State Parks

Village Creek State Park lies on the edge of the Big Thicket in East Texas and shares with it a diversity of plants and wildlife that draws comparisons to tropical rainforests. The best view of the landscape is from a canoe, paddling along Village Creek.

The bright yellow, orange and red leaves of Lost Maples State Natural Area are to fall what Texas bluebonnets are to spring. And they draw a similar crowd. Just imagine if the display in New England was limited to about 2,000 acres.

Those expecting colorful, dramatic cascades of stalagmites and stalactites at Longhorn Cavern State Park will be disappointed, but the naturally sculpted amphitheaters and tiered rooms of the caves are equally impressive.

A trail strewn with cactus and wildflowers leads to a rocky canyon with a meandering stream at its center. It is one of several wild trails at a park more known for its lake.

The park snuggles up on four miles of the Guadalupe River, whose knotty cypresses give way to rocky Hill Country trails.

The heart of the park is the icy Frio River that runs along stoney banks lined with tall cypresses.

Galveston Island State Park shows two faces to visitors - the beach and dunes on one side of the road and the bay and grassy marshes on the other.

This primitive park - honeycombed with caves - has trails with waterfalls, dripping springs and blue-green pools.

If you want to get up close and personal with an alligator, Brazos Bend State Park is the place to go. They glide through the bayous, slither through the mud or sun themselves on the banks of the lake or in the middle of a trail. Sometimes they're nothing but a pair of eyes protruding from the water.

Blanco State Park has the feel of a city park, a quilt of green that runs along both sides of a mile of the Blanco River. In the spring, the quilt takes on the red and yellow hue of Indian Blankets and other Texas wildflowers.