Just got back from a camping trip here. We stayed in a screened shelter on the hen house side. We were there for 2.5 days and we managed to finish ALL of the (walkable) trails in the whole park. The park is small but gorgeous and has lots of things to do. Camping, swimming, fish, kayak/canoe... we did two evening swims, and one where it was completely secluded. Absolutely magical. Sadly didn't spot any gators during this trip, but we saw lots of deer and armadillos! The mosquitoes are wicked tho so be sure to pack loooots of bug spray. Our bug spray had DEET in it and although it detered them a bit, it didn't stop them fully. It also rained twice for a little bit over the span of two days so that was really nice considering we come from austin and we haven't seen rain in a few months. Our first shelter actually ended up flooding so staff allowed us to love our things into another available and dry shelter. So anyway - overall we had the most amazing camping trip here. Pros: everything Cons: mosquitos We definitely left here covered head to toe in bites! Haha. read more

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Beautiful park. It's like having 3 different parks in one depending on where you camp. We love this place and come often as possible. It's the first park we camped when we got our rig so it's rather special. read more

Martin Dies Jr State Park - Slough Creek Trail.Flat with some roots so you can mostly ride your bike.Lots of little bridges with this one being one of the best. - Fishing Near Me - Jasper, Texas

Staff at this state park are always friendly, and informative, and always readily available to answer any questions you or your family might have read more

I came here many many times as kid with my family. We would always picnic, swim and just have an incredible time. I was feeling a bit nostalgic and decided to plan a camping trip with my wife and siblings and boy do I not regret it! If you enjoy the grandeur of East Texas you will get more than your fill here. The pine trees and magnolias are all amazing and the environment is next level stuff. The park is brimming with wild life and deer and alligator spotting is common place. There plenty of snakes so be very careful. There are so many bird species to watch that its almost overwhelming! There are lots of trails to walk down and they rent canoes for exploring the lakes. I tried my hand at fishing but after not catching anything I quickly decided that the lake must indeed be void of fish. There's no chance that I just wasn't skilled enough to catch any of them. The cabin we rented was clean, air conditioned and made camping so very comfortable. The bathrooms and showers were also very clean and all in great condition. If you are in this area and looking for a place to take your family camping I have no doubt you wont regret visiting Martin Dies Jr State Park. read more

went canoeing and saw alligators and birds and fish. walked the trails and saw turtles and lots of other stuff. most of the trails are shaded so it wasn't too bad even though it was 92 degrees outside. staff were friendly. read more

Love this park! It is close enough for a weekend trip and far enough to get away from everything. It's beautiful and has so much to offer! Love the combination of trails and water! This is my top choice for camp locations !! read more

My boyfriend & I decided to take a hike after church on a nice Sunday afternoon. It's late October so the weather is cooler & there's some beautiful color changes in the leaves. There are two different sides to the park. The Headquarters office is where you check in & pay $4 per adult for the entrance fee. They give you a map & a receipt to tape on the windshield & you can park at any of the parking spaces around the park near hiking trail entrances. There are walking/hiking trails that are easy enough for children. There isn't big slopes or rocks to climb. We walked Island Trail (we highly recommend) for great water views, benches to sit & overlook the water, & plenty of shaded trail. We saw a family with small kids & people with small dogs on leashes walking the trails. We also walked across Observation bridge & the Nature trail that took us along part of the slough & through most of the wooded area. We saw white cranes, alligators, turtles, a wood pecker, turkey vultures, ducks, & mosquitoes lol (we recommend spraying Deet on even in cooler weather the wooded areas are still pretty dominated with them skeeters!) Anyway, there's a few paddling trails we still want to do & a few other walking/hiking trails. You can mountain bike some trails also & rent canoes & bikes at the Headquarters office. We look forward to coming back to visit this park again. read more

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Camped here Nov 2020 in my fold-up tent. Open during Covid. Wonderful trails to hike, clean restrooms with showers and hot water, beautiful East Texas swamps. Firewood can be purchased near the park ranger. Lots of people on bicycles, people fishing, canoe rentals. Bring white Cmas lights for night around your tent; everyone has them. There is an incredible country restaurant 20 minutes west, serving the most amazing food I've ever had: homemade buttermilk biscuits with butter and honey on the side, collard greens with bacon like granny used to make, crispy delicious fried chicken, homemade mashed potatoes with brown gravy, cornbread muffins, chicken n dumplings, etc, all served family style, peach cobbler for dessert; waitresses wore cute country granny outfits-- I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but you MUST go there once. The food is amazing. read more

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This is a beautiful park which is located about 2 hours northeast of Houston. We love going here in late November. The weather is not too hot or not too cold. The leaves start to change colors in mid-November. This park is unique in that the trees grow in the water! We went for a day trip from Houston. We drove in a little after 12pm. At the headquarters building, we paid for our day pass and grabbed some park maps. We had packed lunch from home, so we had a little picnic by the water with an amazing view. We first went to Slough Trail (~2.24mi) for a walk. I wouldn't recommend this trail if you want a scenic view. This trail is pretty plain, but it is nicely shaded with lots of tall trees. We saw a few people riding bikes through this trail. We would probably rent a bike for this trail next time. You can rent a bike at the headqurters building for $2/hr or $24/day! We then went to pay for canoe rentals at the headqurters building ($15/2hr). They gave us the paddles and life jackets. We drove over to the Walnut Ridge Unit and found our canoe. We rode in our canoe along the Walnut Paddling Trail and it was absolutely beautiful! We saw some turtles chilling by the water! We then went on a short walk on Island Trail (.75mi) and this trail is a must! The trail is right along the water and the view is breathtaking. After this trail, we sat on the Observation Pier and enjoyed the beautiful view and sounds of birds! read more

We came out for Valentine's Day weekend to enjoy the hiking trails and to take part in the star gazing (astronomy workshops) on Saturday. We stayed in Limited Use Cabin #15 in the Walnut Ridge Unit. It is a lake front cabin on high ground. Cabin #15 is much better situated than the other Limited Use Cabin in the Hen House Ridge Unit which had several large puddles of water right next to it which would be a problem during the summer mosquito season. The bathrooms in our camping section were very clean and heated! No hand soap, so make sure to bring it with you. The heater in our cabin was powerful. There was also an outdoor water faucet at every sheltered site. We first walked the Wildlife Trail loop and then took the Island Trail, where we found one of several benches along the northern (looks eastern on park map) side of the island to stop and enjoy our packed lunch. If you have kids, or are not up for heavy hiking mileage, you will want to drive up to this trail entrance point, right after campground 104 in the Walnut Ridge Unit. We saw several senior citizens and younger couples with dogs parking here to enter the trail from this access point. We were fortunate to stay here during the Star Party hosted by The Astronomical Society of South East Texas & Martin Dies Jr. State Park. We met the President of the astronomy group, who was very friendly and informative. We saw Jupiter with all four moons lined up perfectly. Several other telescopes were set up on various other planets, stars and constellations, and eventually the full moon that was out later that night. Park Ranger Amy Kocurek in the Nature Center (Walnut Ridge) is absolutely fantastic! She ran two star gazer activities (astronomy workshops) for the kids earlier that day before the main Star Party event held later that evening in the Hen House Ridge day use area. After the star gazer activities held in the Nature Center earlier in the day, Amy brought out the snakes and baby alligator for us to touch. Definitely stop in the Nature Center while you're here. During our weekend stay we spotted deer, armadillos, squirrel and various birds. No alligators though. We did not have time to rent canoes (starting at $15 for two hours). The guided canoe tours that run every third Saturday of the month don't start up until March. We did see a few folks on canoes, and some of the locals came through the sloughs in speed boats, but slow enough so as not to make much of a wake. If you canoe or kayak, I imagine the marked paddling trails are pretty amazing. Just the views from the shoreline looked interesting. Great scenery and terrain. This is a great weekend getaway, and if you canoe or fish, I imagine you'd want to spend longer than just a weekend. Otherwise, two nights tops is just about right for this place. read more

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So my fiance grew up in Fred, which is not too far from Martin Dies and he would often go here as a kid with his family. We decided to plan a camping trip out here and make a long weekend out of the trip and invite some of his family and friends out to the park to hang out while we were there. We reserved the Hen House Ridge cabin (cabin #41) for 4 nights. The cabins are in the back of the park and right by the lake. Our particular cabin was the largest kind that they offer. It had 2 sets of bunk beds and one set had a full size bed at the bottom. There was an air conditioner/heater unit as well. There was a small table and desk with shelving. When you first go in the main door from outside the first door is to a screened in porch where we kept all of our coolers, folding table, fishing poles and other random camping stuff. Then there is a door to get inside the main part of the cabin. The cabin is not huge by any means but absolutely comfortable. Cabin 41 is also a small walking distance to the restrooms and showers. Each campsite has a wooden picnic table out side and a fire pit/grill. The bathrooms were actually pretty clean and nice for camping I thought. They were also heated. One issue I ran into with the woman's bathroom was that the heater was getting stuck on. The lights are automatic and will pop on when you walk in and a minute later the heater would come on. When you left if no motion was going on I guess it would cut off. About the second day the heater started not cutting off. I let the park ranger know and she reset it, but the issue persisted. It was not a huge issue it was just unnecessarily hot in the woman's restroom when you walked in. The park itself was beautiful. There are forest and nature trails all throughout. There was a swimming spot, but it was too cold for that in February. There was a fishing pier where one of us actually caught a fish! We got there on a Wednesday and it wasn't until Friday afternoon when we started seeing other people at the park really. It was cool to have it all to ourselves the first few days. It was quiet even with the other people on there on the weekend. The park also offers firewood for a suggested donation that goes back into the park. It was actually worth it and easy we thought. We were able to have a camp fire most of the time we were there. It was awesome! They have RV hook ups and tent spots throughout the park too. I know Steve H and I will absolutely be back here in our lifetime. This is a great place to spend time with family and friends, experience the forest, nature and camping. read more

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The boyfriend had never been fishing before, so we took a trip to the state park to cross that activity off the bucket list, keeping in mind that fishing is allowed WITHOUT a license inside of all Texas state parks. Of course, being "city folk", we forgot damn near everything but the poles. Luckily, the entrance office sells ice AND bait. We drove over to the day use area, parked the truck and set everything up. After many attempts to cast properly, and having to stop and untangle his line about ten times, he caught his first fish! Granted, it was about the size of the bobber and had to be thrown back, but dammit, he's an angler now! I almost hate to review this particular park, as it's kind of a hidden gem and I don't want to ruin that. Lakefront camping and day use areas, hiking and biking trails, only about 20 minutes to the nearest Wal-mart (in case, like us, you forget everything) but still easy to immerse yourself in nature. We saw an alligator swimming in the middle of the lake early in the morning. They also offer canoe rentals, playgrounds, and a swimming area for those brave enough to swim with the gators. We have yet to personally camp there, but when I finally wear him down enough to the point he will spend a weekend in a tent, this will be our campsite. read more

Martin Dies Jr State Park - Swimming alligator - Fishing Near Me - Jasper, Texas

It's pretty nice, the trails are excellent however the fishing there is not that good. Most importantly beware of alligators.

I love the campsite and trails. Definitely will return soon with my wife. Park rangers are very friendly

Fabulous family-oriented campsites. Shelters are great in the fall and spring! Cabin and temperature controlled shelters are available at both Hen House Ridge and Walnut Ridge! Swimming hole is great in warm weather and there is also a playground. Bring shower shoes for the public showers and bathrooms. Short drive to Jasper if you forgot anything! Fishing is fun, canoe rentals available, bike rentals available, hiking trails, and geocaching! read more

Martin Dies is one of our family's favorite camping spots. First (and very important for poor planners like us), they almost always have spots available. Also, the campsites, with a few exceptions in the Hen House Ridge side of the park, are generous in size and well-maintained. Great park for canoeing / kayaking (canoe rentals are available), decent fishing, and good hike/bike trails (can get a bit muddy at times -- this is swampy East Texas. If you're camping inclined, give this place a shot. One comment -- in theory, there are lots of gators around here, much like Brazos Bend SP. However, we've been to MD at least six times, and I have literally yet to set eyes on a single gator. At Brazos Bend, I never fail to see 'em... read more

We have been going here for years. Today our daughter is going camping with some friends and when we went to check her in the park ranger in office told us to go on in and drop her off. Needless to say part of the park was closed and we were told to go in. Another park ranger saw us go in and proceeded to fuss us out and ask if my husband was stupid for going into the wrong area. The lady who checked us in told us to go in. She was not very clear. We went back and talked to the lady about it and get better directions and told her what happened. She said she was sorry. He didn't have to be so rude and make us feel that way. read more

This is a great State park with canoeing, fishing, hiking and overall great fun! We stayed in the walnut ridge area at site 117 on the water in a travel trailer. read more

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Ahhhhh peace and quiet at our lovely campsite! What a wonderful weekend! Fishing , sipping coffee, napping and listening to the birds! We will definitely be back! read more

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Excellent park very nice saw deer just walking in front of my car like I wasn't even there

We camped at Walnut Ridge on 4- 9- 2017. There is also another location called "Hen House Ridge" right across the street. While I recommend Hen House (better campsites in my opinion), Walnut Ridge was very nice! The bathrooms were the cleanest bathrooms I have ever seen while tent camping! They stayed that way, too. You do have to purchase firewood and stick gathering is prohibited. It was quiet and everyone stayed to themselves as the park was full! I do recommend this place. I would say campsites 120 - 124 were the best. They were right on the water. There is no swimming at Hen House right now due to construction. We walked Slough Trail all the way to Sandy Creek Trail. Pretty nice trail! read more

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The park itself is huge with an array of interactive things to do, trails, star-viewings, alligators to dodge, snakes to avoid, and bathrooms with water from the showers so hot, scalding is an understatement...BTW, bring your soap, there isn't any to wash the paws after utilizing said bathrooms... Upon arrival, with a campsite already reserved with our outdoors group, I mentioned I was interested in a State Park Pass. Coming from Colorado, where the passes are stickers to be applied to the inside window for the year, was highlighted how much better these passes (physical cards) were cuz I could be in any vehicle to enter a park...yes, a definite bonus...however, not being handed a pass/rec't to apply to my window (nor not knowing that's how things were done in this state) for my weekend stay, the next morning, found a ticket upon my window...grrrr... I walked to the office with my pup as all others of our campers were out on the water or were enjoying the trails (where I and my pup would have preferred to have been as well) and upon trying to enter the office to resolve my ticket, was confronted with a rude statement, "no dogs allowed in this building, state law, not allowed in any state building"...I quickly retreated with another camper walking up to ask if they could help to hold my pup outside whilst I finished inside, and kindly declined stating I needed to defuse for a bit with that abruptness.... I returned to the office a few hours later...when entering the office, stating what I am to do with my ticket as I'd just purchased a Park Pass the day before...the gentleman offered to take care of it as the woman that sold me the pass comes around the counter to tell me I need to put the rec't she gave me the day before in the window...I show the only rec't that was handed me from the day before, the yearly pass rec't....where I'd literally asked the day before, do I need to show this each time I come in?? and she answered, no they swipe your card and you're all set....as I was not sure how that worked, the day before, I just left the office.... ok, my bad for not getting clarification, but now here I am, with ticket in hand, the very next day...she growls, "there should have been a piece of tape on that rec't" I look, no tape, she hands me a piece of tape, dismayed, and not until I enter a State Park a week later, do I realize there was to be an additional rec't for the duration of the stay, too, that I believe was forgone as she was caught up in her colleague showing me pics of the types of snakes on property and to show caution when out hiking with my pup... hhhhmmmm, my fellow campers, hailing from La, Tyler, Hemphill (??) all were surprised that in the middle of Nov, where temps at night hit 36*, wood offered at the campsite was $5 for 7 tiny pieces...I'm originally from Vegas, so I'm not familiar with how limiting this is until I realize the wood that grows in these parts burns instantly and those small logs are gone in under 1/2 an hour...SOOOOO bring your own wood....unless spending $60/night for a campfire is your delight... overall, there is AMPLE acreage to roam, kayak/canoe, bike, hike...PLEEEEAASSE bring up the understanding to the Rangers, as they also came by several times the first evening to state only 2 tents/site when we'd been informed our particular site was fine for many more; AND when ones mention they are from other states, that how things run here in Texas are different, to ensure there won't be mishaps (ie, I didn't receive a rec't to apply to the window for that weekend, nor was informed I needed to APPLY a rec't to a window)... Enjoy the stars, they are beautiful as the ones that do the interactive sharings will enlighten about nuances not beheld by the common eye nor known before listening to what they will love to share.... Please don't review this business if you received a freebie for writing this review, or if you're connected in any way to the owner or employees.t read more

Martin Dies Jr State Park - Beautiful sunset on the Steinhagen Lake of the Neches tributary.. - Fishing Near Me - Jasper, Texas

Very nice park with lots of amenities if you are into having all the comforts of civilization but still like to sleep in a tent and do the campfire thing. One complaint is that it's supposed to be quiet time after 10 pm but there was a nearby group that partied until after 12, good thing I'm a heavy sleeper lol. I guess that's what I get for going on a Friday, but I was trying to get away from the noise. Anyway, the lake is nice and the swamps look really cool, next time I'll camp away from the lake and maybe it will be quieter. read more

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Perfect for Many... Sadly, Not for us anymore... 24th annual camping trip this January... About 17 of those have been at the same site at this park. It is perfect for us tent campers who like a little glamping... electricity, water, firepit on each site... but they are nicely wooded so we don't feel like we're exposed on an RV plot. The bathrooms are nearby... the showers are hot. We, however, will not be back... We stay in the Hen House Ridge unit on a little cul-de-sac (sites 217-219). They were just renumbered this year. Our closest restroom was being renovated... which is great... but it was always fine. The problem wasn't with the campground itself this year. It was with the State Police. We are a group of all adult campers... mostly in our 40's and 50's. There are about 10 of us... all fully employed adults. The first interaction occurred at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. There were five of us sitting outside. The police officer walked up and told us to turn our music down. We did. He told us that we needed to make sure all of our vehicles were parked in the driveways (one wasn't). Then he said, "and most importantly ... just be honest with me. Where's the marijuana?" We looked at each other perplexed. There was no marijuana... He said "Don't lie to me. It has a very distinct smell... it's coming from that shelter." We've been going for 20 years... so we've got the glamping thing down. The temperature dropped to 15 degrees when we were there, so we have a commercial canopy... the kind with four walls... that can be used for festivals. We invited him to go in there and look around. He did. There was nothing. About five hours later... around 8 o'clock... all of the vehicles are in their proper places. about ten of us are around the campfire. We are talking... have just finished eating prime rib and jerk chicken... a flashlight turns on behind us... and he says, "Officer Friendly again...." He had parked around the corner somewhere and walked up to us sitting around the campfire. He tells us we are too loud. One of our group apologizes about the music. He says "The music is actually fine. It's your voices." Again, this was around 8 o clock at night. We apologize... but are getting a little bit angry. We camp in January so that there are few people in the park. We don't like to be disturbed or disturbing... He says "I see beer cans on the ground over there. Public display of alcohol is not allowed." This is a rule of which we are aware. We know that it is not one that is usually enforced in a state park... but we should not have had alcohol in public. Then, he says... "Again... I CLEARLY smell marijuana. I KNOW what it smells like." We HAD NO MARIJUANA. One of the people in our group says "Some of us are smoking cigars..." Someone else says "Maybe it's the campfire." The officer says "I know the difference between marijuana and a cigar..." Clearly, he does not... because there's NO MARIJUANA!!! Then he says "You're that same group who comes every year, right?" He continues to talk about marijuana. We invite him AGAIN to look around... search our vehicles... us... whatever... He walks around my tent with a flashlight for a bit... and then leaves. This is particularly troublesome because many members of our group have professional licenses (truck driver, teacher, doctor) which could be affected by any sort of infraction. He was clearly lying about smelling drugs and we have no idea WHY he would lie... but if he was willing to lie about it.... how MUCH would he be willing to lie? Would he make something up entirely? It made for a bad evening. We truly felt we couldn't talk or laugh... that he was literally waiting around the corner to catch us opening a beer... and his mentioning that we were there every year makes us feel no longer welcome. On the way out of the park, a friend has bid the park "farewell" for the last 17 years... continuing the tradition, he honked his horn to say goodbye to us and to the campsite. The state police pulled him over... told him not to honk his horn for no reason and stated "You're from the group in the corner..." Another individual of our group mentioned the flex of authority/intimidation when she was checking out at the front of the park. The park ranger seemed empathetic and concerned and suggested that we speak with the park manager. We will. I just wanted to be sure any group of friends who planned to travel to the park had full disclosure. On the day we left there were a couple groups of boyscouts and several families who seemed to be having a very good time. We have in the past as well. I'm sorry my memories of this park had to be tarnished by the actions of the police. I"m sorry these few police officers made me feel harassed and intimidated because I have great respect for the police. I wanted to be sure any other groups who plan to go to this campsite are aware that this could happen if they choose to go with a large group. read more

Our first time here coming in from Houston. Very well laid out park. Beautiful lake. Sites are huge, nicely wooded, quite a few waterfront. Most for RVs are paved and level. Waterfront tent camping available. Fishing piers and a boat ramp. Lots of wildlife as it's a nature preserve. Staff and Hosts are excellent. 11 miles from Jasper so you have easy access to stores, gas, dining. read more

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This is a beautiful park surrounded by the Piney Woods of East Texas. There are many opportunities for fishing, kayaking, canoeing, camping, etc. read more

This is a beautiful park with plenty of hiking trails and planned activities for the entire family to enjoy. You can enjoy canoeing, biking, geo caching and fishing also! read more

We have been coming to this park to camp for years. The camp grounds are very spacious and well taken care of. Having a swimming area is perfect for hot afternoons! The rangers are always helpful and treat guest with respect but they expect you to follow the park rules. They have events at the nature center on the weekends for kids and watching the snake feeding is a must. The bathrooms are well kept but old and in need of remodeling. They are also a little small when the park is at full capacity. All in all, we really enjoy camping here. read more

This park is beautiful! I have been coming here for years. It's clean, well kept, and plenty to do. Now having said that I'm sad to say I will never return. Something has changed here and It's not the scenery or the design of the park. The park Rangers have been particularly special as of late. I don't like bashing officers of the law because they do have a difficult job, as I'm sure I can't understand what they have to go through. But I also don't like being targeted and harassed. We are a group of 12 people and can be loud and I know when it gets dark we need to keep it down. But being told that we are too loud in the middle of the day. Not our radio, but us, is ridiculous. I could see if we had other campers around us and altho their were other campers in the park their was no one around us. I could hear people in other parts of the park but I guess they weren't being told the same. One of the officers had parked his car down the road and snuck up on us after dark trying to catch us smoking Marijuana which he kept on insisting that he smelled. Right, like we're sitting around a campfire at 8 at night openly smoking a joint in a Federal park 7 hours after we had been visited by a park ranger. I don't know, maybe it happens but we are a group of 40 and 50 somethings and just really are not that stupid. And no, we didn't have any pot. The officer was clearly lying and on a fishing expedition. Well all this had just really knocked my attitude in the dirt and I left the next day. As I was leaving just after I passed the office I honked my horn basically saying goodbye to the park for the last time. I got pulled over by a park ranger just after the bridge on 190 asking me what I was honking my horn for. It was 7 in the evening and it looked like the office was closed I have no idea where he was or where he came from. I told him why and he said, "Oh, ok. I thought maybe I knew you." Bullshit. We have been going to this park every year for more than 20 years and as sentimental as I am It breaks my heart to say I'll never go again. But I Guess it's time to turn the page. read more