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

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

Hope to see you at any of these September programs!Program descriptions:Alligators: Predatory Engineers- Discover alliga...
08/30/2026

Hope to see you at any of these September programs!

Program descriptions:

Alligators: Predatory Engineers- Discover alligators and not only their evolutionary history but the good they do for the ecosystem!

Armadllio Antics- Hear all the amazing things this shelled mammal can do!

Awesome Opossums- The tail of North America's only marsupial is explored!

Guided Hikes- Hike with a ranger to see what we can spot along the trail.

Guided Paddle- No sign up required, just show up! Make sure to stop by park headquarters to grab your lifejacket and paddle or bring your own!

Night Sky- bring your own telescope or look through ours at stars, the moon, and constellations.

Pelts and Tracks- Touch real fur, fake p**p and tracks during this sensory driven program.

Slippery Serpents- What makes a snake?

*All programs subject to changes or cancellations.

How cool to come across this scene while hiking. šŸ•·šŸ•ø
08/29/2026

How cool to come across this scene while hiking. šŸ•·šŸ•ø

08/29/2026

The best way to start out your day is not only watching sunrise, but seeing your alligator friend too! šŸŠšŸŠ

Live cicada in one hand, their exoskeleton in the other.
08/28/2026

Live cicada in one hand, their exoskeleton in the other.

Not the best place to take a breather, my guy. šŸ¢šŸ¢šŸ›£
08/28/2026

Not the best place to take a breather, my guy. šŸ¢šŸ¢šŸ›£

With the name ā€˜Carolina Mantisā€™ itā€™s easy to think that its only origin is the Carolinaā€™s, however, this little guy is f...
08/27/2026

With the name ā€˜Carolina Mantisā€™ itā€™s easy to think that its only origin is the Carolinaā€™s, however, this little guy is found throughout the United States. While their size is relatively small at 2-2.2ā€ for males and 2-2.5ā€ for females, their color is range is just as vast as their expanse throughout the States, being anywhere from a dusty-brown to green.

Aside from there being a very slight sexual dimorphism (where the female is larger than the male) between the two, female mantis has heftier wings that only cover about 2/3rds of the abdomen, making them unable to fly! Male wings, in contrast, cover 3/4ths of the abdomen which makes them lighter and have the ability to fly.
Their lifespan is short- roughly 10 months- so if thereā€™s enough food for them to eat in one meadow or field, they may stay there their entire life. Theyā€™ll also ambush any type of insect from bugs to butterflies, wasps, bees and flies, so theyā€™re beneficial for your garden or crop fields.

Speaking of prey, their front legs, which are raptorial legs, are how they manage to ambush an unsuspecting butterfly. They lay in wait, camouflaged in with the surroundings, and once prey gets within reach it lashes out at lightning speed to grip the prey with their enlarged, spiny forearms.

08/26/2026

Look who we, well technically maintenance, stumbled upon today (they just know to call me whenever an interesting animal or insect pops up)!

08/26/2026

Snakes donā€™t have legs. Thatā€™s a given. Without legs they still need to get around, and thatā€™s where slithering comes into play. But the type of slithering depends on the type of snake and its environment! šŸšŸ

The most common snake movement is whatā€™s called ā€˜serpentineā€™ or lateral undulation. This is where a snake moves in ā€˜Sā€™ shaped loops. Sidewinding, because it uses less friction than other snake movements, is used mostly by snakes in desert or sandy habitats and allows for minimal contact points and rapid movement. Rectilinear movement is mostly used by your bigger snakes, the pythons, boas, and some tunneling snakes. While it still uses muscle contraction to move, the movement is more like scooting forward in a straight line as opposed to slithering. The last type of movement, concertina, is like rectilinear in that it still does a scooting motion but it does so in an ā€˜Sā€™ shape.

How is a snake able to move in any of those movements with a body such as theirs?
By coordinating hundreds of abdominal muscles connecting to their vertebrae (spine), ribs, and skin. As these muscles contract, their belly scales push off against the ground, propelling them forward!

ā€¼ā€¼šŸ—£šŸ—£ATTENTION:Jasper County, and Martin Dies Jr State Park, have entered a BURN BAN, taking immediate effect, due to dro...
08/25/2026

ā€¼ā€¼šŸ—£šŸ—£ATTENTION:

Jasper County, and Martin Dies Jr State Park, have entered a BURN BAN, taking immediate effect, due to drought conditions as issued by Jasper County judge, Mark Allen.

What does this mean?

NO open fires or flames of ANY KIND until further notice.
Prohibited fires include:
*Wood fires
*Charcoal fires
*Propane campfires
*Propane fish fryers/turkey fryers
*Tiki torches, Citronella candles, etc.;

Open flames, hot ash, and embers from campfires and charcoal grills have the potential to start a wildfire.

The use of propane grills or camp stoves for cooking is allowed. Never leave a lit propane grill or stove unattended, even for a moment. Once meal prep is complete, these grills and stoves must be turned off. They cannot be used as a campfire replacement.

Three good resources to check on burn ban updates are:
-The Jasper County website: https://www.co.jasper.tx.us/
-Local news, KJAS: https://www.kjas.com/
-Texas County Burn Ban map:https://tfsfrp.tamu.edu/WILDFIRES/DECBAN.PDF

A wildfire in the park threatens everybody here.
See Something, Say Something - If you see someone violating this burn ban order in the park, notify a park team member immediately so we can address the issue.

Have you ever seen an alligator just floating in the water, with either the whole body up or just the eyes and nose? Hav...
08/25/2026

Have you ever seen an alligator just floating in the water, with either the whole body up or just the eyes and nose? Have you ever wondered why and how theyā€™re able to do that? šŸŠšŸŠ

The science behind it is quite exciting. Itā€™s due to their physiological system!
What allows alligators to have the buoyancy in these two pictures, and the ability to fluctuate that buoyancy, lies with their lungs. Depending on the volume of air in their lungs, determines how much of its body becomes buoyant (or floats). šŸ«

Descent is, as Iā€™m sure you can guess, the opposite. When an alligator exhales, it reduces the air volume in the lungs, allowing the body to become denser than water and therefore sink. šŸ«

Within their torso are also four specialized muscles that help shift the lungs within their body cavity. By contracting, or tightening, these torso muscles, the lungs get pulled backwards, which allows for a quick descent- like a submarine- but by shifting the lungs forward with the muscles, it causes the front of the body to rise to the surface.

Their lungs and torso muscles arenā€™t the only things that help an alligator with buoyancy. Along their neck and back are osteoderms, bones covered in tough skin, that are big and dense. The density of those scutes makes it easier for the alligator to fully sink, float on or just below the surface. Their tail, making up at least half their body length, also helps an alligatorā€™s buoyancy, working in conjunction with the lung shifts to help them sink or rise to the surface.

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

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