Piney Woods

Piney Woods spans the easternmost border of Texas. Generally, the cities and towns in this area are less commonly recognized. Towns and cities in the Piney Woods region include Athens, Nacogdoches, Palestine, San Augustine, Texarkana, and Tyler. Unlike much of Texas, Piney Woods is covered in dense pine forests. The area is packed with national and state forests, gorgeous lakes, and even a few logging industries.

Piney Acres spans a little more than 141,000 acres. The area is covered in forests, so visitors can enjoy viewing a wide variety of trees including dogwoods, Eastern Redbud, elms, hickory, maples, oaks, persimmons, pines, and sweetgums. In the fall, the changing leaves can create amazing foliage. In the spring and summer months, the flowers are beautiful and scatter the landscape with brilliant color. In certain areas of the Piney Woods region, wisteria is found in the wild creating magnificent walls of color in the spring and summer months.

Some people feel that the logging industry threatens the magnificent ecosystem found in Piney Woods. Already Texas Trailing Phlox is endangered. Over the years, black bears have pretty much been wiped out in this region. In time it may be hard to balance the need for the jobs the mills offer and the protection of the fauna and flora found within the region. Those who come to Piney Woods to experience the national and state forests must remember to take out what they bring in. Trash, unsupervised campfires, and cigarette butts can cause damage to the natural areas.

Unlike many areas of Texas, rainfall is much higher in this region. Most cities and towns average sixty inches of rain per year. Some southern areas of Piney Woods have bayou areas where Spanish moss dangles from cypress trees. Again, this natural scenery makes for exceptional photographs.

Trout fishing is best in the Piney Woods region. Every January through March, anglers head to Athens for the Annual Trout Harvest. Lake Livingston is an 84,000-acre reservoir where people are welcome to enjoy camping, picnics, boating, mountain biking, horse riding, and fishing. Lake Livingston holds an annual Crappiethon from February to April to see who can catch the largest crappie. Catfish flourish in the rivers, so anglers should expect increased odds at catching catfish during their fishing trips.

Sick of tax season? Henderson, Texas holds an annual Taxation Sensation event at an area plantation where vendors can sell their goods for ridiculous discounts. This is only one of the area’s more goofy festivals. June finds the Annual Tomato Fest hitting the town of Jacksonville. One of the key events in this festival is the Couch Tomato Olympics. In October, Marshall holds an annual Fire Ant Festival where people are welcome to enter the fire ant calling, ugly face making, or rubber chicken chucking contests.

Nacogdoches holds the esteemed title of “Oldest Town In Texas.” Established by the Caddo Indian tribe, Spanish explorers converged on the area in 1716 creating a settlement that would become an official town approximately six decades later. Millard’s Crossing is one of the area’s most popular attractions. Others include Lanana Creek Trail, Durst-Taylor Historic House, and the Sterne-Hoya House Museum.

Tyler is home to the largest municipal rose garden in the United States. Covering 22-acres of land, the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden and Museum feature more than 500 different varieties of roses on 38,000 bushes. Tyler is named for former President John Tyler. The city’s rich history is apparent at the Camp Ford Historical Park and the Charnwood Historical District. Children enjoy Brookshire’s World of Wildlife Museum and Country Store and the Caldwell Zoo.

Kilgore, Texas is home to the World’s Richest Acre, a former oil field where more than two and a half million barrels of oil have been produced. Within Kilgor