{"id":184667,"date":"2026-02-28T17:50:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T17:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/184667\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T17:50:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T17:50:27","slug":"palo-pinto-mountains-state-park-finally-has-an-opening-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/184667\/","title":{"rendered":"Palo Pinto Mountains State Park finally has an opening date"},"content":{"rendered":"

After three years of construction-related delays, Palo Pinto Mountains State Park<\/a> is set to open.<\/p>\n

After the Star-Telegram reported earlier Wednesday that the park\u2019s website was taking reservations<\/a> for campsites starting Sunday, March 1, Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s office issued a statement saying this weekend will be a \u201csoft opening.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of Wednesday morning, 24 of the park\u2019s 57 campsites were available for Sunday.<\/p>\n

\"Work Work continues at Palo Pinto Mountains State Park, including construction of a fishing pier as pictured on May 21 in Strawn. The park was initially scheduled to open in 2023, but visitors will have to wait until at least 2026, according to Park Superintendent James Adams. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com <\/p>\n

A Texas Parks & Wildlife spokesperson said visitors should use caution since workers are still putting finishing touches on the 4,817-acre park. However, all trails and campsites will be open beginning March 1.<\/p>\n

An official grand opening is planned for later this spring, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s announcement said the \u201csoft opening\u201d will allow early access ahead of that. \u201cPalo Pinto Mountains State Park offers visitors a chance to escape from the bustling pace of the city into the juniper-topped hillsides and hardwood bottomlands of the Cross Timbers,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

Parks & Wildlife said Wednesday afternoon that large numbers of visitors<\/a> are expected at the park over the coming months. Advance reservations are recommended.<\/p>\n

\"A A newly constructed pavilion at Palo Pinto Mountains State Park on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Strawn. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com <\/p>\n

Palo Pinto will be the first state park to open in North Texas in nearly 25 years. The park is in Palo Pinto County about 75 miles west of Fort Worth, near the small city of Strawn. It was initially set to open in 2023, then the opening was pushed to 2025. During a preview visit last year<\/a>, James Adams, the park\u2019s supervisor, told the Star-Telegram it would likely be 2026.<\/p>\n

The park\u2019s centerpiece is a 90-acre lake with a wooded shoreline, which the Parks and Wildlife spokesperson said is stocked with fish and will be open to anglers on March 1. Surrounding the lake are canyons, hills, plateaus and ridges, some offering spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. Adams has described the property as having a \u201cWild West\u201d vibe that feels like Texas Hill Country.<\/p>\n

\"A A floating dock at the future Palo Pinto Mountains State Park on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Strawn. Amanda McCoy amccoy@star-telegram.com <\/p>\n

Campsites at Palo Pinto Mountains are roomier than sites in older parks, offering a little more privacy and space for larger trailers. The park\u2019s facilities and trails were designed to be more accessible for those with disabilities, and there are even off-road wheelchairs available.<\/p>\n

The first land purchases for the park were completed in 2011, and the city of Strawn donated crucial land along the lake in 2014.<\/p>\n

But the property was undeveloped ranch land at the time. That meant that the park had to be built effectively from scratch \u2014 everything from utilities, such as water and electricity, to new roads and trails, to the headquarters and maintenance buildings that will be park staff\u2019s homebase.<\/p>\n

In the last construction update posted to the park\u2019s Facebook page<\/a> on Feb. 3, a staff member said the park was nearing completion. She mentioned final work being done on pathways, roads and a campsite bathhouse, and she said the fishing pier in one of the day use areas was almost finished.<\/p>\n

The most recent state park to open in Texas was Resaca de la Palma, deep in South Texas, in 2008. North Texas hasn\u2019t seen a new state park open since Lake Tawakoni, east of Dallas, in 2002.<\/p>\n

Last year, Texas Parks & Wildlife instituted a policy change that aims to open state parks faster in the future.<\/p>\n

The expectation moving forward is that new parks will open within 12 months of land acquisition for \u201cfacilitated public day use,\u201d which includes things like guided tours and special events. Within 18 months of land acquisition, parks must be \u201copen for expanded public day use with access to basic essential components (e.g., limited trails, parking areas, restrooms).<\/p>\n

Finally, new parks must be completely open to the public, with all infrastructure and facilities in place, within 48 months of land acquisition.<\/p>\n

Rodney Franklin, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department\u2019s director of state parks, told the Star-Telegram last year that the new policy wasn\u2019t implemented in response to the Palo Pinto Mountains delays.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always been an interest in opening parks as soon as we could,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just haven\u2019t been able to deliver on that. We\u2019re in a different time now with some of the funding the legislature and the public has voted on, and it\u2019s given us the opportunity to have a little more flexibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s statement on Palo Pinto included estimated dates for future state parks:<\/p>\n

This story was originally published February 25, 2026 at 9:45 AM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Matt Adams<\/a><\/p>\n

Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

Matt Adams is a news reporter covering Fort Worth, Tarrant County and surrounding areas. He previously wrote about aviation and travel and enjoys a good weekend road trip. Matt joined the Star-Telegram in January 2025.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After three years of construction-related delays, Palo Pinto Mountains State Park is set to open. After the Star-Telegram…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":184668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[73841,116,118,117,72714,73840,22010],"class_list":["post-184667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-camping-palo-pinto-park","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news","tag-palo-pinto-mountains-state-park","tag-palo-pinto-open-date","tag-texas-parks-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}