Is Palo Pinto Mountains State Park the Hill Country of the North?

Palo Pinto Mountains State Park has a great abundance of beautiful plants and amazing wildlife, and it’s the newest state park slated to open in Texas. It’s also the first one in North Texas in more than two decades. It’s located in the Western Cross Timbers Ecoregion and offers an extremely diverse Lone Star State topography cross-section and ecology that’s unparalleled… well, sort of. According to a recent Facebook post by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation (TPWF) they’re considering it the “’hill country of the north…” Would you agree?

It’s situated on more than 4K acres, consisting of a land purchase by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and a donation of 120 acres from the City of Strawn. Palo Pinto Mountains State Park is waiting to open, and the TPWF has posted about its beauty, sharing the news of what awaits future North Texas visitors as well as a link for those who wish to make a monetary gift towards its realization. Their post goes on to say, “…this new state park will provide a wonderful setting for hiking, mountain biking, camping, horseback riding, fishing, stargazing and more! Learn how you can help make this ‘hill country’ of the north a reality so you will have more ways to enjoy the wild things and wild places of Texas!”

Photo: Facebook/Palo Pinto Mountains State Park

Included in the footprint of Palo Pinto Mountains State Park is property alongside Tucker Lake, destined to play a starring role in its future. In the interim, this newest member of the TPWD team is awaiting budgets for property development. In May 2017, when we first brought our readership word of the pending park, it was also awaiting a public use plan approval allowing for “…the greatest benefit of all users from the property which at one time was ranch land.”

Photo: Facebook/Palo Pinto Mountains State Park

The original acreage for the park was purchased by the TPWD back in 2011. The additional Tucker Lake frontage was then donated by the City of Strawn. The TPWD hinted in an article by the Star-Telegram that the earliest date for development of the property in accordance with plans could be 2020. In the meantime, the TPWF is marketing its beauty similar to that of the gorgeous Hill Country in Central Texas and future users are eagerly awaiting access!