State Parks Visited since July 1st
Mother Neff State Park
Meridian State Park
Lake Whitney State Park
Copper Breaks State Park
Lake Arrowhead State Park
Mother Neff State Park
This park is nestled away and offers a variety of features for the hiker. The trails aren’t long, so it’s easy to hike most of the park pretty quickly. I went from expansive prairies to shaded forests with a cave like rock ledge and an observation tower along the way.
Highlights
Cool cave to walk through (under, it’s a ledge style)
Shaded paths (with big trees and a jungle feel)
Observation tower (with a view of trees, better than nothing)
There’s a mini library near the campground (if you’re into reading while camping)
It’s a really fun park to drive through too
Meridian State Park
I didn’t really know what to expect with this park - other the standard Texas State Park with a lake feel. The trail around the lake is wonderful and offers a lot of shade and spots for picnic lunches. The campsites, which I saw during a brief drive through, were nice and set in the woods with privacy.
Highlights
Great lake views, spots of shade, and varied terrain
Plenty of space to enjoy camping with a little privacy
Lily pads everywhere!
Lake Whitney State Park
This is your typical “lake” state park in Texas - the trails are basically non-existent and it’s very much lakeside camping/boating centric. All that being said, I did enjoy finding a semi-private beach area on one of the trails that not one person was at except out in the water.
Highlights
Private (ish) beach area on the Towash Forest Trail
Great if you’re into boating, bad if you like shade
Copper Breaks State Park
As one of my new favorite state parks, I can’t recommend going here enough. The trails are fun, and somewhat hilly, and the red rocks are similar to the parks further west and north. The park was expansive, had interesting trails, and plenty of shaded campsites for tents.
Highlights
Rocky Ledge Loop was well worth it
Check out the Bull Canyon Loop too
Enjoy the Juniper Ridge trail, but stay on the trail
Lake Arrowhead State Park
The park is fine, another one geared towards people who want to boat/fish and not much else. The trails are okay, mowed fields basically, but it is in the middle nowhere so it’s mostly quiet. I’d recommend this place if you have a boat or just want to camp close to town.
Highlights
View of the causeway
Mesquite Ridge trail was “okay”
