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You are here: Home / Roaming Homes / Campground / Lake Livingston State Park

Lake Livingston State Park

July 3, 2018 By Pat Williams

Lake Livingston State Park

Lake Livingston State Park
View of Lake Livingston and the observation deck.

Not far from Livingston is Lake Livingston State Park. I probably would preferred to stay here but the campground was closed at the time for renovations and repaving. I bought a Texas State Park Pass and spent the day wandering around the park.  As so many of the southern lakes are, Lake Livingston is the result of a damming, and functions as a water reservoir.  It’s one of the largest reservoirs in Texas and supplies SW cities, including Houston, with their water.

Ideal for boating and fishing because of its size and consistent level,  the park rents out kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, and fishing equipment.  If you are angling off state park land, a license is not required.  White bass is the popular catch here but perch, catfish, sunfish, striped and largemouth bass can also be reeled in.  If you bring your own boat, there’s a boat launch and pier.

View from the Observation Deck.
View of the docks, pier and a portion of the park from the Observation Deck.

The park itself is fairly young, having been protected since 1977. Texas Parks & Wildlife set aside 635 acres along the southeastern edge of the lake. There are trails through the forested areas and there are extensive boardwalks through swampy portions where alligators may reside.

Boardwalk at Lake Livingston State Park
Boardwalk through pine trees

Yes, this park has alligators! I never saw any; I suspect they tend to stay away from the areas frequented by pedestrians and cyclists, but stay aware. Swimming areas close at sunset as this is when alligators are most active and looking to feed. The state park website warns to only swim in designated areas.

Trail through the pine forest

Sit and relax a while! Just watch for gators.

Another boardwalk trail
Many of the trees were damaged during Hurricane Ike in August of 2008, followed by extreme drought conditions 2009 to 2011 resulted in a loss of about 80% of the native pines here. The park staff are working to restore the natural habitats by increasing wildlife and tree diversity.

I was only able to follow trails for a couple of miles before I ran out of places to hike while it was still light.  The observation deck was a favorite stop to take in the view of the lake.

Observation Deck

While there I stopped at the restroom and thought this sign was odd enough to take a picture of it.

Sign to put paper in toilet
Where else would I put it?

Later, when I took a day trip to Mexico, I discovered a sign in a bathroom there that said, “Please do not place toilet paper in toilet, use the garbage.” AHA! That explains it!

If something seems odd, the reasoning may not be obvious, but there’s still likely a reason!

Filed Under: Campground, Roaming Homes, Texas, USA Tagged With: camping, fishing, hiking, Lake Livingston, State Park, Watersports

Previous Post: « Finding Rainbow’s End & Livingston Texas
Next Post: Regrowth at Bastrop State Park »

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Pat Williams at Crater Lake
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Pat Williams @Cletch

Adventurer, explorer, entrepreneur, mother to two brilliant young men. Travels and works full-time from an RV. Home is where the heart is and my heart is looking forward to the next hike…

My other sites:

CyberCletch.com, CanadianaConnection.com, GoRealCoaching.com

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119 Rainbow Drive #1977
Livingston, TX 77399

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