A State Park Road Trip Keeps a Kid Happy

As mother to two boys, a feral 4-year-old and an infant, this was a problem I encountered often. My eldest son, Felix, is at his happiest when outside digging in the dirt or gathering sticks and rocks, but taking him to a state park felt like a task I needed to plan weeks in advance.

After a year or so of wanting to take him to a state park but making excuses not to, I decided to take the plunge.

To start, I did a lot of research on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department website and found which state parks are close to me and what amenities they had for kids. I made a spreadsheet and noted which parks had playgrounds. Then, one May weekend, we headed to McKinney Falls State Park in Austin for a morning walk.

Felix was mesmerized as we drove in to the park and saw a family of “reindeer” (white-tailed deer) walking across the road and heard the songs of different birds. We started off on the Onion Creek Hike and Bike Trail by the Smith Visitors Center.

I could see his wariness and excitement as we started to walk under the canopy of trees. This was his first real experience in the woods, and he was taking it in slowly. As we walked, we looked at birds through our binoculars, and he gathered a bushel of sticks that he could not bear to leave behind. We finished about 15 minutes later, and his complaints began.

“Are we done?... Is that the car?... My legs hurt…I’m hungry…” And on and on.

I thought the trip was a bust, but when we entered the visitors center, all his complaints magically disappeared.

He was thrilled to see the displays of animal skulls and skins. He soon found his way to a night sky exhibit, where he pressed a button that turned off the lights and made the roof gleam with stars. His face lit up with excitement, and he kept going from one wall to another turning on the different light displays, smiling and giggling endlessly.

After that, we walked down the short trail to the Upper Falls for a closer view of the waterfall, roaring after recent rains.

Felix got close to the pools of water in the limestone, seeing the different organisms making their home in the rocks. He threw rocks into the creek and laughed as they sank with a loud “thunk.” His pants and shoes were soaked, but it didn’t bother him. He was just happy to have a place to roam freely.

When it was time to go, his previous chorus of complaints were replaced with a melody of melancholy about leaving what he dubbed “the best place in the world.”

As we drove back home, I asked him if he liked the visit to the park, and he said, “Mom, this isn’t a park. Parks have playgrounds. This was an adventure.”

With that pearl of wisdom from Felix, I started looking into where we should go for our next adventure.

We decided to make our next expedition a little more ambitious and planned a road trip with my dad to Palo Duro Canyon State Park in the Panhandle, with stops at several state parks along the way — Mother Neff, Dinosaur Valley, Possum Kingdom, Caprock Canyons and Abilene. I was excited for some adventure but hedged my bets by including some state parks with playgrounds to make sure Felix was entertained.

We headed to a cabin at Possum Kingdom State Park for our first night, with stops at Mother Neff and Dinosaur Valley.

At Mother Neff, Felix hopped out of his car seat ready to explore. We set off on a hike to Tonkawa Cave and found ourselves under the cave’s cool overhang.

We noticed that the roof and walls of the cave looked as if they had patches of hair hanging off. We inched closer and saw that they were daddy longlegs, also known as harvestmen. The carpets of arachnids wriggled and writhed in a mesmerizing sort of group dance. We were fascinated!

On our way out of the park, we stopped by one of the playgrounds for a water and snack break. Felix climbed on top of a giant stone armadillo and pretended to ride on its back. He then moved to the logs and slides, bouncing back and forth from one part of the play area to the other. Which was better, the playground or the cave?

Our next stop was Dinosaur Valley State Park, known for its extensive dinosaur tracks.

When we arrived, the park ranger asked Felix if he wanted to become a Junior Ranger and earn a golden badge. Excited by this glittering prize, he grabbed his packet and set out to complete it. The answers to the question were on the interpretive panels in the park, so we began our quest.

He beelined to the giant dinosaur models of the Tyrannosaurus and Brontosaurus, lovingly nicknamed Rex and Bronto. Felix kept running back and forth, air punching each prehistoric creature to protect his grandpa and mom. Then we hit the trail to the Ballroom Track Site. In the bed of the Paluxy River, the dinosaur tracks were everywhere. Felix couldn’t believe that something that big existed and left its mark on the stone. Reading about dinosaurs is one thing; seeing a physical place where a dinosaur stepped made them suddenly feel real.

After completing his worksheet, he was sworn in as an official Junior Ranger. With his badge in place, we packed up and hit the road to our cabin at Possum Kingdom.

This was going to be another first for Felix since we had only had experience in hotel rooms and family homes during our other trips, so I was anxious to see how he adapted to the experience. Our cabin for the night was a perfect blend of amenities and comfort. The cabin, within walking distance of a playground and a pier, was very roomy with a kitchen and bathroom.

Felix and I wanted to try our hands at fishing. The park has loaner rods and reels, but we opted to use some of our own equipment and fished from the pier. I could see his head turning in every direction as he took in the sights and sounds around him — boats making waves, the melody of the frogs and cicadas singing their summer tunes, even the occasional splash of a fish jumping. We didn’t have any bites but did get to see a group of bass thrash and fight nearby.

The next morning, we said goodbye to Possum Kingdom and hit the road.

We reached Caprock Canyons State Park in the middle of the afternoon. We were worried that with the heat of the day, we wouldn’t be able to see any of the bison that called the park home. We were wrong.

After entering the park, we almost immediately saw a group of bison under some trees. We drove toward Lake Theo, and at one of the picnic areas overlooking the lake, we found ourselves surrounded by a group of bison. We stayed in our car but rolled down the window so Felix could get a better view.

We had purchased a stuffed bison at the visitors center, and now, face to furry face with these ancient behemoths, he grabbed his stuffy and held it out to compare it to the bearded giants in front of him. I could see his busy mind at work.

After making promises to return to Caprock, we drove the final hour and a half to our cabin near Canyon.

We arose the next morning, energized and ready to explore Palo Duro Canyon State Park. The park ranger recommended doing the Juniper/Riverside Trail and possibly heading up to the Big Cave if we wanted a short but scenic trail. There's no playground, but I was increasingly sure the cave would provide more than enough entertainment.

Felix led our group down the curvy path and stopped a few times to try to find the birds singing around us. A short while later, we saw the boulders leading up to the cave.

Felix and I began climbing up the rocks. He took off like he was made for this type of terrain and climbed his way into the cave’s cool embrace. Felix thrust his hands in the air and declared how awesome the cave was: “This is the best place ever!”

That night, as we laid out a picnic blanket to do some stargazing, we had a pristine view of the many constellations and satellites whirring by. We were not prepared for what we saw next — a meteor. The bright dot shot across our view, leaving a pale blue tail in its wake. I looked over to Felix, whose mouth was hanging open. He was in awe of what he was seeing. As it disappeared, he turned to us and summed up all our thoughts with one word — “Wow!”

The next morning, we left Palo Duro and traversed through the swirling windmills and rolling plains to our last stop of the trip, Abilene State Park.

After unloading the car, we went in search of geocaches.

The park said several of the hidden geocaches were perfect for beginners, and one was a short walk away from our cabin. Following GPS coordinates, we walked past the park’s yurts until we were feet away from our bounty.

We searched and searched for several minutes but couldn’t find it, until Felix climbed a small tree and found it hidden behind a branch. He was so excited! He twisted the top of the copper tube and found his treasure. The cylinder had a roll of paper with names of people who had found it before us, as well as a small cat magnet and miniature blue duck. Felix took off running back to the cabin to show his grandpa his bounty.

We found a couple more geocaches, including an ammo box with a glow stick inside, before pulling up to the playground next to the park pool.

Felix ran to the metal staircase leading to the top of the slide and glided down. He spent the rest of the time switching from the swing set to the climbing dome and back to the slide again. The playground provided a pleasant diversion, even if it lacked the excitement of climbing a tree and finding a geocache.

In the weeks following the trip, as we settled back into the routine of our daily life, Felix could not stop talking about our adventures and the amazing things we saw. The playgrounds were enjoyable, but his real favorites were the “bulls” at Caprock, walking in the “forests” of the parks and staying in the cabins.

Felix is already asking when we will go to the “forest” next and wants to bring his dad and little brother along next time.

On our trip, I noticed that being outside calmed Felix’s manic little-kid energy and allowed him to slow down and focus on his surroundings. In the end, I learned that nature can be the best playground — it was nature that sparked his curiosity, engaged his senses and provided real moments of "Wow." Most importantly, we made memories that we will take with us for a lifetime.