Get Your Vitamin N

Stephen F. Austin State Park is an often-overlooked treasure - a multi-faceted place of natural beauty rare in fast-growing Southeast Texas today. Within its 473 acres, you can visit three different ecosystems, from the rich forest bottomland of the Brazos River basin to the upland hardwood forest and the ash swamp.

There are five miles of well-kept hike and bike trails, many picnic areas, RV campsites, screened shelters, a nature center and a Texas Parks and Wildlife store.

But flooding – especially from Hurricane Harvey – closed the park a few times, and some folks still don’t realize it has reopened – or what a wonderful place it is. “We are just a hidden gem of a location,” said Park Interpreter Vinnie Mercado, who leads hikes and schedules programs for the park. “I’m a big birder, and there are over 200 species of birds in the park. We have these unique, diverse habitats and so much peace and quiet. It’s wonderful if you’re looking for a natural reprieve; you get a lot of peace and serenity, especially during the week.”

“After the floods, we lost some of our engagement with the Austin County community. Many people around here don’t recognize the park as being open again. Now that we’re fully functional, doing regular pro- grams, we want to be more involved with our community again,” she said.

Some special events are helping bring more local folks to the park.

Camp Wild, a day camp for 10 to 12-year-old pre-teens, will open in June. It’s focused on all aspects of nature and outdoor fun, from birding and nature journaling to forestry and camping skills. In September, adults will enjoy Night Moves, a Texas Trail Racing nighttime event on park paths, with participants wearing glow gear.

And the park’s second Fall Forest Fest, which brought out more than 2,000 folks last fall, is set for October 12.

But there are plenty of great reasons to visit the park year-round. Mercado coordinates events from campfires to guided hikes to birding programs and more. Docents from the San Felipe de Austin State Historical Site put on “Second Saturdays with Stephen,” informative programs drawn from the area’s rich history. The Friends of Stephen F. Austin State Park, a support group for the park, brings volunteers from Austin and several nearby counties to help the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department with park improvements, fundraising and programs. They’re always looking for new nature-loving members.

Some volunteers help the TWPD staff clear trails, paint, and do other tasks around the park.

“There are quite a few projects,” said Tom Shaughnessy, a consulting naturalist and beekeeper who was a very active Friends of the Park group for over ten years. “We work on things that Texas Parks and Wildlife can’t afford: augmented trail improvements, supporting the nature center through donations and other activities.

“We work on things that Texas Parks and Wildlife can’t afford: augmented trail improvements, supporting the nature center through donations and other activities.”

— Tom Shaughnessy Friends of the Park

One of the group’s recent projects was helping create the park’s first fully modernized shelter – a cabin with air conditioning, heating and bunk beds.”

The park’s other shelters are more rudimentary – screened slabs for those who prefer not to be one with the wild at night can set up cots or lay sleeping bags. But there are also plenty of sites for RVs and tent camping.

To Jack Philley, a longtime member of Friends of the Park volunteer, camping overnight in the park has special benefits. “Many people have never tried a night hike,” Philley said.

“A lot of animals…bats, raccoons, possums, even armadillos, come out at dusk. The owls, coyotes and deer move around at night, too. A lot of campers will miss that if they don’t try.”

Philley, known as “Armadillo Jax” around the park, has been volunteering long enough to learn a lot about the plants and animals there. He leads regular nature walks and programs on some of the most interesting aspects of the park.

There’s the bodark tree. Its name is drawn from the French “bois de arc,” or bow-wood since native Texans used the flexible wood to make bows or war clubs. The tree goes by many other names, too -- Osage orange, mock orange, horse apple and hedge apple, because of its round, green, nubbly, apple-sized fruit and the fact the plentiful trees, with their vine-like wood and sharp thorns, were often used by settlers to make stout hedges around their homes and pastures. “Settlers really liked that tree,” Philley said. “They said it was horse high, bull tight and pig strong.”

Philley expects a crowd for his Edible and Medicinal Plants program in the park on April 20. It will be chock-full of fascinating nature lore.

“Did you know yaupon holly (also known as “the Pride of Houston”) is the only plant in the U.S. with caffeine?

It makes wonderful tea,” Philley said.

“American Indian tribes all brewed it; they called it ‘black drink.’ But if you make it too strong, it will tear up your digestive tract – the Latin name is ilex vomitoria.” Philley says edible plants in the park include the red-flowering Turk’s Cap, dandelions, and stinging nettles, and half the plants here are antioxidants. They lower your blood pressure, cholesterol, and all that. We’ll brew some that day.” But he said the greatest health benefits may come from simply being outdoors in the park.

“What I like most about the park is the peaceful tranquility of the forest,” Philley said. “It is relaxing and de-stressing just to pause deep in the forest and ‘smell the roses.’ It is great therapy for me, emotional, mental and physical.” Philley added.

“When I talk about the park, I tell people, ‘Come on out and get your Vitamin N. That’s Nature.”

“Edible plants in the park include the red-flowering Turk’s Cap, dandelions, and stinging nettles, and half the plants here are antioxidants. They lower your blood pressure, cholesterol, and all that.”

— Jack Filley Friends of the Park graduating senior