Texas State Park News
Who's up for a Game?
Are you into sports? Texas state parks have you covered! From baseball to volleyball, your family will have a great time playing their favorite sport in a state park.
Visit our Playing Sports page for a list of sports facilities and where to find them.
(Hint: Some parks also rent or loan sports equipment.)
Planning Your Visit
State parks are very busy at this time of year, especially on weekends and holidays. Guarantee entry by making day pass and overnight reservations online or by calling (512) 389-8900.
For the latest information, follow us on Twitter, find us on Facebook, or check back here.
Hike Pick: Beaver Slide Nature Trail
Purtis Creek State Park
The Beaver Slide Nature Trail at Purtis Creek State Park is a beautiful, easy to negotiate hiking trail. It features a relatively level path with lots of shade, as well as three wooden bridges where you can stop and enjoy the peace and quiet
The trail has a very active wildlife community along its 1.7-mile route.
You're likely to see white-tailed deer sharing the Post Oak forest with you. You might also see bald eagles flying above. Watch for the trail's namesake, the beaver, gathering food for the winter. In the evenings, look for ducks laying over for winter on the nearby 355-acre lake.
TPW Magazine
Repairing Sheldon's Prairie
From the top of the John Jacob Observation Tower at Sheldon Lake State Park, Andrew Sipocz points out downtown Houston in one direction, the San Jacinto Monument in another, and the park's recovering grasslands below. The view from above has been a key piece in Sipocz's work to restore the prairie and wetlands in the park.
Less than 1 percent of Texas' coastal prairie remains, most of it gobbled up by rice farms and cattle pastures, Astrodomes and Gallerias. Sipocz, a natural resources coordinator for TPWD, has been on a mission for 20 years to hold on to a piece of it here at Sheldon Lake.
Thanks to Toyota for providing support for the mobile version of the Texas State Parks website.