Texas is a great state with much to offer. One being Texas State Parks. From horseback riding to historical landmarks, the state parks have a lot of fun activities to enjoy. Texas has too many to list here in this short space, but I have picked out the best of the best of Texas State Parks. And they follow.

Panhandle

In the panhandle, I have chosen Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Palo Duro Canyon State Park can be called the 'Grand Canyon of Texas'. This place is just asking to be explored! The park is filled with amazing rock figures and interesting shapes and sizes of rocks. You can even drive up to the top of the canyon and look out to all of the canyon. There are campsites as well as rock cabins. The play 'Texas' is preformed here every year at this park.

Big Bend

It was very hard to pick one state park in the Big Bend, but I one I picked has something that Texas does not have very much of except on the coast. The state park is Monahans Sandhills State Park. Yes, you read that correct, 'Sandhills'. At this park, there are giant sand hills, some reaching as high as 70 feet. One fun thing to do here is rent or buy sand disks and cruise on the sand! It is surely a fun place that the whole family will never forget.

Prairies and Lakes

In the Prairies and Lakes region there are SO many to chose from! I just love Texas... ANYway. In this region I chose the Lake Mineral Wells State Park and Trailway. This park has much to offer. You can enjoy amazing views over the lake, or walk the hidden trails lined with trees. On Lake Mineral Wells, you can fish, ride paddleboats, and swim. There is also a mini-beach on the lake. Around the lake are pinic benches to enjoy a nice cold drink while you watch the ripples in the water. The trailway is also a great experience. You can horseback ride the trails or just bike, walk, or run them! Either way, you will sure have a great time at this park.

Hill Country

In this region, I chose the Guadalupe River State Park. This park is beyond a doubt the best one I have been to in Texas based on fun. One of the best things to do if you are here is tubing. You can rent a tub and take it out for a spin! While you lounge in your tube while you are floating down the river, you enjoy seeing lucious green trees of all kinds. There are some rapids, but they are not that scary! After about a 1 hour and 30 minutes ride, you can get off and be right at where you are staying. (Well, at least thats what we did). There are places to stay lineing the river so you can go up the river and ride down the river in your tube to where you are staying and hop on out! This is a must-go!

Gulf Coast

It was hard again to try and find a state park in this region, but I chose one that I go to every year which is the Mustang Island State Park. I love to go down here every summer. My whole family including grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, everyone meets down at Port Aransas for a week of fun. Every morning we wake up to the crashing of waves. We are ready every monring by 7:00am to go down there! Not only are the beaches fun, but so is hunting for shells. Along the beach you will find many shells that you can collect and keep. This might actually be my number one...

(I stay at Mustang Towers, if anyone else stays there!)

South Texas Plains

In this region, I chose the beautiful Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park. This park is very attractive to animals lovers. This region have over 300 species of birds and 250 species of butterflies. This park also features trails to walk along to observe the birds and a hawk tower. Make sure to BRING YOUR CAMERA when you come here!

Pineywoods

In this region there are only 3 state parks, but I chose the Caddo Lake State Park. Caddo Lake is Texas' only natural lake running through the state. Here, you can canoe through the river and dodge amazing, giant trees. The log cabins here are top of the line!

Thanks guys for reading and I hope YOU too will get to visit some of the great attractions Texas has to offer!

--John

http://johnburgdorf.webs.com/