Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

If you’re fit, flexible and like crawling around on your hands and knees – make reservations to go on the Wild Cave Tour at Longhorn Cavern State Park.

09—This is billed as an adventure tour. And, it’s about one and half to two hours in length. And it’s a crawling tour, or what people refer to as a flashlight tour.

Kaye Barlow, a tour guide at the site, says this tour is physically demanding.

09—That means it is not recommended for anyone who is physically out of shape, or who is very large. We’ve had people of size that have gone through with no problem, but they’re in good shape.

If you’re strong, flexible and able to crawl extended distances without pain, discomfort, or frequent stopping, you may enjoy this tour. The cavern is nine miles southwest of Burnet in the Hill Country; and wild cave participants access parts of the cavern that are not seen on any other tour.

19—There are small passageways; and getting dirty is definitely part of this tour. It’s not recommended for every guest. Equipment is required, like hard hats, elbow and knee pads, and flashlight. You can bring your own or rent for us. Generally it’s on Saturdays, but we also take reservations at other times during the week, providing you have six people that want to go. And then, we can get a tour guide.

The cost of the tour is $40; $60, plus tax, if you rent equipment from the park. Find registration information at texasstateparks.org.

That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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The Franklin Mountains, site of the country’s largest urban state park, keep watch over the people of El Paso, who, in turn, enjoy the park and its growing network of trails.

Our SP guide, Bryan Frazier explains.

What we have discovered is parks that are in urban areas are great opportunities for day use, and Franklin Mountains State Park is right there in the middle of El Paso. And, it’s the largest state park in an urban setting, at about 24,000 acres, and there are already two trail loops that get a lot of use. But we looked at the usage plan, and with a combined effort with volunteer and park staff and other organizations, trying to really have an ambition goal of increasing that trail network by some 80 miles of multi-use trails: hike, bike, equestrian and so, when it’s all said and done, we’re looking at more than 100 miles of multi-use trails inside Franklin Mountain State Park, and I think that would be a great benefit to the park and the people of the area.

Thanks Bryan.

That’s our show… Remember: Life’s Better Outside…
For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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If you’re at Big Bend Ranch State Park and someone tells you to “hit the trail,” you’ll probably have to ask for directions.

Our SP guide, Bryan Frazier explains.

Big Bend Ranch is known for lots of things: the beauty, the wide open spaces and the Chihuahuan desert. And it’s just kind of this Big Bend frame of mind—the people who’ve been there know exactly what you’re talking about. What people may not know is the intricate network of trails that we have. There’s more than 200 miles of old jeep trails and multi-use trails, equestrian trails, and a lot of these have been improved with great signage and great markers. Some of the loops are even available on Google Earth. There’s a Big Bend Ranch State Park hiking guide just for that, that you can find online. So, BBR is really catering to people who not only like the back country, and everything that Big Bend area is, but who want an organized set of trails so that they can know where they’re going, can plan their trip, and it’s really something that’s enhanced the usage of Big Bend Ranch State Park.

Thanks Bryan.

That’s our show… Remember: Life’s Better Outside…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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To experience nature and wildlife few things are better than time spent on a hiking trail…unless you’re taking the trail on horseback.

Our SP guide, Bryan Frazier explains.

Part of the plan for a lot of our state parks is to include equestrian trails where possible, and we have several state parks that have them, and are adding on to them. Whether you’re talking about Caprock Canyons or Fort Richardson, where you can bring your own mount, or Hill Country State Natural Area—they’ve got more than 40 miles or trails. We have several parks where we have outfitters—you can rent horses there…like lake Livingston, and Huntsville and Big Bend Ranch State Park and Palo Duro Canyon. And so there’s lots of different ways to see that. But it’s an ever increasing popular thing to see state parks on horseback on one of the many trails that we have—miles and miles that we have and miles and miles that we’re adding on as well.

Thanks Bryan.

Imagine riding your horse to a nearby lake or river, with your fishing gear in the saddlebag. While your steed grazes nearby, you fish from shore. And if you’re at a state park—fishing is free. Saddle up.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Thanks to legislative appropriations over the past two biennia, folk living in or traveling to the DFW area will enjoy improved hookups. It’s not as naughty as it sounds. Our state park guide, Bryan Frazier, explains.

Cedar Hill SP is already one of our largest camping parks; it’s got more than 300 campsites. And so, we’re getting some hookup improvements at some of those bigger camping loops at Cedar Hill State park. And it sits right there on the Tarrant Dallas County Line. I mean, you can actually see part of the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium from parts of the park. That’s how in the urban area Cedar hill is.

And then at Tyler SP…that’s a CCC park, built in the 30s, and some structures are going to get renovated, some camping loops are going to get some improvements, and it’s a popular park with people. It’s not that far I20 from the DFW area. It represents previous bienniums legislative money that voters approved and it’s now showing up on the ground that really will enhance the visitor experience.

Find more information about Cedar Hill and Tyler State parks at texasstateparks.org.

That’s our show…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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