Texas Hiking

If you’re tired of marsh & pine trees, why not cross the state line & head to Texas?  Their State Parks are a great option for day hikers, ensuring well-maintained trails, bathroom facilities, & more. Oh, & they’re your best option if you’re trying to avoid hunters.

If you want to combine these state parks with driving tours and other parks, visit Great Texas Wildlife Trails — it’s an amazing site that makes it easy to plan driving trips to specific regions!

The following Texas State Parks are in order of closest vicinity to Lake Charles, Louisiana:

3-HR > Brazos Bend, Houston area
  • All trails are less than 2 mi each but can be combined for a total 37 mi
  • Multi-use trails for hiking, biking & horseback; most are Moderate
  • Good choice for nature viewing & water trails
  • Camping, screened shelters, cabin (only 1)
3-HR > Huntsville State Park, Central TX
  • 18 mi of trails, Easy to Challenging
  • Good choice for longer & more diverse trails
  • Camping & screened shelters, NO cabins
3.5-HR > Martin Creek Lake State Park, NE TX
  • 4 mi of trails, Easy & Moderate
  • Camping, screened shelters, cabins
  • Combine this with Tyler & Daingerfield for more trails
4.5-HR > Daingerfield State Park, NE TX
  • 4 mi of trails, Easy & Challenging
  • Combine this with Tyler & Martin Creek Lake for more trails
4.5-HR > Tyler State Park, NE TX
  • 13 mi of trails, Easy to Challenging
  • Good choice for a chance to see Beavers & for diverse trails
  • Multi-use hiking & mountain biking trails
  • Camping, screened shelters, cabins
5.5-HR > Pedernales Falls State Park, Central TX
  • 25 mi of trails, Easy to Challenging
  • Good choice for waterfall hike plus tubing & swimming
  • Multi-use trails for hiking, biking & horseback
  • Camping & horse camps
5.5-HR > Inks Lake State Park, Central TX
  • 7 mi of trails
  • Camping & RV
  • Hunting – Check website for closures
  • Combine with Colorado Bend State Park for more trails
6-HR > Colorado Bend State Park, Central TX
  • 30 mi of trails
  • Excellent choice for a full weekend of hiking with diverse trail levels
  • Camping; lodging available in Lampasas
  • Open to hikers from Fri, 2p thru Tues, 8p (closed other days for permitted hiking)
6-HR > Cleburne State Park, Ft. Worth area
  • 13 mi of hiking & biking trails
  • Good choice for short Challenging trails; also has Easy & Moderate
  • Combine with Ray Roberts & Lake Mineral Wells for more trails
  • Camping, screened shelters, cabins
6-HR > Ray Roberts Lake State Park, Ft. Worth area
  • Over 20 mi of multi-use trails for hiking, biking & horseback
  • Great choice for long trails & combining water activities
  • Camping & a Lodge
6-HR > Lake Mineral Wells State Park, Ft. Worth area
  • 12.8 mi of trails + 20 mi multi-use Trailway
  • Combine with Ray Roberts & Cleburne for more trails
  • Camping, screened shelters & horse camps
6-HR > Dinosaur Valley State Park, Ft. Worth area
  • 20 mi of trails, Easy to Moderate
  • Good choice for seeing dinosaur tracks
  • Multi-use trails for hiking, biking & horseback
  • Camping
  • Combine with Cleburne
6-HR > Enchanted Rock Natural Area, West of Austin
  • 11 mi of trails, Easy to Difficult
  • Good choice for a steep climb up a giant rock with great views
  • Combine with South Llano River
6.5-HR > Lost Maples State Natural Area, West of San Antonio
  • 13 mi of trails, Easy to Challenging
  • Good choice for Challenging steep trails; combine with Garner
  • Go in the Fall to see the Maple trees change color
6.5-HR > Garner State Park, West of San Antonio
  • 11 mi of trails, Easy to Challenging
  • Good choice for short Challenging hikes, tubing & swimming
  • Combine with Lost Maples
  • Camping & cabins
7-HR > South LLano State Park, West of Austin
  • 22.7 mi of trails, Easy to Moderate
  • Good choice for rugged backcountry trail or tubing & swimming
  • Camping
8-HR > San Angelo State Park, Middle of Nowhere Central TX
  • 25 mi of trails, Easy to Challenging
  • Good choice for desert landscape & chance to see Bison
  • Hunting – Closed only 2 days in April
  • Camping
10-HR > Caprock Canyons State Park, TX Panhandle
  • 25 mi of trails, Easy to Very Challenging
  • Good choice to see Bison & for challenging trails with great views
  • Park also offers ‘Trailway’ which is a rails to trail hike of 60 mi
  • Camping
11-HR > Palo Duro Canyon State Park, TX Panhandle
  • 35 mi of trails, Easy to Difficult
  • Good choice for challenging trails with great views
  • Camping & cabins