mission tejas state park

We have been to this park many times for hiking and geocaching. Our youngest is 15 months and we even manage to push her around in a stroller. The playground is nice for the kids. We LOVE this park!!! It's quiet and not very visited. The park Superintendent and their staff have done a wonderful job with the park and it's maintenance. You should go!!!!!

We took our travel trailer out for a weekend of camping with the kids. Mission Tejas is small park so campsites (tent and camper sites) are fairly close together. Some, not all. It's in the Davy Crockett National Forest so if trees are your friend, it's a beautiful place to visit. The woodpeckers were so abundant and active it was like Morse Code in the forest. MTSP has several short trails but don't let the length lull you into thinking they're easy. For a forest, there are some good elevation changes and rock to deal with. They don't call it the Steep Step Trail for no reason.If you're into geocaching, they have enough to keep you occupied. HQ has a nice little assortment of souvenirs. Drinks and ice for sale also. Firewood is free; it's donated by a local lumber yard.Very nice gem in the Pineywoods and very family friendly.

We were looking to camp and stargaze. We picked the night of the Orionid meteor shower. The restrooms/showers were clean. We saw more than 20 meteors. We would camp here again.

If you enjoy quiet, this is the park for you. Restrooms are clean with only one shower stall in the men’s/women’s bathhouse. You’ll find the sites are a little closer together than other TX State Parks. Additionally, some sites are not level so to bring extra blocks if you have an RV.Lots of history in the park including a reproduction log cabin and mission. Davy Crocket, on the way to the Alamo, walked the El Camano Trail that runs through the park.If you have small children there is a fairly new playground and picnic area. The fishing pond was a little disappointing due to small size and many water plants near the banks that prevented getting near the water to cast. Also it’s not big enough for a boat/canoe/kayak. However, I was assured it does have fish.If you have teenagers that must have internet and/or wireless access via cell phone be warned signal that strength is *very* low within the park. The good side is you can wean yourself from the trappings of email for a few days.As others have mentioned, be sure to bring your food and supplies. The nearest shopping is ~20 miles away in Crocket which is not a very big town. Bottom line: We enjoy most all of TX State Parks and Mission Tejas is another one we’ll be back to visit…often.

We spent the weekend at Mission Tejas State Park. We hiked the 10 miles of trails, saw and read about the old Mission, the Rice family home, El Camino Real, the CCC baths, and the fire tower. The trails were fairly well kept and very well marked. Most of the hiking was easy, but there were some challenging hills (Steep Step Trail). The campsite was clean, and we had water and electricity. The bathrooms and shower were also clean. We found 7 of the 8 geocaches that the park maintains. One of them had been removed by some previous visitors, but the park ranger assured us that it would be replaced. There is also a virtual cache at the CCC baths. We enjoyed the time alone as a couple. The park is very quiet and there were not many visitors. The rangers are awesome. They went out of their way to help us. There is a playground and a pond to fish in at this park.

We enjoyed our stay at Mission Tejas State Park - the staff were outstanding, the trails easy to follow and well maintained, and the history in the park is amazing! We even tried Geocaching for the first time, using a ranger supplied (free) hand-held GPS unit. Walking a short part of the El Camino Real trail, the same one that Davy Crockett and others traveled, was inspiring.Some campsite notes: as stated elsewhere the spots are not very level so make sure you have enough leveling blocks or whatever you use. I used all three sets of my blocks, where in other campgrounds the most I've had to use are about one and half of the set of blocks. The water can be a little far also - I could have parked better if I had a longer hose. I've since added a 2nd 25' hose for situations like this. However, even with these "drawbacks" we loved the park and highly recommend it.

Just came back. Camped in an RV. Great park, well maintained, clean bathroom/ showers, very informative, nice, hard working rangers. Nice camping sites. One can learn a lot about TX history there.

I visited in early August primarily to do some hiking. Not only did I find the hiking trails very enjoyable, but I was treated to some interesting history as well. The park itself is set amongst tall pine trees along the northern end of the Davy Crockett National Forest. It was extremely quiet when I visited near noon on a Sunday, possibly due to the high temperature that day. I was there for about three hours, and never saw another soul other than the ranger at the front gate. The ranger gave me the map of the park which can also be obtained online. She also gave me a map of their new hiking trails which is NOT online yet. I didn't get to the new section, but enjoyed hiking the winding, hilly trails through the woods despite the heat. Most of it was well shaded, and I had plenty of water. I found the pond to be murky looking and likely low due to the drought. At times the trails are a little overgrown and have some downed trees, just remember the color code for the trail you are on and look for the paint markers on the trees to guide your way. These markers were really helpful. I think my favorite areas were the Lightening, Steep Steps, and Olen Matchett trails because of the ruggedness of them.The first historical feature I came across was the remnants of the fire tower, along with written facts about it. I then walked the trail up to the restored Rice Family Log Home, which was also a place people used to lodge when traveling the El Camino Real from San Antonio to Nacogdoches. Lastly, I hiked the Karl Lovett Trail down to the commemorative mission. It is a replica of the San Francisco de Los Tejas mission church, which was the first mission in Texas. The restrooms at the parking area were in great shape and very clean. Also located by the parking area are some nice picnic tables and a lovely children's playground.Also for anyone interested in history, the Caddo Mounds State Historic Site is less than ten minutes away on Hwy 21. Although the museum is closed for renovations until late 2014, the mound site and grounds are open.I'll return to this peaceful park to hike some of the trails I didn't get around to on this visit.

Beautiful, quiet, GREEN!!!A truly peaceful getaway with pleasantly situated campsites. Clean facilities. Some interesting historic structures. Nice, varied trails. Outstanding rangers and park personnel - very helpful and knowledgeable.

This is a small state park in the Davy Crockett National Forrest that just peaceful and beautiful!! They have 15 campsites that are all great. There are several excellent hiking trails that we enjoyed. There is not television or cell service, just peace and quiet!

We RV to State Parks......many of them.....all good....but, we just happened upon this small park in central east Texas. It is very hilly, very treed, rock outcroppings and a stream running right next to our site.....we never expected all of this. There were so many trails...up and down hills....historical buildings and historical El Camino Real historic trail that was taken by Davey Crocket, Sam Houston, etc. etc.There are beautiful sites with water/electricity/ sewer, and beautiful sites with only water/electricty. You can't go wrong any where here, but do bring all your supplies, it is a "fer piece" to a store.

Vary pretty park, sites are level but close together, can be crowed and noisy on weekends, trails and park attractions are awesome. Would definitely stay here again.