Mission Tejas State Park

It was late afternoon when I finally completed the 350-mile trip from my home to the park. It was not quite dark, but ranger staff had gone for the day. I stopped anyway, made my way to the lobby area of the station and found the information I needed to travel further into the park. Check mark for having a reservation.

As I made my way through the towering pines, I reflected on the park and the area I had driven by so many times as a younger person, never stopping, but always wondering what it was about, and why it was there. No lake to speak of, no clear running streams, no panoramic views. I had made it a stop for one reason, Dark Sky. Mission Tejas is recognized as a Bortle Scale Class 3 park. Little did I know that the real reason was hidden on a trail somewhere deep in the park.

The Trails

The park contains over nine miles of trails. They vary in difficulty from easy to challenging. You can view the Park Trail Map here.