Six Parks Over Texas ~ Westbrook RV Travel Log

For our fall trip we decided to minimize the driving and visit six different state parks in Texas. Three of the parks we had visited before, but three were new to us.

Six Parks Around Texas Route - Fall 2026

The first week of the trip featured parks with iron rich sedimentary rocks. Our first park was Copper Breaks State Park. This park is west of Wichita Falls and is known for dark skies which allows for great star viewing. The campground was a bit over half full, but we hiked 4 trails and 8 miles over 2 days and didn't see another hiker on any trail. We saw several deer, two coyotes, two roadrunners, and a hawk. We had warm temperatures and some clouds the first morning.

Sunrise at Copper Breaks SP

Paul & Bebop at Copper Breaks SP

Elena & Bebop head out on a narrow trail.

There are some rock ripples (>300 million years old) from the ancient Permian Sea.

The night skies were beginning to be eroded by lighting from distant data center construction. We were able to see a faint Milky Way stripe across the sky.

The second park was Caprock Canyons State Park. This park is home to a large native bison herd. The park is located where the high caprock begins to erode into the rolling plains. We did a 5-mile hike on the first day, followed by a few mile hike where we finally spotted a bison. The park is very large, so it's hit or miss on seeing the bison.

Bebop scouts the trail

Elena on the trail

Paul & Bebop at Caprock Canyons

Elena at Caprock Canyons

We did see many prairie dogs in the large area adjacent to the campground. We also saw several roadrunners dashing through the campground.

The one bison we saw.

Roadrunner in the campground

Prairie Dogs on the lookout

The sky was clearer and darker at this park, making for a slighly more prominent Milky Way stripe.

Stars and the Milky Way

The second day at the park found a steady rain falling, so we didn't do any additional hikes, and departed for our third park - Palo Duro Canyon.

Palo Duro is the second largest canyon in the US - behind the Grand Canyon. The day we arrived it was still raining, and all the trails were closed. We hiked along the road the next morning after the rain stopped - and we heard a distant rockfall, which reinforced the idea of closing the hiking trails. The second afternoon the skies cleared near sunset and we were able to hike along a road again for some nice views.

In Palo Duo Canyon

Elena in Palo Duro Canyon

Paul in Palo Duro Canyon

The next morning the clouds and some fog had rolled back in. One trail near the rim was open and we hiked it before driving out to visit Elena's mom in Lubbock.

Bebop looking down into Palo Duro Canyon on a cloudy/foggy morning

The second half of our trip featured parks on Limestone terrain. The first was Possum Kingdom Lake State Park. We got a shoreline campsite on a sunny and mild afternoon. That night, a strong line of storms rolled through with heavy rain, high winds, and even some tiny hail. By morning the sky was crystal clear with a cool, dry northwest wind blowing. We hiked a local trail to a nice overlook. We spent the election day quietly at the lake, having voted early before we left.

Possum Kingdom Lake

The next day I woke up and dreaded looking at my phone for the election news. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was an early Festivus Miracle!

We departed toward our 5th state park of the trip - the new Palo Pinto Mountains State Park. We took at detour to the Fossil Park in Mineral Wells. This free park lets you keep anything you find. Elena loves fossils, which probably explains why she is still married to me after 36 years.

Fossil Finds

Bebop searching for fossils

At Palo Pinto we enjoyed several hikes. This is a new state park - it just opened in 2026 and spans over 4,800 acres.

Elena has the lake to herself.

Sunset over a ridge

For our sixth park we visited Dinosaur Valley State Park. Over 110 million years ago dinosaurs walked across a shallow marsh which later hardened into limestone. The Paluxy River eroded the rock and exposed some of these trackways.