What are the opening hours?

Monday 8:30am - 12pm 1:15pm - 5pm Tuesday 8:30am - 12pm 1:15pm - 5pm Wednesday 8:30am - 12pm 1:15pm - 5pm Thursday 8:30am - 12pm 1:15pm - 5pm Friday 8:30am - 12pm 1:15pm - 5pm Saturday 8:30am - 12pm 1:15pm - 5pm Sunday 8:30am - 12pm 1:15pm - 5pm

Martin Dies, Jr. State Park - Texas Parks and Wildlife

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Martin Dies, Jr. State Park - Texas Parks and Wildlife

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Headquarters for Martin Dies, Jr. Everyone that is camping with us needs to check in at the headquarters office.

Nestled in the pineywoods of East Texas, our park offers plenty of campsites including RV, tent, and shelter cabins; tons of hiking and paddling trails, fishing piers, a swimming area, and a chance to see an abundance of wildlife State Park is located 11 miles west of Jasper, Texas on Hwy 190, turn south onto Park Road 48 South at the Henhouse Unit of the Park.

11/13/2026

Hikes are so much more fun with friends, big or small!

11/13/2026

Found throughout the America’s, Africa, and parts of Asia, the Commelina erecta, or Slender Dayflower, blooms for roughly two months in the late spring to fall months, however, they are what’s called ephemeral flowers. This just means that their small, beautiful blue petals only last about a day but because they produce a ton of buds, it remains in bloom for that whole two months!

11/12/2026

An aquatic plant with large leaves that can be described as floating on the water, the American Lotus is a gorgeous late summer into early fall bloom of big pale-yellow flowers. These flowering plants can get up to 5 ft in height and their leaves up to 10” wide. They’re found in shallow ponds and lakes, and slow-moving rivers from Minnesota to Florida and on down through Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. 🪷🌼

Like every plant and flower on Earth, these flowers need to be pollinated in order to survive. Honeybees and other bee species frequently pollinate these flowers for nectar and pollen, as well as some butterflies, but American Lotus are primarily pollinated by Flower Beetles. These beetles, with over 4,000 known species, are attracted not only by the nectar, but the flowers scent and heat 🐝🪰🪲.

How do these flowers produce heat? A lot of lotus flowers are thermogenic- meaning they generate and regulate their own heat through a metabolic process in the flowers base. In easier terms, the plant breaks down stored carbs through cellular respiration and then, instead of channeling all that new energy into ATP (the energy carrying molecule), it bypasses that step and instead releases energy as heat.

11/12/2026

A late afternoon capture.

11/11/2026

Often seen in elongated- hence the name- webs that are close to the waters’ surface, the Elongate Stilt spider is one I’d honestly never heard of before and they’re a very common spider throughout the America’s and even the Caribbean.

Their body is very long for a spider, almost flat and void of any hair, and colorings on their body can be an orangish brown to dark brown with black bandings. What’s also long is their legs and this length is an important feature for them to have to survive. This photo depicts a spider in their ‘resting’ position- the first and second pair of legs extend forward, the third pair are straight out to the side, and the fourth pair goes straight back. This posturing helps them blend in with their surroundings, in this case, it’s a tree.

11/11/2026

Alright, third time's the charm!

It’s the RESCHEDULED Bevilport to MDJSP all day (9:00-5:00) paddle trip on DECEMBER 19th (A Saturday)!!

Guided by myself, Mark and Gerald, our two volunteers!!

Please note the following, as it is very important:

This is a 12-MILE paddle trip where you may be paddling with, without, or against a current. Please assess your own physical capabilities as to whether you can do this trip in its entirety.

You will meet the guides BEFORE 9:00am at Bevilport (where county road 2799 ends at the Angelina River) to unload equipment, lunch, etc. etc. Once your gear is unloaded, you will then drive to MDJSP to park your vehicle (day pass MUST be purchased to park inside park boundaries) where either Mark or Gerald will shuttle you back to Bevilport.

As this will be a long day, this trip will leave PROMPTLY at 9:00am, whether you are ready or not.

You MUST have your own life jacket, paddles, and kayak or canoe.
On the map, RED is the paddling route. BLUE is how to drive to the Bevilport boat launch from 190.

SIGN UPs REQUIRED for this trip by emailing Ranger Kathryn at [email protected] or calling 409-698-6636.

Please note that this paddle trip may be cancelled or postponed due to low attendance numbers or adverse weather such as high winds or rain, or temperature.

To learn more, go to our events page at the following link:
https://edit.tpwd.texas.gov/calendar/martin-dies-jr/bevilport-to-mdjsp-all-day-paddle

11/11/2026

We are proud and honored to have these Veterans on our staff!

Chuck served as a 93C/Air Traffic Control Specialist with the U.S. Army for 8 years, from 1988-1996, reaching the rank of Sgt/E-5 with deployments to Desert Shield/Storm and Bosnia. He was stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY and Hohenfels, Germany. Chuck joined the Army for a sense of community and purpose.

Chris served as a Master-at- Arms with the U.S. Navy from 2006-2010, reaching the rank of MA3/E-4. While Chris was never deployed, he was stationed at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia as Harbor Security and a part of Honor Guard, dutifully carrying out over 150 funerals for Veterans and Active-Duty members and at NSA Souda Bay, Greece as anti-terrorism force protection. Chris joined for money, stability and travel. His favorite memory while serving was being a part of harbor security and driving the harbor boats.

Kathryn also served as a Master-at-Arms with the U.S. Navy for 5 years, from 2015-2020, and reached the rank of MA3/E-4. Stationed in Bremerton, WA onboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, she has one deployment to the South China Sea, as well as stints at Marine Corps Security Force Battalion-Bangor and Naval Base Kitsap Defense Service Office West detachment. Kathryn joined to travel and be a part of something bigger than herself. Her favorite memory while serving was sea and anchor detail onboard the Stennis, while in deck department.

Rick served honorably in the Army in 1975 as Infantry 11B. After Basic Training in Fort Polk, Louisiana, he was stationed in Fort Hood, Texas with the 2nd Armored Division “Hell on Wheels”. His favorite memory while in was being able to meet other Soldiers from across the United States.

Jarrod served in the U.S. Army from 1995-2002. While never experienced deployments, he was stationed throughout the States and overseas, most notably in Kansas, Kentucky and Korea. His favorite memory while in was of boot camp and seeing how people handled the change from civilian to soldier.

Thank you all for your service and for the sacrifices you made for your country. We appreciate each and every one of you!

11/10/2026

Let’s talk about an unfortunately very beautiful invasive purple flowering plant.

What is an invasive species? A non-native organism (plant, animal or microbe) that, when introduced to a new environment, causes harm to the ecosystem, economy and/or human health. We have a few invasive species here, some have been here long enough to where they shouldn’t be considered invasive, but that’s beside the point!

It's thought that it was introduced to the United States in 1884 at the Cotton States Exposition in New Orleans, LA and then to Texas in the 1950s. It’s said that a Farmer wife became so enamored by its beauty that she took one home to put in her private ponds. She soon realized that it’s a very fast-growing, invasive plant that suffocates native species and tried to get rid of it by dumping them into bigger, nearby waterways, but that caused them to spread.

Water Hyacinth, when healthy and thriving, can not only form dense water beds that can weigh nearly 200 tons per acre but can double their biome in just two weeks! These mats lower light pe*******on and dissolve oxygen levels which kills off native aquatic plants and affects fish communities. This plant also allows mosquitoes and parasitic worms to flourish, while also impeding boat traffic and clogging canals and intake pumps. Their seeds, viable for up to 30 years, are produced by the thousands, spread to new locations by wind, current or animal feeding.

Like a lot of invasive aquatic plants, Hyacinth reproduces by fragmentation. This is where a plant splits into fragments and each of those fragments regenerates and develops into a new, mature, fully-grown plant.

11/09/2026

It's past that time of year where squirrels and other rodents have started burying nuts and seeds in the ground to hoard during the winter months. One squirrel can bury hundreds if not thousands of nuts, seeds, and acorns in one fall season 🐿.

They don’t bury them deep in the ground, however. Just enough for the nut or seed to be lightly buried and easily found!

Do they find them all? Nope. Not even close 🥜🥜.

They find roughly half of the nuts they buried, with others being stolen and eaten by other rodents, rotted away, or they just plum can't remember where they buried them 🌰🌰.

Which is great for forest health 🌲🌲!

These forgotten acorns often end up germinating and regenerating into another tree. Yay!

11/09/2026

Thanksgiving is right around the corner!

Spend the week in the park or just come for the day to attend a nature talk or to work off all that holiday food on a guided hike or guided paddle!

Reminder that Park Headquarters will close Thanksgiving Day at NOON so park staff can celebrate the holiday with loved ones. We ask that visitors who arrive after this time, either pay online or at any of the kiosks at any of the park entrances.

Address

634 Park Road 48 S
Jasper, TX
75951

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 12pm
	1:15pm - 5pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 12pm
	1:15pm - 5pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 12pm
	1:15pm - 5pm
Thursday	8:30am - 12pm
	1:15pm - 5pm
Friday	8:30am - 12pm
	1:15pm - 5pm
Saturday	8:30am - 12pm
	1:15pm - 5pm
Sunday	8:30am - 12pm
	1:15pm - 5pm

Telephone

(409) 384-5231

Website

https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/martin-dies-jr

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