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tedp's avatar
tedp
Explorer
Dec 06, 2018

Headed to Texas in February & March

Recently retired and are looking to go somewhere in eastern to central Texas in February & March to escape winter. Looking for suggestions for parks that are smaller, offer WiFi, close to smaller towns to explore, fishing & possible boat rentals. How far south do you have to drive to avoid the snow?
  • Welcome to East Texas! February and March can have some delightful weather, but there is also the chance of a sudden "Norther" which can drop the temperature by 30 degrees in just a few hours. Still I emphasize that we can have days of shirtsleeve weather in February and even more such days in March.

    If you had the choice, of course, April would be the very best time in East Texas with blooming wildflowers, azaleas, and daffodils.

    In February and March we just have to take the days as they come and be prepared for changes in the weather. We can have freezing weather on some nights. We have snow about once every three or four years. More likely in January, but it could come in February. It is certainly not an annual event.

    Now for small towns and fishing I will start with Jefferson, Texas, an old riverport that was left high and dry with the opening up of the Red River below Caddo Lake. That means there are many old home and business structures have been preserved as they were just before and after the Civil War. Nearby is Lake o' the Pines which has several really nice campgrounds operated by the Corps of Engineers (COE). There is a unique state park not far away, Caddo Lake State Park which has good campsites and boat docks and rentals. Not far north there is Lake Wright Patman with COE and state park campgrounds.

    Here is the problem,
    offer WiFi,
    . Most of our state parks do have WIFI but it is not the fastest, especially when many people are online at the same time. I do not think COE parks have WIFI at all. It is a shame, but the parks that meet all your other desires are the ones least likely to have really good WIFI.

    But let me go on. Tyler State Park is one of our favorites and is near many small towns as well as the nearest thing we have to a city in East Texas--and a fine city at that, Tyler. There are many commercial campgrounds around Tyler that would have WIFI, but none as desirable as Tyler State Park.

    There is Bob Sandlin State Park near Mount Pleasant and Pittsburg, both the kind of small towns you might like. There are commercial campgrounds in Mount Pleasant and Texarkana that would have WIFI.

    A bit further south is Lake Sam Rayburn. I am not as familiar with this area as I am with the towns and parks I have mentioned above, but I know by reports that there are good campgrounds around Sam Rayburn which is near the towns of Nacogdoches and Lufkin.

    Maybe this is enough for one post, but I can give you very specific information about almost any question about East Texas and especially Northeast Texas. You can send me a PM and I will be delighted to respond.
  • Although fairly rare, it sometimes does snow as far south as the coast. But you will likely see some snow, sleet, or freezing rain most any year in the northern two thirds of the state or down into the hill country west of Austin/San Antonio. We live 30 miles north of Dallas and temps dipped as low as 8 degrees last year although we had very little freezing precipitation. That’s why most snowbirders go to the lower valley, or at least the lower coast. Good news is it rarely last longer than 2-3 days before warming back to 60’s or higher. Until the next front a few days later repeats the cold/mild cycle. We may be bundled in our warmest on Monday and playing golf in shirt sleeves on Wednesday.

    Nothing compared to a Wisconsin winter, but don’t assume Texas has mild winters.
  • Since most of the good places fill up about a year ahead I think you will have to make lots of calls and take what you can get. I made most of my reservations last March. You will find in northern Texas it can be very cold but we have never experienced snow - for that reason we go all the way south and then work our was back north

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