This gallery features some of our favorite Texas State parks landscape prints and images from all over the Lone Start state. From Big Bend state ranch park to Palo Duro state park and the Cyprus swamps of east Texas Caddo Lake state park and back to the Texas Hill Country Pedernales falls, Enchanted Rock, Garner, Blanco, Guadalupe river and Lost Maples state parks.
Big Bend Ranch State Park covers 300,000+ acres and sits just west Big Bend National Park. Purchased in 1988 by The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the park has continued to increase in size through donations and more land acquisitions. Big Bend Ranch rests between Lajitas on the east side and Presidio on the west. As its logo states it is “the other side of nowhere.” The southern boundary is the Rio Grande as it flows through Colorado Canyon and Texas FM 170 that follows the river between Presidio and Lajitas and is one of the most stunning drives in Texas, even rivaling one of the more well-known drives in the Big Bend national park, the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.
Palo Duro Canyon state park sits just south of Amarillo in the Texas panhandle. Stretching nearly 120 miles and at times over 800 feet deep, this canyon was carved by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. Formed less than one million years ago, Palo Duro is the second largest canyon in North America as it drops off the Caprock Escarpment. Palo Duro Canyon is famous for its hoodoos and caves. One of the iconic locations in the park is the Lighthouse and the well-known Capitol Peak.
Caddo Lake state park in north east Texas and is located at the upper end of Caddo Lake. Caddo lake is the biggest natural lake in the Lone Star State, it covers over 25,000 acres and is home to the largest cypress forest in the world. located in the piney woods ecoregion of eastern Texas and operated as a wildlife management area (WMA), Caddo Lake is the lake that the state park encompasses, and is one of only a handful of natural lakes in Texas. The park consists of 8,253 acres (3,340 ha) west of the lake itself, in Harrison County, near Karnack, Texas. The state park features a diverse array of animals and plants, including reclusive alligators, sunbathing turtles, and elegant egrets and the. The center of the park is the pond that is surrounded by tall Cyprus that all turn beautiful colors in the fall.
Pedernales falls state park is a 5,212-acre state park situated along the banks of the Pedernales River in Blanco County, Texas just 10 miles east of Johnson city and some 25miles west of Austin. This is one of my favorite parks to visit. The river limestone at Pedernales Falls is 300 million years old. Erosion from deposits in the Cretaceous period created the current formations. Some of the limestone boulders are the size of a house you have to crawl over or around. When the river is flowing it is a spectacular scene to experience. I have been down in the river channel when the water was flowing 1000cfs and you could not hear any thing other than the rush of the water flowing down the falls.
Enchanted rock state park is a pink granite mountain located in the Llano Uplift about 17 miles north of Fredericksburg, Texas and 24 miles south of Llano, Texas, United States. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, which includes Enchanted Rock and surrounding land, spans the border between Gillespie County and Llano County, south of the Llano River. Enchanted Rock covers roughly 640 acres and rises around 425 feet (130 m) above the surrounding terrain to an elevation of 1,825 feet above sea level. It is the largest pink granite monadnock in the United States. The prominent granite dome is visible for many miles in the surrounding basin of the Llano Uplift.
Garner state park is situated along the cold Frio river in Concan Texas just south of Leaky Texas west of San Antonio and is a popular place for tubing and camping. Along the Frio lined with cypress trees that turn red and orange each Autumn in the shadow of the locally famous Mount Baldy.
Lost Maples state park is to the north east from Garner state park just out side of Vanderpool Texas and is known for the Maples and red Oaks that turn brilliant colors in the fall. The Sabinal River flows through the Lost Maples state park, the landscapes and fall colors here are amazing.
Guadalupe River state park with four miles of river frontage, the Guadalupe River takes center stage at this park. Swimming, tubing and rafting during the hot summer is the best. This state park is just north of San Antonio.
Blanco state park in down town Blanco Texas situated on the Blanco river.