[Video] Huntsville State Park: A Place to Unwind Near Houston, TX

Dec 30

Before the end of 2021, I wanted to venture out to one more place that I had on my list for the year – Huntsville State Park. Since I was heading to Houston for Christmas, I figured it would be the perfect time to go. And I was not disappointed. I hiked the Loblolly and Chinquapin trails and enjoyed the beautiful views of the pines and the lake. Check out my recap video above to watch my experience!

Only 0.2 miles, the Loblolly trail is where I started my hike near the Nature Center. After that, I walked to the next trailhead and started the 6.9 mile Chinquapin trail. Labeled as challenging on the map, it goes along the perimeter of Raven Lake. You’ll walk amongst pines, see wildlife, and cross through the wetlands at the Headwater Boardwalk. Check out the custom AllTrails map I made below that you can use to go the same route. If you don’t already have this app on your phone, it's a good one to have when adventuring. Download it here.

If you want a little more of a challenge, there is also the Triple C Trail that borders the entire park. It’s approximately 8.4 miles round trip and you’ll come across a lot of the projects that the Civilian Conservation Corps developed to bring this park to life!

Fun Fact: The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that built this park was made up of African-American veterans that spearheaded important projects like the dam, boathouse, recreation hall, and More.

There are also a variety of other trails that are shorter and have an easy to moderate difficulty level, if you're looking for something a little less intense! These include the:

Dogwood Trail – 1.8 miles
Prairie Branch Loop – 1.5 miles
Coloneh Trail – 0.8 miles

What to Do at Huntsville State Park?

Huntsville State Park opened in May of 1956. The over 2,000-acre park sits near the western edge of the southern pine belt and is blanketed by a variety of trees like loblolly pines, southern red oaks, and sweetgums. You can spend an entire day here doing a variety of activities like:

Camping
Hiking
Biking
Fishing
Swimming
Paddling
Geocaching
Birdwatching

Final Thoughts

If you're in the Houston area or looking for a new park to recreate at, you'll probably fall in love with this one. Camping, kayaking, and fishing are on my list the next time I come here. I hope you add this park to your list and schedule a trip out to Huntsville soon. Happy hiking!

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