Texas State Parks and Historic Sites Celebrate the Holidays With Lights, Hikes and Festivities

Texans don't dream of a white Christmas. But what we lack in snow, we make up for in temperate weather that allows for a holiday stroll through our state parks and natural areas throughout the state, where a Christmas pine tree can be replaced by one of Texas’ iconic live oaks and the sounds of our many native birds can serenade you like carolers.

When I first pull into Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site for the annual Christmas tree lighting, I’m a bit surprised to find that the parking lot is full of cars. After a few days of rain, chilly temperatures and on-and-off showers, I thought that the threat of an oncoming storm might dissuade attendees from showing up.

The tree lighting, however, is such a cherished community tradition that it brings out the residents of the surrounding region in full force — apparently in sun, rain or snow. The tree lighting takes place in the visitor center complex. As children run through the courtyard and families set up lawn chairs, a band plays instrumental versions of Christmas carols like Silent Night and Jingle Bells. 

When it’s time for the event to begin, the superintendents of both LBJ state and national parks each light a lantern hung from a beam at the visitor center to symbolize the unity between the two establishments, which are located across the Pedernales River from each other.

“Our ability to come together years later, decades later, to preserve the vision of LBJ and his wife, Lady Bird, is nothing short of remarkable,” says Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park Superintendent Christine Jacobs. A short service guides attendees through a series of prayers, carols and speeches until it’s time for the big moment: the tree lighting! LBJ State Park Superintendent Dennis Smith rounds up the children in attendance to help plug in the strings of lights adorning the Christmas tree.  

As for the tree, it is a large, bulky cedar that is a little more rotund than you might expect for your typical Christmas tree. Park ranger James Hudson tells me that the rangers select a cedar from the property to hold the esteemed title of the park’s Christmas tree and bring it to its spot in the center of the visitors area.

After the tree lighting ceremony, attendees are free to roam around the grounds, including visiting the adjacent Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm. You can board a vintage trolley car to transport you to the farm, or walk along a boarded trail where you’ll pass by a living nativity and a stagecoach. I opt to walk on the short, mostly flat trail.

Approaching the farm, I begin to smell smoke, hear a harmonica and see lighted torches. Farm employees mill about in period-appropriate costume, answering questions and explaining their roles in the period re-creation. A blacksmith makes heart-shaped horseshoes inside of a smithy; two women knit scarves inside one of the farmhouse rooms; and a woman with a guitar strums peacefully on the front porch of the farmhouse.

After waiting in line to go in, I get my turn to enter the farmhouse. It’s decorated with warm lighting, vintage furniture and Christmas decor. Volunteers in each room explain that this is a period-accurate representation of what the farmhouse would have looked like when it was occupied by the Sauers and the Beckmanns in the late 1800s.

After peering in each room, I head back to the visitor center complex and pass by Hudson as he answers questions, directs latecomers about where to go and says goodbye to guests. As a couple in front of me heads toward the parking lot, Hudson asks them if they had a nice time, and they assure him that they’ll be back next year.

“That’s what I like to hear!” he says.  

The Kreische Brewery in La Grange is a unique state historic site that centers on the old Kreische family homestead and the ruins of the family’s brewery, which ceased operating in 1884. For the holidays, the brewery holds a trail of lights event that winds from the visitor center through the sprawling property to the homestead.

It’s a dark and chilly night when I drive up to the historic site and shuffle into the event with crowds of other people. When I begin the trail tour, decorations on either side of the walkway both light the way and provide a festive ambiance of blinking string lights, colorful trees, a candy cane lane, and lit-up characters like snowmen and reindeer.

Eventually, the trail leads me to the family’s homestead, which plunges me back in time to the 1800s, when the Kreische family was operating the land.

“The Kreische house is transformed into a Victorian Christmas with a Texas twist,” says Jennifer Townzen, lead educator and interpreter of the Kreische Brewery and Monument Hill State Historic Sites. “We have volunteers and staff dressed from the ‘bustle era’ walking around the house and telling guests about various Christmas traditions. We try to keep that area as late 19th century as possible, so there is a bit of a best of both worlds when guests come to visit us. Educational and entertaining.”

Townzen cites one of the centerpieces in the home as her favorite part: a small cedar tree on top of a table in the main room. She tells me that back in the 1800s, German families in Texas would have put their Christmas trees on top of tables, and a cedar likely would have been what was available to them.   

The brewery decorates the tree with what the family would have used back then: easy-to-get everyday items from around the house to bring in cheer during the winter months, such as crocheted snowflakes, fabric scraps and popcorn garlands.

I stop in for a quick visit with Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

“The Clauses are as they were imagined and depicted in 1880: a hooded robe, long green tunics, roped belts,” Townzen says. “And they are staged within one of the Kreische house rooms so that the visit with Santa feels like going back in time.”
The trail of lights ends at the entertainment tent, where I grab a cookie and some hot chocolate and sit down to enjoy live music. The band kicks in with an old favorite, Jingle Bells.

By Rose Jordan

It wouldn't be a Texan Christmas without a dive into cowboy culture. At Lake Mineral Wells State Park’s Cowboy Christmas Under the Stars, visitors pack into the amphitheater to join park ranger and cowboy poet David Owens as he celebrates the holiday with cowboy songs, poems and stories.

On the way to the amphitheater, guests can drive through Lake Mineral Wells State Park as it lights up its campsites for a trail of lights event. Santa also drops in to the park store.

For 24 years, this beloved event has captured the spirit of an old-fashioned Texas Christmas. Picture the crackle of a campfire, the rich aroma of Dutch oven cooking — courtesy of the Texas Outdoor Family team — and voices rising in a sing-along of songs from the cattle drives of the 1870s. Owens and friends share stories from cowboy life and holiday traditions, while mugs of hot cocoa warm hands and hearts alike. It’s an experience that feels both timeless and true to Texas roots.

Meanwhile, the park’s camping loops come alive with the warmth and glow of holiday lights. The trail of lights is more than just a festive drive — it’s a celebration of community spirit and simple joys. This growing tradition shines thanks to campers who decorate their sites with twinkling lights, ornaments and holiday displays. As visitors slowly make their way through the loops, they’ll see how each campsite reflects the personal spirit of those who call it home for the weekend.  

The winter solstice is a contemplative time — it marks the shortest day of the year, and the holidays are in full swing. There is perhaps no better place to be during a peaceful and thoughtful time than in the vast, serene mountain landscapes of West Texas. That’s why each year Davis Mountains State Park hosts a guided hike on the Skyline Drive Trail to the Keesey Canyon Overlook for sunset on the solstice.

Though the views at the top are great, this is a moderate-to-challenging trail that is 4.5 miles round-trip and features a steep and rugged section lasting almost 900 feet.

A traditional Christmas tradition, a posada is a re-enactment of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem (posada is a Spanish word meaning “inn” or “shelter”). At Fort Leaton’s posada, hundreds of luminarias light up the pathways as visitors explore the park grounds and join a walk with Mary and Joseph as they seek shelter at the inn. After the procession, visitors can enjoy mariachi music and traditional Mexican Christmas snacks.