Shannon

Share you comments or questions about Brazos Bend State Park, located in Needville, Texas.

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- Shannon Moore
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wes

Hi guys, We just returned from Brazos bend state park, we were there from March 11th, till March 13th (2002) for spring break. This is an awesome park!! Great for families. We were in camp site 103, with my parents across the way in 102, these are the 2 best sites in the park (in my opinion) easy access to the bath house, and thick woods in the rear.

Pros:
Alligators!, alligators!, alligators! (saw about 75)

Lots of trails

Clean Bath houses (rest rooms)

Raccoons to boot! Tons of them!

Lots of interesting birds!
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Cons:

The "head ranger" who calls himself "Jerry" is a bit full of himself! (He drives a Jeep Cherokee....Legal Eagle alert!)

The benches at the camp site picnic tables are too close to the table!

Not very many deer! (only saw about 10 the whole time)

Over all a 9 out of 10 (would have been a 10 if not for "Ranger Jerry")

Great park,

--Wesley
----Sa, TX

Unregistered

Just had a run in with one hell of a jerk, Ranger Jerry Donner, who drives a Jeep Cherokee. This was in Hecla Junction, Colorado. He issued me a completely frivolous $50 unlawful camping fine, and my group had paid ahead to rent 5 campsites for two nights at something like $14/night! He claims I was on the wrong side of an invisible barrier that somehow separates two of the campsites in the same graded gravel pit. I somehow didn't see the invisible fence when I rolled out my sleeping pad that night (I don't even set up a tent unless it's raining). Oops, sorry I slept on the wrong few feet of gravel, it caused so much harm, and I'm a bad person for it. The camp ground was by no means crowded, there were plenty of empty sites, and we aren't a bunch of drunk partying kids. Also, when we got there, we cleaned up a bunch of trash around the sites.

This is highway robbery, and the worst thing is that the law is set up to give pee brained, pompous, self-righteous scum like Jerry the authority to issue tickets with no burden of evidence or due process of law. Nothing like getting woken up by a creep with a gun and a chip on his shoulder while you're on vacation, and then having him steal $50 and have the twisted law on his side! Unchecked authority will always be abused.

I would like to see Park Rangers use a more educational approach to minor violations instead of being so punitive. I am in the process of writing his supervisor as well as all 50 State Park offices to let them know exactly what sort of person they shouldn't have working for them.

campermom

What does this have to do with a very old thread about Brazos Bend State Park?

Shannon

I suspect someone hit the thread from a Google search, and without even bothering to determine that this thread referred to a park ranger named Jerry at a TEXAS State Park, they went off to bash a CO National Park ranger.

I'd delete it, but sometimes these things are good reminders to folks to read for comprehension online rather than just skimming posts and firing off replies.

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- Shannon Moore
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Fish1

Hello, I am the person who posted the message complaining about a Ranger Jerry in a Colorado STATE Park. I do (and did) understand that this is a Texas board. I also understand that occasionally, after several years, people have been known to relocate from state to state, and assumed that this was perhaps the case.

I was very offended by my treatment, which I consider nothing short of highway robbery of my hard earned money. I could not make the court date in a court so far away from my home, so my only recourse was to write letters and post to various message boards in the hopes that his supervisors would realize that he is not the type of person you want working in a recreational area in contact with clients. Since this was one of the only references to a Ranger Jerry who drives a Jeep that I have been able to find, I hope that my dissatisfaction remains here to help anyone else who is harassed by this guy in the future. If it is a different Ranger Jerry who drives a jeep down there, then I apologize to him for the confusion.

I am a very courteous, quiet, clean, and minimal impact camper, and it was a real slap in the face to be woken up and treated like I was some punk kid poaching campsites on the first morning of my only vacation for a long time, particularly after having cleaned up the campgrounds upon arrival, not having sufficient TP in the restroom at the start of a weekend, and having paid for FIVE campsites at a large campground that was otherwise fairly empty that weekend.

Shannon

{jealous grin} :yes: Your message brings back fond memories; Justin and I need to get back out to Brazos Bend again. During our camping trip there, we stayed in campsite #105 in the Burr Oak Camping Area and liked that one very much. I agree with your assessment and am thrilled you and your family had a good time -- that's what camping's about, afterall! We love the alligators out there and saw everything from itty-bitty baby 'gators to big, bad brute-type grandpa gators. And the birds were something else, too... although you have to be careful about hiking and birding at the same time, else you might step on a gator sunning on the trail!

I don't remember seeing many deer, either. I imagine the deer are a little put off by all the alligators (and all the water).

Thanks so much for sharing your experience and impressions of Brazos Bend SP. It's always good to hear from other folks who've been to a park -- I'm not a "park authority" by any means, I just happen to enjoy writing and compiling our travels into this website.

Happy Travels!

- Shannon

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- Shannon Moore
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Purchases in the Wild Texas Gear Shop support our continued operation. Thank you!

jphilson

We just returned to (June 1st or 2nd, 2002) Brazos Bend after a 12 year absence, and found a lot has changed. Our visit was a little different than yours, and the others responding. We saw a lot of deer, but had the forsight (from previous experience) to bring a bag of feed corn. The deer love it, and will come out of nowhere if you put a little out on the ground. After they come, if you stand outside the car, and put some about a foot away from you, they will come right up to you. If you take a pan (frying or pie tin), put some corn in it and shake it a little, then hold it still, and they will come right up and eat it. I do NOT recommend that you attempt to feed them from your hand, or have small children in the area, they are still wild. It was very hot while we were there, and we did not see many gators (only 2). The big thrill of this visit was on the handicap path, just a few yards from the split between the two lakes we encountered a mother Coatimundi, and four young offspring, this is a rare event in the wild, and especially rare inthat that area is a couple hundred miles outside their normal range. My wife and I are both over 70, and this is the first time I have seen Coatimundi in the wild.

Our big disappointment on this trip, was the overgrown condition of the lakes. I would not want the Parks Dept. to mess up the ecology, but there must be a way to cleanup, and reduce some of this over growth. Also the area around the fishing pier, has been abused by the park users, with plastic bottles and cans and other trash. Let learn "if you bring it in...pack it out" "Don't mess with Texas" and "lets not leave nature the way we found it, lets leave it in better shape"

Repmac1

Just read about the wonderful time that wes had at BBSP during spring break 02. Sounds like a good place to camp before the heat turns on.
Was wondering about the mosquito population at the park. Anyone have information about how these critter would affect a spring break 03 camping trip?

jeff parker

Surprisingly not that bad in the open, especially if you go in March. Hiking in the woods where the air is more still you will have more trouble with them. Bring some Off! just in case.

Tank

I frequented this park fairly often as I lived 5 minutes from it. I never camped there but did plenty of hiking and biking. My favorite trail is the Pilant Slough Trail. It takes you a little over a mile through creek bottoms where you can see plenty of Aligators in the wild. Lots of good fishing on Elm Lake. If you're biking I suggest the Elm Lake Loop with a quick jaunt over to the observation tower.

I never camped out there, I guess because I lived so close, but if you do go be sure to hike in the early morning to catch the wildlife, including bugs, birds, and of course the alligators.

4runner

We went to Brazos Bend SP July 15-17.

This was our first visit, and the park was beautiful. Sadly, some of the lakes are still choked up with vegetation, but park staff mentioned that plans were in the works to drain and clean out some of the lakes. The fishing was disappointing. The trails were nice, and kind of exciting because we kept expecting alligators to charge out of the brush. We only saw five alligators, and they were in the water and were not interested in us at all. On our first night there, we drove around the camping areas and counted 72 deer, from babies up to nice bucks. Raccoons are present, but not near as obnoxious as they are at Goose Island SP and Guadalupe River SP.

We had screened shelter #13, and pitched our tent next to it. The shelter had a ceiling fan in it, and was about 15'x15'(this is a wild guess) with a small covered porch. The shelter had two picnic tables, a waist high grill, fire ring w/grill, water and electric. The only downside was that all through the night people walked through our campsite to get to the bathroom. All other shelters should offer a little privacy.

I don't know if "Jerry" is still there, but some guy in a Jeep Cherokee drove around regularly at night and actually enforced the "Quiet Hours" rules. I wish the staff at other parks were as conscientious. It was nice to go to a state park on a weekend and not have to try to fall asleep to tejano music blaring from nearby campsites.

The park has a nice interpretive center. Be sure and check out the mongoose.

There is also an observatory on sight(open on Saturday), but you need to buy your tickets early. We got there right as it got dark and they were sold out. Some amatuer astronomers bring out their scopes and allow people to look through their scopes free of charge.

vettech2112

I'm sorry you didn't see more alligators. I was there the Tuesday after you left, July 20th, and saw more than a dozen, many up on the paths. I spotted a juvenile about 2' long at the base of the observation deck. A big 8-9' gator was basking along the western part of Elm Lake Loop and allowed me to get very close. Two or three 4' gators were basking on the northern portion of 40-Acre Lake Trail.

I sat for nearly an hour and observed a 8-9' gator and a 6-7' one tussle over "ownership" of a big alligator carcas in the swamp along eastern bank of 40-Acre Lake. According to the wildlife photographer that was filming it, the big one was a male who'd fought with the deceased gator about the time y'all were there. It was really interresting to watch the big male guard his prize from the smaller female while trying to rip into that tough gator hide. She would swim in on the opposite side of the corpse, take a quick bite, then he'd notice and come around and chase her off. I think the female got more to eat than he did! (There's a lesson in there, IMHO.)

The wildlife photographer said he'd filmed alligators all over the Gulf Coast and felt that Brazos Bend was the best place in the country for it. I've never seen gators so tame.

Unlike you, I didn't see any deer, sadly. I did see a pair of juvenile raccoons playing chase over by Hale Lake which was an unexpected treat. Also saw a blue heron nab the biggest crawfish I'd ever seen in my life. It was so big the poor thing was trying to figure out how he was going to swallow it! He'd crunch on it with his beak, then turn it and turn it, plop it down on the ground, crunch a few times, repeat. I watched for a good 10 minutes through my binoculars before he finally got it down. It was like watching a snake eat as you could see the big crawfish slide down that long neck.

My only complaint about the park was my own squeamishness... I've been stomping around woods all my life, especially the forests of SE Texas and the Florida panhandle, but I've never seen so many spiders in one place in my life. If they didn't give me the willies so much, I could have photographed quite a few species of really big spider in just one day. I saw even more than that at Village Creek SP today. <shudder> Has there suddenly been a boom in the spider population?

ploddinTod

Ed,
I went to your website to view your photos of the gators. Nice job but where are the spiders? Just remember those guys are our friends for all of the insects they dispose of.

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PloddinTod

vettech2112

I realize the value of spiders. I don't kill them when I find them in my apartment. I find a way to shoo them out the door.

However, as I said in my post, they give me the willies when I have to be close to them. I have no desire to photograph them. Besides, my best friend is severely arachnophobic and if he saw even ONE spider pic on my site, he'd never go there again.

I had a run in with a REALLY big spider at Village Creek SP yesterday. I stepped off the path to shoot a pic of Sandy Slough, careful to avoid a particularly evil looking arachnid. I shot a couple of pics, then cut back to the path only to walk right into a different, and even larger spider's web. I managed to fling the web (and its creator) off my neck failry qickly. I have no idea the species nor if it was dangerous but this thing was easily the size of the palm of my hand. After that, I walked with a small stick in my hand, held up perpendicular to my body in front of me to prevent any further encounters.

Didja see the pics of the gator at Sea Rim? I actually saw 4, but the one on the site was the only one I got a really good pic of. You can see in the pic that it was just laying beside the boardwalk without a care for the humans walking by. Before I encountered that beauty, about a 3' gator nabbed a bird right by the boardwalk right after I'd passed by. I heard the commotion behind me and saw the gator drag off its prize, still crunching. I have a shot from fairly close but it didn't come out very good. I've been debating if I should post it on my site.

I really need to sort through the pics I've taken in June & July and post some of the better ones here. I've only got one more hike planned before school starts. Gonna go check out Huntsville SP in a couple of weeks.