Tyler State Park Trails
Trails: A, B, and C Trails
Last hiked January 16, 2022
Trail Type: Hiking and Biking
Distance We Hiked: 5.69 miles
Amount of Time it Took Us: 2 hrs. 15 min.
Our Elevation Gain: 569 ft.
Park Rating: moderate to difficult
Mike & Elaine’s Rating: easy to moderate
Our Notes:
Tyler State Park is a very large state park that offers a variety of hiking trails. Plan for a few days in order to complete all of the trails in this park. For this particular day, we decided to conquer some of the Loop trails. We parked at the EZ/A/B Loop trailhead. The parking lot is across the street and down a short road from the trailhead. A restroom is located a bit further down the short road toward the Blackjack Camping area.
The first thing we noticed, and were taken off guard by, was that the forest seemed to be burning! There were smoke flumes coming up in many places, and the ground was covered in ash. The trail, however, was wide open and clear of ash and was the typical hard packed dirt path through the pine forest. There was a very distinct sweet smoky smell in the air, which we later discovered was sap burning from the fallen pine trees. We later found out that the state park was doing a prescribed burn, which helps to maintain the health of the forest. It was a very surreal experience hiking through all of that ashy ground cover with the towering pine trees and other vegetation all around us. But don’t worry, we never really saw any fire…just plumes of smoke rising into the air.
The trail itself winds through a forest of beautiful pine trees, many of which are so large we could not even put our arms around them. They are stunning! There are valleys and rises on this trail, but for the most part the trail is relatively flat and is very easy to follow. There are a few sections where you have to do a bit of a climb. We decided to take B loop first, then hopped on to C loop for a while. From there you can choose to continue on to D loop, but we decided to stay on C loop and circle back to the B loop. We took that all the way back to a very short section of A loop before hopping off the trail. From there we took a restroom break and then decided to try the very short .3 mile Blackjack Nature trail right next to the bathroom. On this trail you learn the names of some of the vegetation in the park and also have the opportunity to sit at a very peaceful bird blind.
The loop trails offer very nice views of a healthy forest with high canopies and open views between the trees. We really were impressed with the beauty of this forest. The park rates the Loop trails as moderate to difficult, which may be true if you are riding a bike, but for us hikers we tend to think the trails are more easy to moderate. The trail is compact, but you do need to watch out for roots and branches in areas.
Trails: Whispering Pines Trail
Last hiked January 16, 2022
Trail Type: Hiking
Distance We Hiked: 1.26 miles
Amount of Time it Took Us: 32 min
Our Elevation Gain: 182 ft.
Park Rating: moderate
Mike & Elaine’s Rating: easy
Our Notes:
The Whispering Pines Trail is located in the Creekside Camping area. There is a parking lot at the trailhead as well as a restroom. This is a hiking-only loop trail that offers information about the trees in the park and some history as well.
The trail takes you into a very heavily pine-treed forest. The pine trees on this trail are much thicker than on the Loop trails. There are several bridges to cross and at times there are trail markers that describe the trees and vegetation that live in the park. We learned the difference between the loblolly pine and the small leaf pine, which are predominant at Tyler State Park. We also learned that many of the pine trees had been purposely planted here to help with erosion. This part of the park is stunning with the tall pines towering overhead. At one point a sign directed you to “shhhh” and listen and think about what you were hearing. We quickly found out why they named this trail the Whispering Pines Trail! It actually sounds like the trees are whispering to you. It is a beautiful sound! As you continue around the loop you come to a part of the trail where you see some natural springs and a rock waterfall, which the CCC had built more than 70 years ago, along with a children’s wading pool, which is empty of water now. From there the trail continues to wind around and through all of those beautiful pine trees. Although the trail itself is relatively flat, from the trail you can see some rolling hills and valleys as you make your way back to the trailhead.
The park rates this trail as moderate, and it does have a tiny bit of climb here and there, but we really would rate it as easy for the most part. The pine trees here steal the show and we highly recommend you take the time to stop and listen to them as they whisper their stories to you.
Links below to the park and trails:
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/tyler
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/park_maps/pwd_mp_p4508_0039c.pdf