New Edition of Texas State Park Guide Available

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AUSTIN, Texas — With the publication of the 3rd edition of the Texas State Park Guide, Texans and others now have one less excuse not to get outside to enjoy spring weather and breathtaking scenery and learn about the state’s colorful history.

An easy-to-use Table of Contents, centerfold Texas state park locator map and three-page grid detailing facilities and activities make planning your next outing to one of the more than 115 state parks and historic sites a breeze. Guide users can flip right to the kind of recreational activity that appeals to them, whether it be hiking, biking, horseback riding, fishing or just chilling out in a river or lake. Or open the booklet to page 12 and peruse the variety of overnight accommodations in state parks from lakeside cabins to mountain lodges.

A recently completed on-site survey of 11,000 state park visitors confirmed that the 112-page guide is one of the primary sources used to find out about more than 600,000 acres of public land, with 61 percent saying it had influenced their decision to visit a Texas state park or historic site. Some 43 percent of those surveyed indicated they had a Texas State Park Guide.

“The third edition is intended to be a ready-reference guide related to the entire state park system,” said Walt Dabney, state parks director. “Texas is mostly privately owned, so if you like to go out and enjoy the outdoors, state parks are some of the primary places to do so.”

Approximately 500,000 copies of the handy-sized booklet were printed by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and can be picked up free at any Texas state park, most TPWD law enforcement offices, the state’s 12 Travel Information Centers and at various chambers of commerce and convention and visitor’s bureaus. The guide is available, too, as a downloadable PDF file on the TPWD Web site in English and Spanish.

A new page, “Remember Texas,” shines a spotlight on important legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps. It notes how many of the state parks’ stone and log structures, bridges, dams and roadways built more than 70 years ago by the “CCC boys” endure even today as a fundamental component of the park system’s infrastructure.

The booklet’s State Park Directory, which is organized by the state’s seven tourism regions, include vignettes about each park and historic site, as well as an address and telephone number. Symbols with each listing provide visual cues about the various facilities and activities to be found at a particular site.

The Texas State Park Guide also spells out the different types of state park user fees and special park passes, as well as details about how to reserve campsites, group shelters and other facilities.

Funds to underwrite the publishing of Texas State Park Guide were provided by Toyota through a sponsorship with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation. This is the third year the automaker has provided funding to help make the guide available free to the public.

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