Join me in educating and inspiring the next generation of State Park visitors to share and cherish Texas's amazing beautiful natural habitat with the world.
Did you know it's the centennial year of Texas State Parks?
With the boom of the industrial revolution, growth of automobiles and inevitably more roads for people to travel on, the United States Government founded the National Park Service in 1916 to conserve our natural land for future generations to enjoy and thus protect them from the growth of industry and cities. Fast forward a few years to 1923, Governor Neff appointed a Texas State Parks board to help in locating sites for the establishment of a state parks system because in his eyes “Texas is rich and diversified in climate, in scenery of natural beauty, and in the variety of its native plant and animal life…ideal for the location of public parks and recreational centers.”
Over the next 100 years our State Park System has grown to include 75 state parks (soon to be 76) and over 16,000 historical markers mark our roads sharing with our community the history of this diverse state.
What is a Brown Sign?
A brown sign by definition indicates nearby recreational and/or cultural interest sites. This is throughout the nation, whether that be a national park, state park, natural reserve, historical site, and even a public pool.
Texas goes one step further though, not only do brown signs show a traveler where the nearest trails are located or swimming hole, but at the entry into every state park another brown sign appears. These signs are layered heavy with brown paint and have a distinct yellow lettering that can only be found in Texas State Parks. This is what I am referring to when I talk about brown signs. These signs are the entry gate to my nirvana.
What is The Texas Brown Sign Project?
The Texas Brown Sign Project endeavors to educate and inspire the next generation of State Park visitors to share and cherish Texas's amazing and beautiful natural habitat with the world.
Like any government association, funding is extremely limited and because of this Texas Parks relies on word of mouth to share what they have to offer. There are quite a few blogs out there of people like me who have a huge love for The Parks System but they are all very specific. The official Texas Parks and Wildlife Department website is very overwhelming and depending on what you are looking for is hard to navigate (which to be honest, I wouldn’t expect anything less from a governmental entity. Website navigation is not their top priority)
I wanted to create a place where you can find everything. Share with the community instead of just my friends my robust knowledge of events, volunteering, best burgers, science, history, and even the most challenging of geocaches that is behind what makes our parks so amazing. And with this hopefully inspire the next generation of stewards to care for the parks like I have.
National Parks get all the notoriety, but if you look around you there is a whole world to explore and it only costs $80.
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