Open Year-Round Entry Fee Charged B razos Bend State Park covers nearly 4,897 acres in the region of the first Anglo colonization in Texas, harking back to the land that Mexico granted to Stephen Austin in the early 1800s. Much of the park is in the Brazos River floodplain, but the terrain also includes upland coastal prairie. Big Creek introduces bayous, sloughs and oxbow lakes as it cuts across the park. Mossy live oaks and bottomland hardwoods are common. More than 279 species of birds have been sighted in the park, including neotropical masked ducks rare in the United States.
Spring is prime birdwatching season.
The park is closed for two weeks in late fall for a controlled hunt. Twenty-two miles of trails include 15 for mountain bikes. Anglers, who come for bass, catfish, perch and crappie, find four of six lakes are great for fishing. Three of the fishing lakes have piers, and two are illuminated for nighttime fishing. Beware of alligators.