I’m pretty sure historic sites are more my thing than The Manling’s thing, which is why I was stoked when we pointed the Tiny Toyota Tardis (because the Yaris is bigger on the inside) in the direction of Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site in early June 2018. As The Manling slept, I drove past such cool places as Fredericksburg, Texas (mental note, take Kinder Frau to Fredericksburg, Texas while she is still studying German!), and a really cool-looking vineyard that looked plucked out of Europe and relocated in the Texas Hill Country.

We arrived about 4:15pm and stopped to take our selfies at the entrance (glam photo below) before proceeding to the HQ. By the time we made it into the HQ, it was around 4:30pm at which time we sadly discovered that the buildings all closed at 5pm. Deflated, we asked the staff what we COULD see that would still be opened and they helped us plan a quickie hike that took us to the Living History Farm (which we could only see from the fence) and to the pen of a couple of farm animals we didn’t get to see (Both were a no-show reminiscent of the T-Rex exhibit in Jurassic Park.).

We hiked the trails around the Living History Farm in a half-hearted attempt to salvage a ill-timed visit and left with our heads hanging around 5:15pm.

What We Loved About Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site

Trails. They were wide and included shade in parts. There were also interpretive signs on the trails we followed, which helped us learn a couple of new things.
(I dearly wish I could write more, but we didn’t get to truly experience LBJSP&HS. This is going to be a definite revisit when we take the German-studying Kinder Frau to Fredericksburg later this year.)

Must-Do’s

Check Hours of Operation. In my enthusiasm to visit LBJSP&HS, I was negligent to check and we suffered a crushing blow during our visit because of it. Always, always, always check the Hours of Operation before your visits. Lesson learned.
I’ve got to figure out how to up my selfie game.

Fascinating, right?! I had no idea and we had been spotting deer all over the Hill Country.

My newly minted Manling. I love this kid.

I’m truly thankful we didn’t run across this guy on our brief hike.

We’d love to hear about your experiences at Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site! Please share your thoughts on this historic state park in the comments.

*In all natural areas, you are a guest. Educate yourself on what lives in the areas before your visits, always talk to the Park Rangers upon arrival and take precautions so that your experiences end as positively as ours.

Cedar Hill State Park is one of the largest (if not the largest) state parks in North Texas. Living within an easy drive of Cedar Hill, we have visited many times as the kids have grown. It has a ginormous lake, lots of trails to both hike and bike, a fishing pond, a good swimming area and beach with shaded picnic tables, and even an authentic 150 year old farm to tour.

CHSP is so large that for years it hosted a nationally known mud run that our family enjoyed participating in yearly.

What we love about Cedar Hill:

Water. There is certainly plenty of it!
Fishing. This one is a bit controversial in our household because while there are a great many places to fish from the shoreline and there is the beautiful Perch Pond (pictured), not one of us remembers catching anything there. Ever. (And like I pointed out in the Purtis Creek SP blog post, catching is always more fun than just fishing.)
Biking. This place has an incredible mountain bike trail complete with switchbacks, plenty of shade, gorgeous views and a great combo of easy to difficult terrain. Bikers flock here, especially on the weekends, but if you can catch it when it’s not overly crowded, even the kids can enjoy mountain biking the trails.
Hiking. We have been enjoying Duck Pond Trail since our first visit to CHSP. It’s an easy, shaded hike that even my smallest enjoyed as wee folk. The aforementioned DORBA Trail is also available to foot traffic. Same varied terrain. Same gorgeous views. Plenty of shade. Mind the trail directions at the trailhead.
Swimming. There’s a pretty great sandy swim beach surrounded by shaded picnic tables past the boat launch. In the summer, it’s enjoyed by many, so get there early to stake your claim on a picnic table.

Must Do’s:

All of the above! CHSP is an entire day’s worth of adventure so pack up the car and go have one at Cedar Hill State Park!

NOTE: Camping is available in spades at this huge park, but we have no first hand experience to share. Potential campers should know that you can hear road noise at the park due to the nearby roadways.

We’d love to hear about your experiences at Cedar Hill State Park! Please share your thoughts on this Texas State Park nestled in the North Texas suburbs in the comments.

*In all natural areas, you are a guest. Educate yourself on what lives in the areas before your visits, always talk to the Park Rangers upon arrival and take precautions so that your experiences end as positively as ours.