Tell me about the PINEY WOODS (Austin, Vidor: home, camp, live)

[Barbara Holliday]

Originally Posted by notmeofficer

Can a texan tell me about the piney woods.. what they are like.. dry pines or wetter than other areas of texas...
During my road trip to texas this spring can anyone suggest some worthwhile towns to visit to get a fair representation of the area

thanks

cam

We just bought a small ranch in the Piney Woods area around Montalba. It's beautiful here - a great place for a road trip. Absolutly go to Uncertain, TX.
It has a beauty all it's own. If you're going to stay a night - get on line and rent the Lily Pad Cabin. It has a huge backyard dock that goes well over the water with a screened prorch half way down the dock. I can't recall who owns it. My husband & I spent a week there and we have to go back every year.
We live between Athens and Palestine in the true boonies. Lot's of wild life.
Wear your boots if the weather has been warm a while!
Have fun - enjoy Texas.

[stargazer]

I have family from Lufkin and Trinity county. The woods are truly beautiful.. If you want to see something of interest, I would go to Caldwell Zoo in Tyler and then make your way over to Longview to see the Christmas Lights. Here is a link to it. People visit Marshall this time of year to see them from hundreds of miles away. Holiday Trail of Lights (http://www.holidaytrailoflights.com/marsh.html - broken link)

[Canine*Castle]

East Texas is kind of pretty, but the humidity will be hated by most.

[notmeofficer]

Where Im from its 120 in the summer with 10 percent humidity... (Redding California)

I am unsure if I could deal with humidity so I also plan to come when it is at its worst...

I keep hearing that the forests are beautiful... the forests where Im from are also beautiful but dry.. very dry.. and I am burnt out on California

We own 30 acres here in California.. which by California standards is a large parcel.. in Texas that wouldn't be considered a drop in the bucket... We are looking for more land at an affordable price.. Texas is one of the few places in the US where that is possible while not freezing to death or looking at a barren desert

thank you for the comments.. keep them coming

[Wyliejim]

If you want to have some Southern Charm in the Piney Woods, you have to check out Jefferson, TX which is south of Marshall, TX on US 59. Many buildings in Jefferson date back to the Civil War era and a lot of them are now restored. Jefferson was once a riverport and was quite a thriving community until the late 1800's when a natural logjam in the river upstream was cleared draining the water level down so low that the packet boats that hauled lumber and other supplies could no longer navigate the river.

The only natural lake in the State of texas (Caddo Lake) is just a few miles away and is close to Uncertain, TX. It is a swampy area with lots of moss covered cypress. The area is just gorgeous and definately well worth a weekend stay!

[notmeofficer]

thank you for keeping this post rolling along..
Ive written the chambers of many small towns in the hill country and gotten brochures.. we're taking a roadtrip in may.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by Wyliejim

If you want to have some Southern Charm in the Piney Woods, you have to check out Jefferson, TX which is south of Marshall, TX on US 59. Many buildings in Jefferson date back to the Civil War era and a lot of them are now restored. Jefferson was once a riverport and was quite a thriving community until the late 1800's when a natural logjam in the river upstream was cleared draining the water level down so low that the packet boats that hauled lumber and other supplies could no longer navigate the river.

The only natural lake in the State of texas (Caddo Lake) is just a few miles away and is close to Uncertain, TX. It is a swampy area with lots of moss covered cypress. The area is just gorgeous and definately well worth a weekend stay!

I "second" all of this absolutely.

I am a native of North Texas (Wichita Falls), but fell in love with the East Texas piney woods the first time I visited it. Plan to retire there (on Caddo Lake) as a matter of fact!

But anyway, as it is, we get out there several times a year, and to back up what Wylie says, Jefferson is a MUST visit if you tour the area. A laid back town full of another era Deep Southern charm. Be sure and go to the Jefferson General Store: Jefferson General Store - Jefferson, TX - Visit us in Beautiful Jefferson, Texas

Caddo Lake and Uncertain? Ohhhhh yeah! That is our regular summer vacation spot and it is something that even many native Texans do not know about. Pure backwoods and like Wylie said, it is the only natural lake in Texas, and the largest in the South. I always liked this quote about that appeared some years back in Texas Monthly magazine which went (paraphrased from memory) Once you've set eyes on Caddo Lake, it is difficult not to get emotional about it one way or another. No other lake in Texas even remotely resembles it. With its dark murky waters and century old cypress trees dripping spanish moss along its banks, you'll either scream and run away and never come back. Or, you'll be hooked for life.

The last dog bit me.

But I gotta say, Caddo Lake is NOT a "party lake" and the natives of the area, with damn good reason, are VERY protective of it. They don't suffer loud drunk college kids on Spring Break, nor pushy, obnoxious yankee tourists. And they don't call 911! LOL

But seriously, Caddo Lake is a place where one better be respectful of the lake and its residents. I can't emphasize that enough. I have been a "regular" for the past ten years, and it is a source of satisfaction, so to speak, to have been accepted, somewhat (because one will NEVER be a "native" if you aren't from the area) by some of the folk as one of the "good summer people." LOL And yeah, I have joined in with them in saying, if you want to party and be loud, do "us" all a favor and go to Toledo Bend!

[destin04]

Unless I misunderstand....the Hill Country and the Piney Woods are two different parts of Texas.

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by Wyliejim

If you want to have some Southern Charm in the Piney Woods, you have to check out Jefferson, TX which is south of Marshall, TX on US 59. Many buildings in Jefferson date back to the Civil War era and a lot of them are now restored. Jefferson was once a riverport and was quite a thriving community until the late 1800's when a natural logjam in the river upstream was cleared draining the water level down so low that the packet boats that hauled lumber and other supplies could no longer navigate the river.

The only natural lake in the State of texas (Caddo Lake) is just a few miles away and is close to Uncertain, TX. It is a swampy area with lots of moss covered cypress. The area is just gorgeous and definately well worth a weekend stay!

Jefferson is about 15 milies NORTH of Marshall (Hwy 59) on Big Cypress Creek that runs between Lake O the Pines and Caddo.

[BobTex]

Do the search ... lots of info posted in the past about SE Texas and the Piney Woods. A lot by myself.

Vidor is definitely NOT in the PW.

The Big Thicket preserve is approximately 5 "islands" of partially preserved native habitat. There are 4 National Forest ... Sam Houston, and Davy Crocket are the westernmost and the Sabine and Angelina (on the shores of Toledo Bend Reservoir and Sam Rayburn Reservoirs respectively). The 2 lakes are 180,000 surface acres and 115,000 sorface acres respectively. Both are set in some beautiful forested scenery.

And right, no mountains here ... thank goodness! Not flat though (want flat? ... See: Texas Coastal Plain) but a gently rolling terrain. This is a borderline tropical area. Dew points and humidities are stifling, even for me and I've lived here most of my life. Heat is not as bad south of Lufkin but the further inland the less cooling effects / benefits you'll recieve fron the Gulf of Mexico (afternoons bring onshore breezes cooling up to 100 miles inland) Winters BTW are also not as cool as the Hill Country and DFW regions.

As far as the racist comments (again ... this is so tiring from other "Texans") , there has been one incident of the black man being dragged to his death in Jasper which had little to nothing to do with race as there were drug dealings between the perps and the deceased. My county is 11% black and we elected a black sherriff (arguably the second most powerful elected official in the county). So please ... you other self righteous souls there that want to slam East Texas ... keep your arrogant thoughts to yourself ... please!!!!!!!!!!

Back to the Piney Woods ...be sure to go to Woodville, the big lakes I mentioned, Nacogdoches (the oldest town in Texas) and of course the other areas suggested above.

Summer temps range from sunny highs of 92-100* and nightly lows of 65-75*. Any other specifics please let me know ... I can recommend some awesome BBQ and steak houses ... !!!!!!!