TPWD is following through on its originally stated plan to sell upland portions of the ranch and use the proceeds to buy other state park land, with a legally binding conservation easement to permanently protect the acreage sold.
AUSTIN — One of Texas’ most beloved outdoor recreation destinations — Garner State Park near Concan — will be adding a 177-acre tract that includes the iconic bluff known as Old Baldy as the result of a land deal struck with a willing, conservation-minded landowner.
STONEWALL, Texas — In 1869, German immigrants Johann and Christine Sauer settled on a tract of land in Gillespie County, between Fredericksburg and Johnson City, with their four children. The Sauer family, which grew to include 10 children, built a homestead around their working farm. Their homestead originally grew up around log cabins, but as they became more prosperous, the Sauers erected buildings of native limestone.
AUSTIN, Texas — If you’re fresh out of holiday gift ideas for your eco-minded cousin or that relative who would rather spend his or her spare time in the woods, on the lake or at a state park, or even for yourself, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department invites you to shop the outdoors.
WESLACO, Texas — Stick another feather in the cap of the Lower Rio Grande Valley to boost its already sizable reputation as one of the nation’s hottest birding spots.
AUSTIN, Texas — Vow this holiday season to start a new family tradition that celebrates the great outdoors and Texas history by visiting one of the more than a dozen Texas state parks and historic sites hosting special holiday events for all ages. From a Christmas sing-along around a woodland campfire to a pancake breakfast with Santa, the holiday spirit shines through at a park near you. And, don’t miss the 40th annual tree lighting celebration begun by President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson in 1970.