Big Thicket National Preserve is an American treasure. It is a beautifully serene area of the country located in East Texas that fully deserves all the attention it's due. The many ecosystems that this park encompasses is a geological mystery that starts millions of years ago with the movement of glaciers. We only had a short 2 hour time window to enjoy the exhibits at the visitors center, the short film in the theatre, and a quick hike close to the visitors center. The film is the same one you can view on their website, so if you are short on time, skip it and watch it at home. The gift shop is stocked with amazing items, so definitely save 5 minutes to browse around. My kids enjoyed speaking to Ranger Scott about his favorite animal in the preserve, the American alligator, and completing the Junior Ranger booklet for the badges. This program is targeted for 14 and under but adults can participate as well. read more

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Nice NPS site. Small but informative visitor center with friendly ranger. Infrastructure is simple and well maintained. Nice junior ranger program. Would not go out of my way to visit but worth a stop if in area. read more

The preserve itself is fascinating enough...but my destination inside the preserve is supposedly the most haunted road in Texas! The preserve is seriously huge. I only visited a small part in particular but spent about 30-40 minutes driving THROUGH the preserve to get to the part I visited lol! But it's a gorgeous drive regardless! The preserve is really a fascinating phenomenon in and of itself...biologists have identified at least 8-10 different ecosystems existing all within the preserve....harmoniously! Of particular interest to me was the Ghost Road Scenic Drive (AKA Bragg Rd). It's an 8 mile stretch of dirt road that falls between Hwy 787 in Saratoga, Tx and Hwy 1293 in Bragg, Tx. It's famous for the haunting Saratoga Mystery Lights, among other ghostly and mysterious sightings and is reportedly the most haunted road in Texas! It's actually a "public park" in Hardin County...but this is no "park"...it's a surreal dirt road that's like driving through a creepy, never-ending tunnel surrounded by swamps and clearings. I saw an abandoned wheelchair and flashes of lights that made my stomach swim with butterflies! But they all turned out to be cars haha! So I didn't end up seeing any spirits or ghosties...but it was an interesting experience! I highly recommend you have a decent set of tires for it though bc there are lots of potholes and mud...Tropical Storm Hanna had just been through and it was nasty weather! read more

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Animals, plants, and fungi abound here. Stayed at an air bnb right near a turkey creek trailhead, and it was probably one of the most peaceful places I've ever been. The pitcher plant trail was awesome! read more

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We went camping for the first time here and I'm so glad we did. We went mid December and it was just beginning to drop temperatures so not mosquitoes or sweating. We found the perfect place to set up camp with no one around us but the coyotes. It was beautiful yet scary sleeping in the woods at night. We were able to witness thousands of pitcher plants the next morning. Their nature center is spectacular with all sorts of information about the Big Thicket. I would not want to camp anywhere else. read more

Be sure to stop by the visitor center first! Great info and Instagram-worthy photo op by the huge pitcher plant. Perfect for children. SO much info on carnivorous plants. We were told there were not any Sundew carnivorous plants at this park, but we found one on our hike!!!!! OMG We found a teeny teeny Pygmy Sundew! Smaller than a dime. Beautiful! Insects get trapped in the sticky dew, then the plant slowly devours the insects. Fascinating park. Great hikes. We camped here-- primitive camping, but the mosquitos and bugs were terrible. I ended up getting a spider bite on my leg that left a big black wound for six weeks. Eeeek. The place felt weirdly haunted while camping at night. But I'd definitely go back someday. Wonderful park. read more

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Beautiful park. We only stayed overnight as we were just passing through but what we saw of the park was very pretty. Lots of trees in our area. If we go back that way we would definitely stay again. read more

The Big Thicket National Preserve is one of few great places to do hiking and camping at. The visitors Center was open on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and they gave us useful information and maps. The Preserve has different varieties of plants including pine and carnivorous plants. We did a 7+miles hiking at the north end of the Preserve , which is also called the Turkey Creek trail. We were able to see a great botanical diversity and the most fascinating, though, was the carnivorous plants. The Preserve has better trail than most parks I have hiked at both in the state of Texas and some National recreation Centers. We had a great experience on Saturday of the Thanksgiving. read more

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Growing up in the Big Thicket and visiting the parents there often, I love this place. Stop by the Visitor's Center and enjoy the cool displays and full wall murals. The giant pitcher plant is pretty cool if I do say so. The movie is worth watching too. If nothing else, relax and cool down in the nice, cold theater for 10 minutes. For the kiddies, don't forget to get a Big Thicket coloring book and be part of the Junior Ranger Program, for free, of course. Once they complete a few little challenges they will receive a little ranger hat and badge. Take a walk down one of the trails such as the Kirby Trail, which is only a few miles down the road from the Visitor's Center and will allow views of Village Creek, or the Sundew Trail, which is excellent for families or a nice picnic lunch and will allow you to see Big Thicket's 2 carnivorous plants: the sundew and the pitcher plant. For those looking for a bigger adventure, you can rent canoes/kayaks from one of the area outfitters (info available at the Visitor's Center) and paddle Village Creek. Also, it is little known that the trails are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so grab a flashlight and take a night hike! Choose a night with a full moon, and you'll barely need a light. Tread lightly and you're sure to see and hear more wildlife than you do during the day. If you want to camp overnight in the Preserve, back country permits are available for free in the Visitor's Center. Please don't go camping without telling the park first, because even experienced hikers have gotten lost in the thicket. There is also a special place tucked off Village Creek where you can experience the pull of quick sand! read more

First off no park fee to get in which is pretty cool. There are 40 miles of hiking trails that are throughout this park, making it a great place to get a workout in. Been here about five times and only ran into ten or so other people. If you're jogging watch out for spiders. read more

Big Thicket National Preserve - Parks Near Me - Kountze, Texas

I'm certain this address is wrong, here's the correct one: 6044 Farm to Market Road 420 Kountze, TX 77625-7841 I went with a couple of my buddies and ran the Woodlands Trail loop and had a pretty great time. I love a good trail run and Woodlands didn't disappoint. The trail is easy to navigate and great for walking or running. The scenery was great as we ran across bridges, over dirt and grass, but bugs were often an issue. Either way it was worth the drive out of Beaumont to take in a bit of nature and a great trail run. read more

Fun park with some cool trails. Spiders like to make webs where you walk so watch out. Bring some bug spray too. If you're lucky you'll even see a woodpecker. Like everything else in the National Park Service, the staff here is very friendly and knowledgable. They obviously love their job and love wildlife. Make sure you check out the carnivorous pitcher plants and if you're super lucky, you'll see a bug go in! read more

Big Thicket National Preserve - Pitcher Plant - Parks Near Me - Kountze, Texas

We got here around lunchtime on a Sunday afternoon. There was a sign on the door of the visitor center saying the attendant would be back at 1:30. "Malibu", as my wife came to know him as because of his long blond hair and blue eyes, came around 1:45. We didn't let that get our spirits down. We hiked around and found it quite relaxing, despite the lack of hills or water. We wished we had more time to explore the other trails. We'll definitely be back! read more

What a beautiful park! I had a completely different image of Texas before moving here, but places like these leave me pleasantly surprised. We first went to the visitor center which does a good job of explaining the details of the park. We then drove to the Kirby Nature Trailhead. You can park here and there are also restrooms you can use. From there on one can choose from three different trails. We did the five-mile Sandhill Loop and emerged very satisfied. This is a great time to be there because there are so many flowers in bloom. The trails are spotted with benches, so you can take in the spots. This walk goes through a diverse landscape. We walked by the creek, through a meadow, and over bridges. The silence is beautiful. Observe closely and you can spot bobcat marks in the mud. We also did a part of the Turkey Creek trail that was more hushed and beautiful. The trail was slightly flooded in certain spots, but nothing one cant manage. We will go here again. You absolutely must carry a mosquito spray. read more

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I hiked the Kirby Nature Trail this past Sunday morning. Part of The Big Thicket National Preserve System - located in Kountz, TX - temperature was 68 degrees - totally awesome hiking at this temperature. This trail was very well maintained and an easy hike. Grandkids loved it. read more

Lots of cool cypress knees, pitcher plants, sundews, and birds. The visitor center is worth checking--they have a nice film and multimedia displays that explain the amazing geographic (and wildlife) diversity. read more

Free Parking Drinking Water (trail head only.. and it's hit or miss) Well kept trails (mostly) Great Trail surface (mostly pine straw/leaves but with sand, roots, and rocks here and there) I've lived around this area most of my life but only recently visited this trail system. Since then I run the trails regularly and here's a breakdown on the few I've run. ON ALL OF THESE TRAILS... Beware of ticks. Every time I run I leave with a tick. Mine have always been Lone Star Tick (small brown with a tiny white dot on its back) and they are not known to carry the bacteria that causes Lyme's disease. PLEASE do NOT take my word on this and follow up with a Doctor if you are bitten by ANYTHING. The most accessible and well kept of the trails are the Kirby Loops and the Sandhill Trail/Loop consisting of about a 5 miles of clean wide trails. If you're with a family there is much to see. If you go in the summer bring water and watch out for bugs. Horse flies, Deer flies, and mosquitos are everywhere (especially near water). If you're running these trails watch for hikers! The Turkey Creek Trail South (my fav for running) begins at the northern most part of Sandhill Loop. If you skip the loops, this is almost exactly two miles from the Kirby TH. From this point there is just over 4 miles of trail to Gore Store Rd. and the trail is less kept than Kirby. There's never any confusion about where the trail is located but it currently (summer 2014) has some areas where spring growth has narrowed the trail. The southern part of the trail ends at the Gore Store road trail head. There are only restrooms here, no water. The Turkey Creek Trail North is about 9 miles long with a trail head on FM 1943 in Warren and Gore Store Rd (there's another off of Pitcher Plant Trail but I've never been on that one. Neither of the first two have water. From FM 1943 to where the trail touches the Pitcher Plant Trail it is fairly well kept and wide. Beyond this point the trail is not kept very well. There are felled trees every few hundred yards or so and in some areas, the trail is completely blocked by brush and you have to make your own path around. At about 4.2 miles from the TH, the trail crosses Hester Bridge Rd. and there are no markings to indicate where the trail continues. Take a right (west) on Hester Bridge Rd and cross Hester bridge (Turkey Creek). The trail continues on the left (south) and follows Turkey Creek. The first mile of the 3 to Gore Store Rd are fairly scenic and easily passible. The last two miles are fairly straight and fairly boring. I've so far only run this trail once and it was after a big storm. There were many many patch of water on the trail and the bugs were out in force. The gore store TH had a tree blocking the parking area but it had just fell and I'm sure it will be removed soon. read more