Public lands hiding in plain sight
Forest Service lands in Texas and throughout the south are highly underutilized by the public for recreation.
Driving through the Forest Service roads of Angelina National Forest can be rather quiet. There’s no traffic, no lines for entry, no crowded trailheads. Often, you can drive the roads, stopping to get out and explore every so often, and never see another car. In busier areas closer to designated campgrounds or trailheads you may come across a few folks. But the National Forests and Grasslands of Texas experience is often vastly different than a Texas State Park or National Park Service experience.
There are four National Forests in Texas: Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Angelina, and Sabine. And there are two National Grasslands: LBJ and Caddo. All can be found within the eastern quarter of the state. I could also add Big Thicket National Preserve to this list of underutilized spaces but let’s focus on on the National Forests today.
While I’ve written about the dismal state of public land access in Texas, east Texas has a substantial amount of land that just isn’t being used much recreationally, aside from hunters…and even then how much of it is being used by those hunters? The 94-mile long Lone Star Trail in Sam Houston NF is heavily used on weekends by those from around the Houston area, though even then some sections are more traversed than others. In Davy Crockett NF there’s the 20-mile 4C Trail and in Sabine NF there’s the 28-mile Trail Between the Lakes. And in between that, thousands of acres of open forest available for off trail exploration, plus a few smaller trails, and plenty of Forest Service roads available to walk or drive down. (Side note: the USFS maintains 370,000 miles of roads throughout the entire US! Most of those were built so they could access sites for logging decades ago and now we just have the added benefit of being able to get into these spaces easier for recreation because of it.)
Take all of that and extend it across the south and you have millions of acres of protected lands available for use by the public. And yet every year we see car lines for western hot spots like Zion or Yosemite and trail traffic for scenic vistas like Angel’s Landing. In Texas it’s crowds at places like Enchanted Rock and Garner State Park. I’m not saying those places aren’t beautiful or deserving of such touristic admiration, but at what cost? What’s the impact to the ecosystems with that kind of human pressure? Just as many of those folks aren’t visiting the Forest Service or BLM lands adjacent to those western parks. So, how do we reel people in the subtler beauty?
Part of it is that many people are just unfamiliar with our National Forests. People default to Texas State Parks for a reason: camping and trails. There are camping sites within National Forests as well, some more improved than others, and there is dispersed camping in some areas during non-hunting seasons for backpackers. But, in general, I think people don’t think of some of these areas as scenic or worth visiting because they know nothing about it. But if you dig deeper you’ll find rare plants and interesting animals, plenty of solitude, and a rich history. I highly recommend picking up the book Realms of Beauty by the late Ned Fritz that describes the five Wilderness Areas within these National Forests to get a grasp on what was protected within the National Forests themselves and for even further reading, Ned’s two books on clear cutting, Sterile Forest and Clearcutting: A Crime Against Nature.
And I’m certainly not saying to never visit those high traffic parks—they are high traffic for a reason! But when we’re about to lose a state park and public lands are already scarce throughout much of the rest of the state, we can’t take for granted what is literally in many of our backyards in east and north Texas. And you don’t necessarily need to use these areas for camping or a specific destination: learn to bird or botanize and your world will be opened up a lot more to exploration of the natural areas. Get comfortable with not necessarily always being tied to a trail and the experience will continue to open up further. Don’t have the ability to walk or meander off trail? Go for a scenic drive! Drive slowly, take a picnic lunch, and enjoy being outside in these spaces. You can still see so much from the car window or by getting out to stretch your legs every so often.
This is my challenge to you: get out and go often. Use your public lands, whether its the city park down the street or the National Grassland an hour away. Pair a trip to an east Texas state park with a drive through a nearby National Forest. Use these places and don’t take them for granted. Grab a field guide and get out there!
Further reading:
+National Forests and Grasslands in Texas
+Synopsis of Ned Fritz books
Thanks, Misti - this reminds me how much I want to re-visit Angelina and also the Sabine NF. And I'd like to add that visitors who go because of wildlife or for solitude and quiet (as opposed to sports recreation that only incidentally involves a forest) ought to write to FS administrators and local representatives to express how much the place means to them as quiet, undeveloped nature. Our voices should be heard so that they know not everyone wants developed places with lots of amenities.
There are more than 2 National Grasslands in Texas. There's also the McClellan Creek National Grassland, Rita Blanca National Grassland and Black Kettle National Grasslands in Texas. McClellan Creek is entirely within Texas, Rita Blanca is mostly in Texas but partially in Oklahoma, and Black Kettle is mostly in Oklahoma but a little bit in Texas.