Lake Houston Wilderness Park: A Natural Retreat Near Houston
By: Diana J. Kleiner
Revised by: Laurie E. Jasinski
Published: March 1, 1995
Updated: December 2, 2025
Lake Houston Wilderness Park is at the northern end of Lake Houston off Farm Road 1485, about thirty miles northeast of Houston and near the town of New Caney, in Harris and Montgomery counties. In 1981 the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department bought most of the park from Champion Realty Corporation and in 1990 purchased 202 acres (the former Peach Creek Girl Scout Ranch) from San Jacinto Girl Scouts, Incorporated, for $13.5 million, the highest price paid for Texas state park land to that date. The former camp was developed into group camping facilities, and roadways and hiking trails were built. The area, totaling approximately 4,786 acres and then known as Lake Houston State Park, opened in 1992. In 2006 the state transferred the park to the city of Houston. Operated by the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, it was renamed Lake Houston Wilderness Park.
In 2007 the Joe Turner Nature Center opened. During the next dozen years improvements were made in the park and included new cabins and screened shelters, trails, improving creek access, and constructing an archery range. More renovations occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey (2017) and Tropical Storm Imelda (2019) which caused considerable damage. The park is bounded on the east by the East Fork of the San Jacinto River and on the west by Caney Creek and its tributary Peach Creek. Lake Houston Wilderness Park is considered an urban area park because of its proximity to Houston and supports a mixture of second-growth pines and hardwoods as well as trees and fish associated with its various water bodies. Deer and small mammals inhabit the region, and alligators are occasionally seen in the waterways. Park facilities include a pavilion, picnic sites and grills, hike and bike trails, approximately thirteen miles of equestrian trails, and campsites. The park is promoted as the only Houston park to permit overnight camping.
Bibliography:
Houston Metropolitan Research Center Files, Houston Public Library. Lake Houston Wilderness Park, Houston Parks and Recreation Department (https://www.houstontx.gov/parks/lakehoustonpark.html), accessed December 2, 2025. Ray Miller, Texas Parks (Houston: Cordovan, 1984).
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Diana J. Kleiner Revised by Laurie E. Jasinski, “Lake Houston Wilderness Park,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/lake-houston-state-park.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
GKL09
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- March 1, 1995
- December 2, 2025
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