Tag: texas state parks

Caddo Lake State Park

by StephInTexas, posted in HOTC Outings, Kayaking, Photography, Texas State Parks

Located in far East Texas near the Louisiana border, you will find beautiful Caddo Lake, a sprawling maze of bayous and sloughs. Depending on rainfall, this maze of slow-moving bayous, wetlands and backwaters covers about 26,810 acres of cypress swamp.  To really experience the beautiful forests of cypress trees draped in Spanish moss, you need to get out on the water. Canoe rentals are available or you can take a guided pontoon boat ride.

We camped at  Caddo Lake State Park with the Heart of Texas Camping Unit. Several other club members brought their kayaks and canoes so we all got together and explored a paddling trail. The trail is clearly marked but I was glad I took along the GPS…just in case! It would be very easy to get disoriented and loose your way in the maze of cypress trees. We paddled 9 miles that day. It was a great day and another fun camp out!

 

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Palo Duro Canyon

by StephInTexas, posted in Photography, Texas State Parks

We recently took a few days off and headed to Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo. It is often referred to as the “Grand Canyon of Texas” and is the second largest canyon in the country. During the summer months, performances of the musical “Texas” are held in the outdoor amphitheater, and there are an abundance of hiking and biking trails throughout the canyon.  The campgrounds and facilities were extremely clean and well maintained and when we arrived, we were surprised to find only one other camper in our campground. We were even more surprised to see it was another vintage Airstream! Unfortunately, they left out early the next morning so we didn’t get to meet them.

“Christmas in The Canyon” was being held that weekend and the first nights event was hot air balloons in the canyon. It was beautiful!

The rest of our time was spent hiking. The first day we hiked 6.73 miles round trip to the iconic Lighthouse rock. It was a beautiful hike and the views did not disappoint! The next day we hiked another 7 miles though the canyon floor and decided next time we will take our bikes. We had a fantastic time and are looking forward to our next visit. It’s a beautiful park…go see it! Happy New Year!

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