Hike Around Several Scenic Lakes And Spot Tons Of Alligators At This Wild Texas State Park

We all know that the Florida Everglades are gator country, but did you know that the scaly, sinister reptiles are also endemic to Texas? Alligator habitats are more widespread in the United States than many realize. Although hunted to near extinction in Texas, both for food and as pests who threatened livestock and pets, there is one place you can find them in abundance: 5,000-acre Brazos Bend State Park, less than an hour south of Houston. This is a sunny, gently rolling landscape where 37 miles of oak-shaded trails weave around ponds, wetlands, and campground loops. The landscape is teeming with wildlife of all kinds, from water fowl to racoons to the star attraction: the 250 or so adult alligators whose ancestors have called this place home for the past 65 million years.

This park makes a perfect first night's stop on a Texas Gulf Coast road trip. If you're staying overnight, you can hook up your RV, or set up your tent inside a sturdy, spacious screen house at your campsite, to stay out of the sun and away from the mosquitoes. The flat terrain and broad, smooth gravel paths make this a perfect place to zip around on a bicycle, so do bring yours, but it's also prime for strolling. Or just make like a gator and sit outside sunning yourself.

If you're making a pilgrimage to see the famous alligators at Brazos Bend, it's best to avoid either the extreme heat of summer or cold of winter, both times when the reptiles will be chillaxing in their temperature-regulating mud dens. But pick a temperate day, and the gators will come out to play. How many might you see? "Today we counted 55 alligators in our tally as we hiked the trails around the lakes," one excited Tripadvisor visitor reports. "I got a film of one ten foot alligator crawling across the trail in front of us! Amazing."

Keep your eyeballs peeled and you might spot a mother alligator tending her nest amid what appears to be a pile of dead grass. Perhaps one of the many knowledgeable volunteer docents who staff the park will be stationed there to explain to you how gators lay around 35 eggs, and hatchlings stay warm together heaped in a spaghetti-like tangle. Competition for survival is tough, though, between predators like racoons and aggressive adult male gators, and only two to three of these babies will survive to adulthood. So when you see an adult gator and think, "Wow, that's one gnarly looking tough customer," just remember they grew up in a pretty rough neighborhood.

There have been no alligator attacks on humans for in the history of Brazos Bend State Park, and in fact, no one has ever been killed by one in the state of Texas. That might be in part because there is nothing cuddly or approachable about these bad looking beasts. And also because, despite appearances, that gator is just as afraid of you as you are of it. So long as you keep your distance and avoid acting out an episode of "Jackass," you'll be perfectly safe.

By day, this is a birder's paradise, with over 300 documented species visiting every year, from egrets to warblers to swallow-tailed kites, bald eagles, and great horned owls. Before you head out, you can download a Birds of Brazos Bend birdwatching checklist and collect 'em all. If you're tempted to join them in their swooping and soaring, this is also a popular kite-flying destination, so bring your own colorful contraptions to send skyward.

By night, you'll be watching the skies for a different reason: The park's George Observatory hosts popular Saturday night stargazing sessions. Volunteers stand ready to guide visitors looking through the official telescopes, and private citizens setting up their own instruments to share make this a crowdsourced experience. "The volunteers there go to great lengths to explain and make sure everyone gets to look at special things. The view of Saturn and it's rings was awesome," one Tripadvisor visitor writes. "Amateurs with their high end portable scopes out on the roof were also eager to let us look at things like the moon (amazing!)."

In between, take a hike around the 40 Acre Lake. Time it right, and you can climb the viewing platform to catch a spectacular sunrise or sunset — yet another excellent reason to make your visit an overnight one.