Goose Island State Park: Turks Cap Trail (Blog Hike #1102)

Trail: Turks Cap Trail
Hike Location: Goose Island State Park
Geographic Location: north of Rockport, TX (28.13672, -96.98858)
Length: 1.4 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: February 2026
Overview: A short, flat campground out-and-back to a bird viewing area.
Park Information: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/goose-island
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming February 16, 2027)

Directions to the trailhead: From Rockport, take SR 35 north across LBJ Memorial Bridge to Main Street/Park Road 13 in Lamar.  Turn right on Park Road 13.  Drive Park Road 13 east 1.4 miles to Park Road 13B and turn right on Park Road 13B, which deadends at the park entrance.  Pay the entrance fee, then turn right twice to enter the Lantana Loop of the park's campground.  Park in the trailhead parking lot on the right at the north side of the campground.

The hike: Located at the intersection of St. Charles and Aransas Bays, Goose Island State Park protects 321 acres mostly on the mainland near its namesake island.  The park came to be due to a sequence of private landowners deeding lands to the state between 1931 and 1935.  Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1801 built the original park buildings in the 1930s; some of them including the recreation hall are still in use today.

            Water access remains the main feature of Goose Island State Park, and fishing, paddling, and boating remain the park's most popular activities.  The park does offer a 101-site developed campground, and the state champion southern live oak, which is thought to be 1000 years old, stands technically within the park but outside the park's main area.  For hikers, the park offers only 1 short nature trail: the Turks Cap Trail described here.  This 0.7-mile one-way trail goes from one part of the campground to another.  While this trail is definitely not my favorite hike in south Texas, it is an enjoyable campground nature trail, especially near sunrise or sunset when wildlife viewing is at its best.

North trailhead, Turks Cap Trail

            There are parking lots at both ends of the trail, so you could start at either end.  I started at the north end, where an information board and a kiosk with benches mark the trailhead.  The dirt/gravel trail heads west with some traffic noise from Main Street coming through the trees to your right.  Some interpretive signs point out the large live oak trees that grow beside the trail.  While nowhere near the size or age of the state champion southern live oak, the craggy branches of these sprawling trees form fascinating canopies to walk under.  Greenbrier and yaupon holly dominate the understory.

Large live oak tree

            At 0.25 miles, the trail curves left to begin heading southeast with the park boundary still close on the right.  Despite this park's name and location, water never comes into view on this trail, which somewhat disappointed me.  All of the terrain on this trail is very flat.  Ignore side trails that exit left and head to various sites in the campground.  Some benches offer places to rest and watch for wildlife.

Bird viewing area

            Just before reaching the south trailhead, you pass a bird viewing area on the right.  Some bird feeders were attracting common songbirds such as cardinals on my visit, but the lack of a bird blind means you have to sit very quietly, motionlessly, and patiently to see any birds.  I heard more birds in the nearby bushes than I saw.  Upon reaching the south trailhead, reverse course for 0.7 miles to return to your car at the north trailhead and complete the hike.

Village Creek State Park: Village Slough and Longleaf Pine Trails et. al. (Blog Hike #1101)

Trails: Village Slough, Longleaf Pine, Water Oak, River Birch, and Bike/Fitness Trails
Hike Location: Village Creek State Park
Geographic Location: east of Lumberton, TX (30.25155, -94.17525)
Length: 2.8 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: February 2026
Overview: A loop hike over flat terrain through many types of habitats.
Park Information: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/village-creek
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming November 6, 2026)

Directions to the trailhead: On the south side of Lumberton, take US 69 to Mitchell Road.  Exit, go east on Mitchell Rd., then almost immediately turn left on FM 3513.  Drive FM 3513 north 1.9 miles to Alma Drive and turn right on Alma Dr.  Angle left after crossing the railroad tracks.  Take Alma Dr. east 0.5 miles to the park entrance on the left.  Angle softly left to enter the park, pay the park entrance fee, then drive past the developed campground to the gravel trailhead parking area on the left.

The hike: Located at the southern end of east Texas' vast area of pine woods known as the Big Thicket, Village Creek State Park protects 2466 acres along its namesake creek.  Typical of waterways in the Big Thicket, Village Creek is a slow-moving blackwater stream that loses only 102 feet of elevation over its 63 mile course.  The creek passes 3 large tracts of protected land on its way to the Neches River: Big Thicket National Preserve, the Roy E. Larsen Sandyland Sanctuary, and of course Village Creek State Park.  The state park's land was acquired by the State of Texas in 1979.  The park opened in 1994, making it among the newer state parks in Texas.

            In terms of amenities, Village Creek State Park offers a 25-site developed campground, a rentable picnic pavilion, and a rentable cabin, but paddling on the creek remains the park's most popular activity.  For hikers, the park offers 12 trails, all but 2 of which are less than 1 mile in length.  I came here intending to hike the Village Creek Trail, the park's most difficult and famous trail, but that trail remains closed due to flood damage from Tropical Storm Harvey in 2017.  Thus, I cobbled together several of the park's shorter trails to form the longest possible loop without retracing my steps.  Such is the route described here.

Start of Village Slough Trail

            From the trailhead parking lot, head south to cross the park road and begin the signed Village Slough Trail, which is marked with green trail markers.  The wide dirt trail heads south with Village Slough and the park boundary on the right.  Village Slough is one of the many slow watercourses that empty into Village Creek, and several benches offer opportunities to rest and watch for wildlife beside the water.

Village Slough

            Ignore the inner loop of the Village Slough Trail as it exits left.  At 0.4 miles, the trail curves left to leave the slough's bank.  All of the terrain in this park is very flat, and the going remains very easy.  At 0.7 miles, you reach a major trail intersection.  If you wanted a short hike, you could angle left and continue the Village Slough Trail, which quickly returns to the trailhead parking area.  This hike turns right to begin the Longleaf Loop.

Entering the longleaf pine planting

            True to its name, the Longleaf Loop explores a longleaf pine forest planting.  Unfortunately, while longleaf pines with their long needles and tall, straight, stately trunks are among my favorite pines, this longleaf pine planting is very young.  Thus, while this trail will be a very scenic trail in a few decades, right now this area is more of a hot, sunny, grassy savannah than a cool, stately pine forest.

Young longleaf pine planting

            At 1.55 miles, you reach the end of the Longleaf Loop at an intersection with the Water Oak Trail.  Again with the goal of forming the longest loop without retracing steps, turn right to begin the Water Oak Trail.  The Water Oak Trail heads east into cooler shadier oak/pine forest on a wide sandy dirt track that appears to be an old road.  1.8 miles into the hike, you reach another trail intersection.  The Water Oak Trail continues southeast for almost 2 more miles, but it does not form a loop.  Thus, I turned left to leave the Water Oak Trail and begin the River Birch Trail.

Hiking the Water Oak Trail

            The short River Birch Trail quickly comes alongside Cane Slough, another slow-moving waterway that feeds Village Creek.  Less than 1000 feet after it started, the River Birch Trail ends at an intersection with the Village Creek Trail.  To the right is the closed portion of the Village Creek Trail.  A wall of yellow caution tape forbids entry, and it is never a good idea to hike on closed trails.  Turn left to begin the open portion of the Village Creek Trail.

Cane Slough

            You pass the primitive camping area to reach the canoe launch parking area at 2.15 miles, where the Village Creek Trail ends.  We will eventually angle left to do a short road walk, but first walk to the right (north) end of the parking lot to get your view of Village Creek.  More of a river than a creek at this point, Village Creek has steep and scenic white sandy dirt banks, and you can see how the deep slow water is ideal for paddling.  A picnic shelter near the creek offers a good opportunity to sit, rest, have a snack, and admire the creek.

Village Creek

            Continue by walking out the park road that accesses the canoe launch parking area, but at 2.45 miles look for the unsigned start of the Bike/Fitness Trail on the right.  The Bike/Fitness Trail offers a short loop through dense pine/oak woods, and it offers several stations with suggested exercises.  While not the most scenic trail, the Bike/Fitness Trail is better than walking along the park road and it adds some distance.  The Bike/Fitness Trail's short loop comes out at the east edge of the trailhead parking lot, thus completing the hike.