mineola nature preserve

My husband and I take a trip from Dallas to the Mineola Nature Preserve about once per month.It has been one of our most favorite places to do nature walks.This past Saturday (11/29/2014) we were informed by two men and a youngster in camo that a youth hunt was in progress and we should leave.We also found out there was another youth hunt on 12/20/2014. I know East Texas is known for hunting, but I am totally opposed to teaching young children to hunt. Further, there are not enought deer in this area to hunt them. Is a Nature Preserve not a place where "critters" can be safe from being hunted?

The Mineola Nature Preserve is a wonderful natural resource which the City of Mineola has worked hard to make accessible to the general public. This is one of the largest municipal parks in the USA at nearly 3,000 acres. It consists of rolling hills descending into one of the largest remaining stands of old growth hardwood bottom land wetlands left in the state. The southern border of the preserve is the Sabine River. The northern and eastern boundary is Cap Ranch Road. The western boundary is US Highway 69. The preserve itself has limited access by motorized vehicles to a few key points, and the rest is a system of trails accessible by horse, bike, wheelchair, and on foot. There is no cost to hike, bike, fish in the ponds, etc. Campers and horseback riders pay minimal usage fees. The equestrian facilities are top notch for a public day use facility.The place is immaculately and meticulously cared for, and expertly designed. There is a very nice archery range, a wildscape garden designed and maintained by the area's Master Gardeners (AgriLife Extension), nice multi-use pavilions, an amphitheater, a beehive demonstration project, and a number of managed ponds with improved fishing docks, wildlife viewing stations, etc. The trails are excellently groomed. The water in the ponds is amazingly clear.The trail system consists of hard surface and highly improved gravel trails wide enough to drive a pick-up truck down (but that's against the rules) to challenging "natural" trails for mountain biking, trail running, and horseback riding. A couple of days each year, the preserve closes for special Youth Hunts. Otherwise, there is no hunting allowed on the preserve.The wildlife...as it is in most wetland environments...is exceptionally diverse. You will see otters, beavers, alligators (rarely), wild hogs, deer, waterfowl, and about every kind of bird you can imagine. Primitive campgrounds (various spots) and RV hook-ups (at the horse pavilion) are way above average. Picnic tables are located throughout the property. Restroom facilities are nice, and just about in all the right spots without becoming a "feature" of the place. This great piece of land affords a number of rather spectacular views, especially at sunrise and sunset.The only real drawback to this place is that there are no rental concessions to support the activities I've mentioned. Bring your own gear, horses, etc.! That's why it gets 4 stars from me instead of 5.

Thursday morning we headed out towards East Texas for a nice overnight trip in the Mineola/Lindale/Tyler area. Our first stop was the Mineola Nature Preserve, which is an awesome destination for nature lovers, who don't mind some hiking. The preserve is quite large, lots of trails, and we saw longhorn cattle, a buffalo, whitetail deer, blue herons, turtles, a copperhead, butterflies, and one VERY large skunk. They also had some gorgeous gardens, several ponds/lakes, a covered pavillion, and loads of picnic tables throughout the preserve. It might be tough if you've got small children, as there's lots of ground to cover. But if you're up for some decent hiking, it's an easy-breezy, 90-minute drive from the DFW area, and well worth it. Only complaint is that they should have better trail maps.

Amazing place to visit, so well maintained too. Take your horses and your dogs and let them run. Trails are great, lots of shade. Just an super nice place to stay for the day or longer. Congratulations Mineola Texas.

My family and I love to ride the horse trails, catch and release fishing with the kids and taking in natures beauty here. We also love to take family photos at this location. Tons of things to do from sight seeing, horse and walking trails, archery ranch, watching the buffalo and long horse to gator ponds :)

If you're looking for a really peaceful place to walk or ride your bike this is it. There are also miles of equestrian trails if you're traveling with horses. The view at the top of the hill is gorgeous and there are facilities to grill and picnic, both covered and in the open. Everything from totem pole to bee hive display to quaint garden can be found here. There is no charge to enjoy this awesome place.

We've been to this Preserve many times in the past two years. We belong to N.E.T.A.S.A., a horseback riding club and find it to be a great place to bring our horses for a 3 or 4 hour ride, even on Texas summer days (after rains it can be less fun because of the mud!)They have many trails which are very well marked and are well maintained. The facilities include corrals, clean rest rooms with showers, hoses for washing the sweat off the horses, water spigots for drinking water, a handicap mounting area, picnic tables and all for $5/horse! We heartily recommend the Preserve for riding.

This is a great place for easy hiking. We took our 4-yo twins & they didn't have any trouble. Much of the trails are shaded, however, it was still pretty humid & we were done after a couple of hours. We took the loop from the pavilion to Beaver Pond to look for the alligator but we didn't find him. It wasn't far and the trail was large and cleared of debris.Things to know before you go:There aren't any concessions.There are bathrooms at the pavilion but they were out of toilet paper.You can take a lunch, there are picnic tables both at the pavilion and along some of the trails.The map seems confusing but the trails are well marked. I advise you to take a picture with your phone of the big map at the pavilion. It's more detailed than the one I printed from the website.The GPS found it well from the address on the website.You can take bikes and ride all the way down to the Sabine River which is 2.5 miles from the pavilion.

We went here on a cool, rainy day in early June. For a little town place it was wonderful. It was beautlfully maintained. We walked for over two miles on anold railroad bed that was cleared for walking. We would walk with plenty of room and not be concerned about getting into poison ivy or anything like that. The history was written on signs too, which made it all the more interesting. There were other little things to look at, a working bee hive, historic bridges, etc. I think there are horse and biking trails too. I want to go again on a cool Spring or Fall Day and walk some of the other trails. There were no trail guides in the designated box, but there were signs.

The Mineola Nature Preserve has it all. Camping, hiking, fishing and a playground. Not very far from downtown, but once you arrive it is like you are far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The areas are very well maintained. If you are lucky you may even see the alligator that lives there. An added plus is the many events they have scheduled. If you have the chance to go please don't miss out on the Mineola Nature Preserve.

We were looking for a fun day trip in one afternoon from Dallas and found this amazing hidden treasure in East Texas. You can get there and enjoy nature even if you only have an afternoon to spare. It is pretty in winter it is going to be awesome in spring. We will for sure put it on our list to go back and see when the weather warms up and take the motorcycle out there and do some more of the walking paths when it is warmer. This would be a great place to take your kids and let them run off some extra energy, lots of great scenery, picnic areas, nice restrooms, even some fishing, walk distance to the river and possibility of native wildlife spotting.

We needed more time. We were able to take a 45-minute walk on the very beautiful main asphalt trail. Nature at it's best. No traffic noise. We reached the old abandoned rail beds, and looked up and down the beautiful trails. But sunset was approaching. We will come back.

very beautiful area of texas. nice trails and facilities. great place to ride bikes and take your kids.

The Mineola Nature Preserve is a true gem! It provides about 3000 acres of protected wilderness. The are miles of walking, biking and equestrian trails. The central pavilion is well situated for wildlife viewing and it is handicap accessible. I love this place!

This a great place to take the Family or just yourself. The trail's are not hard and its a very pretty place to hike or picnic. There is a nice small fish pond close to the parking lot. But best of all there is a small nature center and they grow a lot of wild herbs, I asked a women working there if it was ok to pick some and she said sure that's why we plant it. They also have a Archery Range.As another reviewer said "A Hidden Gem" Could not agree more. Plus Its free!