We went on a 3,400 mile road trip to Texas from North Carolina recently. It was epic and fun and full of adventure. It’s funny, on this trip I (Justin) really didn’t have too high of expectations. I was excited to go and spend some time with my family on the open road. I knew that we were going to see some cool new places. But I had no idea how incredible this trip would actually be. I don’t know why, but I just didn’t think it would be what it turned out to be. Megan was the exact opposite, she knew the whole time. What made it so special for me was that the there were so many unexpected moments of greatness. One of those moments was when we went to Big Thicket Natural Preserve.

Big Thicket is located in eastern Texas. It is just over the border from Louisiana. We don’t necessarily plan our trips based on the destination. We plan our trips based on what is on the way to the destination. Ultimately we wanted to go to San Antonio, and Big Thicket was just an hour outside of our route, so might as well stop by while we were there. We are so glad we did!

Big Thicket Natural Preserve was our first time being in Texas (outside of airports, which don’t count!) together. One of our first interactions with anyone in the state was a guy we met at the trailhead at Big Thicket who had just got done hiking. This dude was in his early 60’s wearing Wranglers, a cowboy hat, and boots. He looked at us and said “Howdy”. It was pure Texas. It was awesome. That was just the beginning of our incredible time in this great state.

Where Is The Big Thicket

Well, everything is bigger in Texas and Big Thicket is no exception. This park is well over 100,000 acres. There are 15 separate units located in 7 counties. It is not a giant clump though, these units truly are separated and you will need to get on public highways to get back and forth between them.

The visitor center is located just north of Kountze off of Highway 69/287. The center is located at the Turkey Creek unit of the park. This is where you can get your passport stamp, watch a short video about the park, get your junior ranger book, and check out a pretty good museum. They have a large gift shop area as well.

At this visitor center we might have had one of the best interactions ever with a Park Ranger. I couldn’t remember the rangers name and asked Silas if he did. Silas immediately responded with Alex! I am writing this about a month and a half after we went and Silas still remembers his name. That was how great he was. If you get a chance to go and visit, I hope you get Ranger Alex so you can tell him hello from us!

What Makes This Park Unique

Big Thicket Natural Preserve is huge, like we stated above. One of the main features of this park are the diverse eco systems. You can find 9 different eco systems within this one park site. It’s this crazy intersection of swamps, forest, sandhills, plains and pine savannas. Because of this, the diversity of animals and plant life are abundant. The park boasts a lot of carnivorous plants as well. Not only is this a National Park location but it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s pretty interesting when you find places like this – it is a little unique pocket of the world you might have not known about (like us!). This made it a fun park to explore and adventure through!

What To Do In Big Thicket

Hunting

Big Thicket is this incredible forest in eastern Texas that goes from Beaumont to Livingston. Though it is massive, there really isn’t a ton to do at this park. What this place is known for is hunting. If hunting is your thing, this is the place to go. You can’t hunt at all of the different units, so check the NPS website for information on that. When we were doing research on visiting this park we saw that there are wild hogs and other things there. We are always wanting to see wildlife (though we would freak out if a hog started chasing us), so we were pretty pumped.

Hiking

Another really big thing at Big Thicket is hiking. This preserve offers over 40 miles of trails that you can hike along. On our trip to Big Thicket, we opted for the Kirby Nature Trail which is a little over 2 miles from the visitor’s center.

This trail was absolutely spectacular. On this trail we came to understand why it is called the Big Thicket. This is an awesome hike with incredible views and beautiful foliage. There were times we would walk down the trail and think that we were going to get lost right in the middle of it. The way the trees and bushes sprawl over the trail makes it look like you are going through tunnel after tunnel. It really is awesome. We loved this trail and highly recommend it. It is not like the Texas we thought about in our mind, much greener, but it was incredible.

Boating

Another big thing in Big Thicket is the amount of canoeing and kayaking available in the park. There are three main canoeing trails that the park system offers. Village Creek, Cooks Lake, and Collier’s Ferry all offer great spots to get in the water. The Village Creek one is 21 in miles in total, but you can get out at various points to shorten the journey. Definitely check that out if that is your thing.

Camping

There are not actual campsites at Big Thicket, but you can go camping there. This is not at all locations, just a couple of them. If you are going to camp at Big Thicket, you will need a permit that you will need to get through the visitor’s center. These permits are free, but you will need to get them in advance. Camping is not huge here, but there are some locations. These do not include the larger hiking areas or the hunting areas.

Overall, we loved our time at Big Thicket Natural Preserve. If you are not a local, this is a great place to stop by for a hike and drive out of. Because there are so many different access areas, there are plenty of places for you to visit and stay. We do highly recommend going to the Turkey Creek Area. This access area will give you a pretty good overview of the whole park. Check it out and enjoy your time going the adventure way by getting lost in Big Thicket.

Takeaways

• If you are a first time visitor, enter at the Turkey Creek Area
• Hiking is big here and there are plenty of options for every level of hiker!
• Try and find one of the many carnivorous plants located here!
• Learn about the diverse eco systems while here, the visitors center has lots of info!
• It’s a great road trip stop to get out and enjoy nature along the way!

Pin it for Later!

Enjoy visiting National Parks? Check out our guides to Gettysburg, Fort McHenry in Baltimore and 5 Views You Must see in Yosemite!