Big, beautiful Texas: These outdoor places are tops with readers
Think, Texas readers are the best.
I asked for your favorite outdoor spots — in honor of the Texas State Parks system's 100th anniversary — and you filled my inbox with tales about state parks, national parks and a scary car breakdown in West Texas mended with a lowly potato. (I did not include the full potato story in my column today because it did not mention a particular park. The potato part was the winner.)
I selected a few stories to share for their varied geography and the writers' tale-telling techniques.
Deep canyons, fault caves and Gulf beaches
Rebecca Hudson: Palo Duro Canyon State Park — This magnificent canyon was like an outdoor classroom for my children as they were fortunate to attend schools in the nearby town of Canyon and attended summer camps at West Texas A&M University in Canyon. (They) took advantage of the nature the canyon provided and its history of Native Americans, in particular the Comanche, along with the Spanish Conquistadors, the ranching interests of Col. Charles Goodnight and other ranchers in the canyon who sought the grazing and water therein. Their paternal grandfather — working for the Texas highway department out of Hereford at the time — helped to build the winding roadway down onto the floor of the Canyon in the late 1930s.
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Tip Giles: Enchanted Rock State Natural Area — It’s hard to pick a favorite from all the cool and beautiful state parks in our wonderful state, but Enchanted Rock gets my vote. During my first year of teaching in Freddy Town — 1976-1977 — I invited my two buddies, Steve Ramsey and John Ryder from Austin, for a round of golf in the spring of ’77. After playing 18 holes — it was only 9 holes at the the time — at Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Golf Course, we headed for the giant granite dome. Wearing only cut-offs and flip flops — and extremely inebriated —we navigated our way into the fault caves that have since been sealed off after the state took it over. Having a minor in geology made this place (even) more special. Next time you’re up there, make sure you find the geological benchmarks — they are marked with the latitude and longitude numbers.
Terrell Blodgett: Mother Neff State Park — I was delighted to see your extensive story this morning on the Texas state parks system and the recognition of Gov. Pat Neff and his dedication of Mother Neff State Park as the beginning of the extensive network of parks we all enjoy now. In my wife’s and my biography of Neff — "The Land, the Law and the Lord" — we write about Neff’s strong commitment to the land he was raised on. Our opening sentence tells the true story of how, as Baylor University president, he used to drive from Waco to the old family home place near McGregor and literally lie down in the dirt and take a nap before doing his other chores.
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Thomas Gatlin: Mustang Island State Park — About half way between Corpus Christi and Port Aransas. So, there are many amenities close by. However, the Gulf of Mexico beach at the park is the main draw. The beach and the park facilities are top notch. Very family oriented and well managed. Fishing in the surf can be great!
18 parks in one trip, mountain hiking and desert emptiness
Susan Adcock: Lockhart State Park — I have been to 42 of our beautiful state parks. I grew up in Lockhart, so Lockhart State Park quickly became my favorite, until I moved to Austin and lived around the corner from McKinney Falls State Park, which then became my favorite. In the summer of 2021, me, my dog and a couple of grandkids visited 18 state parks and each one became the favorite. But if I had to choose my list, (it) would be Lockhart, McKinney Falls, Blanco, South Llano and Lost Maples. Every park is unique and I consider myself blessed to live in a state where we have the opportunity to enjoy nature in all kinds of ways. I purchase the State Parks Pass every year and consider it a pleasure to give back to the park system.
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Brenda Colvin: Davis Mountains State Park — (This) is my husband’s and my favorite! We love the mountains, the views, beautiful trees and the climate. Our grandkids love it there. Hiking the trails is always a highlight of our campouts. Don’t forget the wildlife that comes through our camps. It’s also close to Balmorhea State Park. The pool (there) is of course the best! We have been waiting patiently for the campground to reopen.
Larry Graham: Big Bend Ranch State Park — While I have only visited 10 or so state parks, my favorite is Big Bend Ranch State Park. First, you have to really want to get there. It is a long drive, and then it is an hour-and-20-minute drive on chunky gravel roads to get from the entrance to the ranger station. But it is beautiful and it is so scarcely populated.
The first time I went, in 2020, I went with a few friends and we went on a 6-hour mountain bike ride and we saw absolutely no one. In fact it was a little scary. It is remote and beautiful and surprisingly different from its neighbor, Big Bend National Park. ... The sunsets were beautiful. The amenities are few, fairly primitive camping. But there is water, showers, toilets and free ice at the ranger station.
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On one of the rides, we encountered the ruins of a ranch abandoned intact in the '40s and paintings on rock walls and caves left by Native Americans hundreds or thousands of years ago. There was also an oasis with water and plants and life. It is high desert, with mountains and views and rocks and desert plant life.
An amazing place and an entirely different ecosystem. ... Kudos to those who pushed the state to purchase the land over many, many years to make this a park.
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A family's all-in-one park
Glenn Kelly: Inks Lake State Park — Let me join the rest of your loyal readers who swear Inks Lake State Park is in class by itself. It has incredible diversity of nature's bounty in one self-contained park. Inks Lake is where my family grew up together camping. My wife is an ace camper. In the early 1990s, she would leave on Thursdays to get a choice campsite to set up the family tent with our two very young children. I was able to join her after work on Fridays.
As soon as I arrived, the son and daughter tried to outdo each other in telling me 'You gotta see this Dad!' At first, it was the deer and how close you were to real wildlife. We rented our first canoe at Inks Lake. Our children caught their first fish off the docks at Inks.
As our children got older and our hikes got longer the lure of the Devil's Waterhole was always there. Our children were swim teammates and excellent in the water. But Devils Waterhole is not about the water — it is about jumping off cliffs above the water.
Our daughter, the oldest, was about 11 or 12 when she took her first leap into the deep. My wife guided her ascent up the giant rock cliff face and I was in the water waiting for her. We have never seen a bigger wide-eyed expression on my daughter's face as she entered the water and the the absolute joy as she surfaced.
So of course the younger son was always "if she can do it so can I." I think we able to hold the boy off until the next visit before the King joined the Queen of the Mountain and Devil's Waterhole. He put some frat boys to shame one summer day by showing them where and how to jump from the highest possible cliff.
At night, it was always about the campfire, s'mores, then story time, about why it was called Devil's Waterhole and some of the mythical creatures who still roam the wilds of Ink Lake.
Michael Barnes writes about the people, places, culture and history of Austin and Texas. He can be reached at mbarnes@gannett.com. Subscribe to the free weekly digital Think, Texas newsletter at statesman.com/newsletters, or at the website of your local USA Today Network Texas newspaper.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas State Parks: The best outdoor places to go according to Texans
