This is the TEXAS STATE PARKS edition of Friday Favorites !!

Ever since we started traveling (which was 3 years ago this month!!!) we have always looked to State Parks to provide us a place to enjoy the outdoors, spend time adventuring with the pups, and just have a good time! While we have been to state parks in several states, we have become most familiar with the Texas State Parks (since we have spent the majority of our travel time here in the great Lone Star State) One of the first things I personally noticed about Texas State Parks was how consistently clean and well cared for they seem to be! It’s been rare for us to go to a TX State Park that had dirty facilities, litter, uncared for camping spots, etc. Which I find pretty impressive, because a lot of the state parks we’ve been to are rather large. While we haven’t been doing much camping in state parks for the past almost year (since we basically are “camping” every day of our lives (: ) we used to do a decent amount of tent camping, and we still frequently take day trips to nearby parks. One of the first things we usually do in a new area is check out the local parks.

Like I said, all of the state parks we’ve been to we have really enjoyed, but here I wanted to highlight a few of our favorites. These TX State Parks (in no particular order!) are ones that we ended up loving so much that we frequented them when we lived near, and also would go back to in a heartbeat if we find ourselves traveling through that area again.

Davis Mountains State Park

Location: Fort Davis, TX (South/West TX)

What it’s near: Nothing… Just kidding, but it IS out in the middle of nowhere. Davis Mountains State Park is located near Fort Davis, TX which is a fairly small town. There are a few restaurants/shops you can check out while there, and also the amazing McDonald Observatory which is a MUST if you are in the area.

What the park has to offer: hiking of all different levels, camping (tent or camper), a lodge, picnic areas, scenic views, star gazing, geocaching, bird watching, dry camping/hiking, and did I mention the scenic views???

Why you should visit: THE VIEWS!!!! I’ve ALWAYS been a beach-girl. But when we first came to TX and started visiting the desert/mountain areas, I seriously started questioning where my wanderlust-heart-allegiances laid. I’ve said it before, but I am always so amazed at at the variety of different landscapes TX has to offer.

CLICK HERE to learn more about this park!

Monahans Sandhills State Park

Location: Monahans, TX (west TX)

What it's near: Midland/Odessa TX, Pecos, TX

What the park has to offer: camping (tent or RV), shaded picnic areas, hiking, sand surfing (trust me, do this) lots and lots of privacy

Why you should visit: THE SUNSETS! Oh lord these sunsets. This is probably the park we have visited the most over the past three years, and it’s still one of our favorites. Last year when we lived in Midland, our favorite way to end a weekend would be to head to Monahans with the dogs to grill out for dinner (complete with smores, obviously) and watch the sunset. It was always such a fun, relaxing evening for all four of us. The sunsets NEVER disappointed.

CLICK HERE to learn more about this park!

Balmorhea State Park

Location: Balmorhea, TX (west TX) (technically Toyahvale, TX)

What it’s near: it’s not near too much honestly… It’s about 1.5 hours from Odessa, and is directly on the path you would take to get to Big Bend/Terlingua/Fort Davis from there. The town of Balmorhea is small but has a nice large gas station (that sells sandwiches, ice cream, etc) and a few other little local places to eat/stay.

What the park has to offer: swimming, scuba diving/snorkeling, camping (tent and RV), lodging (motel style), walking paths, bird watching

Why you should visit: the SWIMMING! The temperature of the natural spring-fed, 1.3 acre pool is between 72-76 degrees YEAR ROUND!! The water is crystal clear, with depths of 25 feet in some places. There is a diving board and a “shallow end” where I BELIEVE there is handicap access into the pool.

CLICK HERE to learn more about this park!

Lake Livingston State Park

Location: Livingston, TX

What it’s near: the town of Livingston is a short drive away, and the park is also located about 1.5 hours from Houston, TX.

What the park has to offer: great walking paths (there is even one that is a boardwalk path, perfect for days when the ground is really wet!), camping (tent & RV, and even LAKEfront spots!), picnic areas, lake activities such as boat ramp/docks paddle boarding and canoeing

Why you should visit: the walking paths!! Lake Livingston State park has some really great walking paths, with varying distances/difficulties which makes it ideal for just about anyone with any type of walking endurance. We love taking our dogs here to walk around the paths, or even just to walk around the lake and camping spots. There are some AWESOME lakefront camping spots here!!

CLICK HERE to learn more about this park!

Tyler State Park

Location: Tyler, TX

What it’s near: Tyler, TX, and a quick 1.5 hr drive East on 20 from Dallas

What the park has to offer: lake activities (swimming, fishing, boating, canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding,etc) hiking/walking/mountain biking trails, beautiful scenery and trees, camping (tent and RV), or cabins if that’s more your style, and picnic spots

Why you should visit: THE LAKE!! This lake is great, when we were there it was so clear and pretty! It was definitely somewhere that I would’ve actually swam at (if we had gone there for swimming at all, which we didn’t unfortunately!) We also had a really great time walking around the park’s trails and enjoying the BEAUTIFUL fall leaves while we were there!

CLICK HERE to learn more about this park!