sam houston national forest

I love the Lone Star Hiking Trail, a 130 mile trail that goes through densely wooded wilderness and several campgrounds and wilderness areas. The portions that are follow the shores of Lake Conroe are very nice and offer great primitive camping. The trail is pretty easy with hardly any elevation gains or rough terrain to speak of and I honestly think it'd be impossible to get lost here unless you just went running offtrail into the woods at night as you are never all that far away from the road or landmark and cell phone signal is widespread. I would love to hike the entire distance over the summer, when one would be able to jump into the lake and cool off. This is a very pretty, extensive forrst and Im glad it is close to Houston. Be mindful of hogs.

We hiked part of the Phelps Lone Star Trail Segment Sunday, to get a bearing on the quality of the trail, if we wanted to hike more of it. Sunday was beautiful. We tried to find Evelyn Lane off of Highway 75. Either we did not go far enough or the road onto Highway 75 was renamed. We instead went over to the other end of the segment and found #2014 (off FM2296) which must be a forest road because we had to search for it but found it through elimination of private lane entrances. Then we saw the marker, parked and went in.A really nice road, walked in because it was gated. Saw a young buck, And the entrance to the trail either direction was well marked.We went to our left (West) and the trail was very shaded. Not well traveled, but enough so that it was fairly obvious to find. Tree markers were good and easy to find.The trail was shaded the entire way as it avoided the cleared areas and stuck to the tree line.The TOPO map was good, We were looking for a creek bed and found it 1.5 miles in or so.Very little litter. Which was good. We cleared dead branches and limbs as we went. Took several photo ops as we went and posted to Facebook. Will twitter photos under #phelpslonestartrail.Our intent is to expand our hikes this winter. Help clean up the trails of branch's, but just to enjoy the area.

It is berries, berries and berries. Endless scenery of berries and trees. It is quick nice to get away for half a day to a day if you live in Houston.

There are 112 miles of trail and various trail heads throughout. It is wilderness! Ticks! Wild Hogs (with babies in the spring) Water along the trail is usually murky. I reccomend hammock camping not only because of the bugs, but because the forest is dense. Have your maps and blaze trails if you get off of the well marked trail. Also, there are many other networks of trails that are not part of the Federal system that cross and loop around the Lonestar trail. Not too difficult as far a grade is concerned. Just 50 ft increases max, throughout the trek.

This park is beautiful.. my fiance and myself found the grounds beautiful , there was not one day we didnt see deer and wood peckers and took many pics to add to our blog.. However , the camp host, who work the area have a power hungry mind set.. they do not respect anyone's privacy.. always wanting to know when we are leaving and that maybe we should move to the other circle for a the rest of our stay since we dont have a boat. my fiance is a disabled vet and has ptsd, which having the feeling of being watched is one of his triggers that cause him issues.. we thought the woods would be relaxing but the questioned his disablity status and said because he is walking around how could he be truly disabled.. these camp host are not rangers with the park they volunter and are given free site with FHU for their work of keeping the park bathrooms clean and sites picked up after someone moves or to answer questions of other campers,, but they see themselves as the park police and or king and queens.. the camy hosts is what made this time at the park unbearable and we will never stay here again, Huntsville State Park is were we will stay will in Texas and goes to show why Huntsville is always full while this park here is empty..

Cagle Lake is the campground area in the Sam Houston National Forest. The forest, itself, is quite beautiful. The campground is nice for a weekend away. The campsites are nicely wooded and shaded. Camping pads are well kept. Bathrooms are clean. There are nice loops around which the kids can ride bikes, and good walking/hiking trails that go near the water. In the rainy season, there are areas where water collects and stands, which can be annoying. Overall, a decent park with great camping rates.

For a few years I hiked in this forest three days and nights a week. Unlike a previous reviewer I can vouch that the mileage markers on the lone star trail are pretty accurate. I'm guessing that the person who mentioned swamps and needing a compass started on the far east side of the trail (starting at the ending trailhead and traversed the last 4-5 miles on the trail just south of tarkington bayou). That is only one place on the trail where the markers can be sketchy if you aren't paying attention. That being said, it is foolish to not come prepared with a compass. The markers are easy to spot, but at some point a boy scout troupe that was nailing them to the trees put a few off course (in the area south of tarkington bayou ). It doesn't help that the area is low lying and a less traveled spot on the hiking trail. I've never been lost in that section, but if a person were hiking at night without much experience it could prove to be more challenging. It can also be muddy after a rainstorm and there are intermittent creeks which may or may not have water depending on the amount of recent rain. They are hardly a burden to cross. The rest of the trail is pretty easy going and i can't think of any spots along it that are confusing. You should note that the bridge over the san jacinto between the double lake camp and the magnolia forest was destroyed years ago and has not been rebuilt. Still It is usually not very difficult to cross. I've crossed it many times with my two dogs in tow. Normally, I cross with them restrained on one side and carry their backpacks so they can cross following me on the log/fallen trees that bridge the span without risking getting their packs wet. I have one that usually jumps off and swims for a bit. It can prove challenging if there is flooding and the river is temporarily higher than normal. You should be prepared if you go during a dry part of the year as finding water can be difficult.

I drove about an hour from Houston to visit the Sam Houston National Forest and particular the Lone Star trail. It's actually a really nice forest and the trail is well marked with several loops allowing shorter day walks rather than the full trail which is 100 miles. For a trail run it was hard to beat, clearly marked path, minor things to jump over and nobody else. As a longer hike it would get a bit monotonous; it's very flat and quite samey. Probably best to avoid in July / August when the temp and humidity get ridiculously high.

We did about 4 hours of hiking in the forest on a sunny day in May. Trees are immense and the walking was easy - it's all relatively flat, although some multi-iuse trails are covered in sand, which can slow you down. The maps that we found at the ranger's office (district office on FM1375) weren't that well marked but they do warn you it's your responsibility to know where you are in the park. The forest is huge so we can't comment on the various other sections near the lakes.

It's the usual for a national Forrest; well taken care of, accessible & beautiful. It's not well marked, so stop at the ranger station or information area for a map of trails. They must have had recent storms & there are many downed trees with certain trails closed. There are signs of clearing these areas & controlled burns. By spring it should be all clear.

Spring is the perfect time to hike the Lone Star Hiking Trail and enjoy the beauty of the Sam Houston National Forest. You will see woodland violets, flowering Carolina Jasmine, redbuds and dogwoods. You will hear (and perhaps see) red-bellied and pileated woodpeckers, Carolina wrens, cardinals and chickadees. The 128 mile long Lone Star Hiking Trail wanders the National Forest from just north of Montgomery, Texas eastward to near Cleveland, Texas. Some 26 miles of the Lone Star Hiking Trail (including the Big Creek Scenic Area and the Winters Bayou Scenic Area) have received National Recreation Trail designation. So put on your sturdy shoes, pack a light lunch, add a couple bottles of water and enjoy the spring flowers and ferns on the Lone Star Hiking Trail. I highly recommend the Richard's Loop (6.5 miles) in the Little Lake Creek Wilderness Area (one of only two designated Wilderness Areas in Texas) and the family-friendly, well-marked loop trails under towering pines and magnolias in the Big Creek Scenic Area. I hope to see you in the woods!

everything was a good trip loved it would recommend it to anyone!We love walking and site seeing and there was plenty to see!

Someone wrote that this resembled the Black Forest of Germany....can't say I agree. The trees are much thinner and there are LOTS of residential areas in various states of disrepair that are right next to the forest. I was not necessarily a fan--I've seen some breathtaking National Forests, but this wasn't one of them. Sure, the drive is nice, and there is always beauty to be found in nature, but this is probably a nice place for people that are already familiar with the area. For outsiders? Beware. Major cons: there is almost no information to be found on the park, and the online maps are absolutely useless. TIP: Don't GPS the park. Although most other parks will route you to their Visitor Center, the GPS point for the park is in the middle of nowhere.ALSO: don't expect the roads to be paved! We were expecting a paved road to drive through and came across a red dirt road that had we continued on it, would have completely ruined the suspension of our car.

The forest is thick with many different varieties of trees, some of them so tall, they almost seem to reach the sky.One recommendation: the mosquitoes, heat, and crowds in the summer can be pretty unbearable. Visit in the spring or fall. Even winter is very pleasant.

Peaceful, beautiful. Raven Lake is very pretty and the hiking trails are easy walking. No motorized boats, good swimming area that offers a platform for swimmers.