Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
NATIONAL FORESTS OF NORTHEAST
Pining for a walk in the woods? East Texas has four large national forests (including Sam Houston (
Click here
)
,
near Huntsville) filled with more than 300 kinds of trees, rivers, lakes, camping, hiking, canoeing…yep, they've
got it all.
Detailed maps and information about each forest and its recreational areas are available online from the
US
Forest Service
(USFS; 936-639-8501;
www.fs.fed.us/r8/texas
)
. Most campsites ($10 to $20) in and nearby
the parks are available on a first-come, first-served basis. A few can be reserved at
www.recreation.gov
.
Avoid
hiking during hunting season each fall and winter; contact the ranger station for dates.
The 251 sq miles of
Davy Crockett National Forest
( 936-655-2299; Ranger Station, 18551 TX 7,
Kennard) lie 45 miles southwest of Nacogdoches between Lufkin and Crockett. It contains the
Ratcliff Lake
Recreation Area
, and the picturesque, 20-mile
Four C National Recreation Trail
overlooking the Neches
River. Canoers will dig the
Big Slough Canoe Trail
, part of a 3000-acre wilderness area which contains some of
the biggest old-growth timber in Texas.
The smallest of the bunch is
Angelina National Forest
( 936-897-1068; Ranger Station, 111 Walnut Ridge
Rd, Zavalla), 49 miles southeast of Nacogdoches. The
Sawmill Hiking Trail
is a 5½-mile-long gem along the
Neches River. For the area's best boating and fishing, head to the
Sam Rayburn Reservoir
.
Along the Texas-Louisiana border, 47 miles east of Nacogdoches,
Sabine National Forest
( 409-625-1940;
Ranger Station, 5050 Hwy 21 E, Hempell) lines the west bank of
Toledo Bend Reservoir
, where you'll find re-
creational, boating and camping sites onshore. Inside the park,
Indian Mounds Recreation Site & Wilderness
Area
offers several hiking trails.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Nacogdoches
POP 33,405
Whether Nacogdoches (nack-uh-
doe
-chuss) is really the oldest town in Texas (as it
claims) might be debated, but you can't argue it's recent, that's for sure. The first
European settlement here dates from 1716, when a mission was established as a remote
outpost of the Spanish empire. Most of the historic brick buildings on the cobblestone
downtown square date to the mid-1800s. Today's town has a remarkably genteel sensibil-
ity balanced by a college-town buzz from the local Stephen F Austin State University.
Come spring, the area's true colors show with the proliferation of azaleas, the focus of a
favorite local festival.
Sights & Activities
