HOUSTON — By 2038, there will be six new state parks across Texas, including two in the Houston area.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said one of the new parks will be in Liberty County, about 45 minutes east of downtown Houston. Another will be developed in Calhoun County and will preserve 13 miles of shoreline along Matagorda Bay.
"There is a need to provide more recreational opportunities for the growing population of Texas," Texas State Parks Director Rodney Franklin said. "Until the recent passage of Proposition 5, we haven’t had the funds to develop some of the properties we have in our inventory. So, it’s exciting that we can build new state parks for future generations of Texans to enjoy."
Here's a list of the new parks:
- Palo Pinto Mountains State Park near Fort Worth
- Dan A. Hughes Unit of the Devils River State Natural Area near Del Rio
- Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area near Boerne
- Powderhorn State Park near Port Lavaca
- Chinati Mountains State Natural Area near Presidio
- Davis Hill State Natural Area near Houston
Here's what TPWD said about Davis Hill State Natural Area: "This 1,700-acre tract of diverse wilderness, about 45 minutes east of downtown Houston, was acquired in 1983. It stretches from the highest hill on the Texas coastal plain down to a pristine white-sand beach on the Trinity River. The Liberty County site is named for Gen. James Davis, a Texas Revolutionary War hero who had a plantation home atop the hill."
Here's what TPWD said about the Powderhorn Wildlife Management Area and State Park: "The 17,351-acre Powderhorn Ranch in Calhoun County, one of the largest remaining tracts of unspoiled coastal prairie in Texas, was purchased in 2014. More than 15,000 acres became a Texas wildlife management area in 2018. The remaining land will become a state park, preserving 13 miles of tidal shoreline along Matagorda Bay and Powderhorn Lake with habitat for hundreds of animal species, including the endangered whooping crane, and vast freshwater wetlands and salt marshes."
