Parks around Edna

Lake Texana is formed by Palmetto Bend Dam which is feature of the Palmetto Bend Project. The lake provides over 11,000 acres of water surface and 125 miles of shoreline. Accessible from numerous roads. Several boat ramps and camping facilities. Fishing year-round. Available species include black bass, white bass, crappie, walleye, and several species of catfish. Wildlife can be seen in the area.

The bugle of an endangered whooping crane echoes across the far reaches of the marsh. Only at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge do North America's tallest birds find an enduring winter stronghold. Here, too, pelicans, herons, egrets, roseate spoonbills, ducks, and geese dine in brackish waters and salt marshes teeming with fishes, blue crabs, and clams. On shore, javelinas, bobcats and deer wand...

Over a century ago, one million Attwater's prairie-chickens graced the Texas and Louisiana gulf coastal prairie. Each spring, males gathered to perform an elaborate courtship ritual. They inflated their yellow air sacs and emitted a strange, booming sound across a sea of grasses. Today, less than one percent of coastal prairies remain. With so little of its home left, the Attwater's prai...

Big Boggy National Wildlife Refuge consists of flat coastal prairies, salt marshes, and two large saltwater lakes. Established to provide habitat for migratroy waterfowl and other bird species, Big Boggy includes Dressing Point Island in East Matagorda Bay, a major rookery for colonial nesting birds on the Texas coast. The refuge is the smallest in the Texas Midcoast Refuges Complex. Its 4,526 a...

Gaze across the rippling marshes and ponds of San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge and it's easy to imagine Texas as it was before settlement. Clouds of snow geese in winter or a warbler "fallout" in spring further convince any visitor that they have stepped back into earliest Texas. Less than half of the refuge is open to the public, leaving a vast landscape was wildlife sanctuary. Yet, a dri...

The Mission-Aransas Reserve is a large contiguous complex of wetland, terrestrial and marine environments named for the two river systems that flow into it. Located on the Texas Coastal Bend 30 miles northeast of Corpus Christi, the Reserve's 185,708 acres is representative of Western Gulf estuaries. Its extensive public and private lands include coastal prairie, oak motte, riparian freshwater a...

These normally dry reservoirs are on the west side of Houston on both sides of I-10 at TX6. They contain the largest municipal park in the Nation and provide a unique recreational experience for the metropolitan area. They contain facilities for golf, hiking, picnicking, field sports, horseback riding, shooting ranges, model airplane flying, a velodrome and other activities.

The thunder of 40,000 snow geese taking flight, the salty breeze off the Texas Gulf, or the sight of a 12-foot alligator loafing on a muddy bank make a trip to Texas Mid-Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex a sensory banquet in any season. Three national wildlife refuges -Brazoria, San Bernard and Big Boggy - form a vital complex of coastal wetlands harboring more than 300 bird species. They ...

Nearby points of interest include Bluebonnet Trails, Independence Day Trek and Salt Grass Trek.

Choke Canyon Dam and and reservoir are features of the Nueces River Project. The reservoir provides a water supply for Corpus Christi, Texas. Recreation at this reservoir is managed for Reclamation by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. When full, the lake has approximately 26,000 water surface. acres, 9,127 land acres and 135 miles of shoreline. Accessible from numerous roads. Several boat ...

In the early part of the 19th century, the lower Guadalupe River Basin, below the current location of Canyon Lake, had been especially subject to serious flooding. Congress authorized in the 1940's the construction of Canyon Lake Dam. Construction began in 1958, was completed in 1964, dedicated in 1966 and reached the conservation pool by 1968. The lake will turn 50 in 2016. The scenic blue wate...

After 10,000 years, the people of South Texas found their cultures, their very lives under attack. In the early 1700s Apache raided from the north, deadly diseases traveled from Mexico, and drought lingered. Survival lay in the missions. By entering a mission, they foreswore their traditional life to become Spanish, accepting a new religion and pledging fealty to a distant and unseen king.

Padre Island National Seashore separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Laguna Madre, one of a few hypersaline lagoons in the world. The park protects 70 miles of coastline, dunes, prairies, and wind tidal flats teeming with life. It is a safe nesting ground for the Kemp's ridley sea turtle and a haven for 380 bird species. It also has a rich history, including the Spanish shipwrecks of 1554.

The Blackstone River runs from Worcester, MA to Providence, RI. Its waters powered the Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI, America's first successful cotton spinning mill. This creative spark began the nation's transformation from Farm to Factory. Today, the Blackstone River Valley is a special type of National Park - a living landscape containing thousands of natural and historic treasures.

Located 70 to 115 miles from the nearest land, the wonderful biological diversity and breathtaking beauty of the Flower Garden Banks prompted researchers and recreational divers to seek protection for this area. In the 1970s they launched what would become a 20 year effort, culminating in 1992, to designate the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. In October, 1996, Congress expanded t...

The Little Lake Creek Wilderness now contains a total of 3,855 acres and is managed by the Forest Service. All of the Wilderness is in the state of Texas. In 1984 the Little Lake Creek Wilderness became part of the now over 109 million acre National Wilderness Preservation System. In wilderness, you can enjoy challenging recreational activities and extraordinary opportunities for solitude. In an a...

Open to the public March 1981, know as one of the top five crappie/white bass fishing spots in Central Texas.

"I hear him over there!" Birdwatchers exclaim in hushed whispers as a black-capped vireo pops up from the shin oak thicket. Hidden within the observation deck, the visitors gaze through binoculars at their first sighting of the rare songbird only 20 feet away. Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge offers some of the best birdwatching and habitat left in Texas for two endangered song...

Located 4 mi W of Georgetown via FM 2338, the lake is easily accessible from the Austin area. The dam impounds the San Gabriel River in the Hill Country of central Texas.

Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge was established on January 4, 1994 with an initial purchase of 4,400 acres. Since that time, the refuge has acquired additional acreage which now totals 17,500 acres. The primary purpose of establishing this refuge is to protect a portion of the bottomland hardwood forest ecosystem along the Trinity River located in southeastern Texas. The refuge, which i...

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park tells the story of our 36th President beginning with his ancestors until his final resting place on his beloved LBJ Ranch. This entire "circle of life" gives the visitor a unique perspective into one of America's most noteworthy citizens by providing the most complete picture of any American president.

The chorus of thousands of waterfowl, the splash of an alligator going for a swim, the rustle of wind moving through coastal prairie, and the high-pitched call of a fulvous whistling duck are just some of the sounds you may hear when visiting Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. This 34,000-acre haven for wildlife is located on the upper Texas gulf coast. The meandering bayous of Anahuac NW...

Historical sites include the Stage Coach Inn in nearby Salado. Stillhouse Hollow Lake is located near the Fort Hood Army Base, which has several points of interest for the military buff. Tour Chalk Ride Falls Environmental Learning Center located below Stillhouse Hollow Dam. The Center includes a hiking trail along the Lampasas River, a spring-fed creek with a waterfall, and several wildlife viewi...