Brazos Bend State Park
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Brazos Bend State Park is a 5,000-acre (20 km²) state park near Sugar Land, Texas, along the Brazos River. It is run by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The park is a haven for wildlife, including over 270 species of birds, as well as white-tailed deer, armadillo, raccoons, and the American alligator.
To reach the park, take 59 S from Houston and take the Crabb River Road exit and go south. Follow the brown signs for about twenty miles to the park entrance. Inside the park there are 20 miles of trails, and fishing and picnicking is available. There are rustic campsites available for tents and small campers plus a number of screened-in enclosures that can be rented by making reservations in advance (as much as a year for all but winter months). There is drinking water available, but no showers.
Reservations can be made by calling TPWD's Central Reservation System at (512)389-8900 from 9 AM to 8 PM Monday through Friday, 9 AM to noon on Saturdays.
White-tailed deer wander the park as surely do their native predators such as large cats, but most visitors come to see the birds and alligators, and enjoy the picnic tables tucked under large trees or inside one of the pavilions. Outdoor cooking is allowed in provided fire-pits, but gathering firewood is prohibited.
The park has several scenic oxbow lakes in addition to man-made lakes and wetland swamps. Alligators are commonly visible from the trail 7 months out of the year. The lakes and swamps are quite striking and serene.
Park brochures strongly suggest that dogs be kept on a short leash and never be allowed to swim in the water. People are advised not to enter the water or walk near an alligator even if it appears asleep. Park officials drained a lake several years ago and used bulldozers to deepen the lake and make an island in the middle to provide safe nesting areas for alligators away from walking trails.
There are fishing piers available. Fishermen can also bank-fish but are advised to drop the rod and retreat if an alligator chases a fish being reeled in. The precautions have prevented most problems, but park personnel have interesting stories and are trained to respond to nuisance alligators. The camping areas are set far apart from alligator habitat.
There is a 3-story tall observation tower approximately 1/2 mile from parking that overlooks a man-made lake on one side and an expansive marsh on the other. Hikers should take water bottles in the hot Texas sun and there are water fountains to fill your bottle located near parking areas that feature a robust flavor of iron-rich well water.
There are many types of trees in the broad forest that carries throughout the park. Included are several large Live Oak with Spanish moss and other types of vegetation growing off the limbs that give a glimpse of what our American rainforest once looked like.
The main trails and wooden foot-bridges are generally wide enough for several people to stroll past and bicycling is very popular and may be the easiest way to travel around the park. Walking however is the best way to see the wildlife. There are also foot trails that extend into the more remote areas that offer a slightly more exploratory adventure, but none is too challenging since the ground is mostly level. However the trees and wildlife provide an extraordinary example of how early Texas appeared.
For the best experience biking or hiking, don't forget water, binoculars, a hat, and the bug spray. For photography buffs, a telephoto lense is a must.
The park is in a low-lying area that is formed where Big Creek connects to the Brazos River. The river creates the eastern border of the park, and both Big Creek and the Brazos River cut deep ditches through the red soil of the flat Texas coastal plain. The creek and river are inaccessible for fishing, and totally unsuitable for swimming. Some of the more remote trails follow along the banks, where occasionally they pass steep drop-offs that overlook the water channels below. Neither water-way offers picturesque scenery in a traditional sense; however the rough untamed power of nature is clearly visible here.
Floods from the Brazos River have closed the park for periods of time in the past. The aftermath has left water-lines up to 6 feet high in the camping areas, and 12 feet high in some trail areas while inundating whole trees along the creek and river. Floods of this magnitude are infrequent and are forecasted far in advance. When large floods do occur, they can cover nearly the entire park since it lies in the flood plain of a major Texas river, and the river levels can remain high for more than a week as the water flows the last 60 miles to the Gulf of Mexico.
The park office and museum/shop never go under water, and the museum has some interesting historical notes and a collection of books and natural artifacts. The natural historian won't see the extraordinary and kids won't see dinosaur eggs, but the collection gives a feel of what Brazos Bend Park really is: a wildlife sanctuary set up to preserve a small habitat for alligators, migratory birds, and Texas plant life.
[edit] George Observatory
The park is also home to the George Observatory, a satellite facility of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. This astronomical observatory contains three domed telescopes; the largest is the Gueymard Research Telescope, which has an aperture of 36". The facility is primarily focused on public education; it includes the Challenger Learning Center for space science education and also features an exhibit of meteorites.
The George Observatory is open for public viewing on Saturday evenings, and is available by reservation on Friday nights for groups of 30 or more. Tickets are sold on a first-come basis. Children under four are admitted free. You can contact the Observatory staff at 281-242-3055.
Amateur astronomers usually set up portable telescopes on viewing nights where people can gaze for free. Local astronomers have thus far discovered 410 asteroids using the observatory instruments.
The observatories are built on raised ground and never go under water, although access to the facility is cut off during rare occasions of very high water. The observatory has sparked an 'outdoor lighting' debate in Fort Bend County as residences and business near the park are required to dampen their nighttime outdoor lights to prevent light-pollution from interfering with telescope use.
