Lone Star Travelers Blog

Nearly 4,000 evacuees fleeing from Hurricane Ike have found shelter at 35 Texas State Parks across the state.  On Saturday the 13th of September Garner State Park reported the most evacuees at 1,650 persons.  Garner State Park is a popular getaway for Houston residents at any time of the year.  Now at least half of the number of evacuees hosted at Garner State Park are from the Houston area.  Other parks in the Hill Country allowing evacuees free tent or RV and trailer camping are Inks Lake with 415 evacuees and Pedernales Falls with 135 evacuees.  Some evacuees have traveled to the far corners of Texas with Davis Mountains State Park in the Big Bend Region reporting 5 evacuees, Palo Duro Canyon and Caprock Canyons in the Panhandle respectively hosting 7 and 2 evacuees each.  In the immediate Dallas and Fort Worth area Cedar Hill State Park reports 69 evacuees.  As well as the free tent or RV and trailer camping screen shelters and cabins are available at discounts.

Seven more Texas State Parks have announced that they will be closed due to the approaching of Hurricane Ike until further notice bringing the total number of closures to 35 Texas State Parks.  The additional Texas State Parks that are closed are Fort Parker, Buescher, Bastrop, Lake Bob Sandlin, Lake Tawakoni, Fairfield Lake, Martin Creek Lake and Purtis Creek State Parks.  NOTE:  Inks Lake, Palmetto and Choke Canyon State Parks should be added to the list of Texas State Parks that remain open.  As of 09/13/08 the total number of closed Texas State Parks is 32.

As of Friday September 12, 2008 the following Texas State Parks and Texas State Historic Sites are closed or will be closed by the end of the day.  Galveston, Lake Texana, Brazos Bend, Stephen F. Austin, Martin Dies Jr., Village Creek, San Jacinto Battleground, Battleship Texas, Sheldon Lake, Lake Livingston, Sea Rim, Mustang Island, Goose Island, Lake Corpus Christi, Goliad, Monument Hill, Fanthorp Inn, Washington on the Brazos, Lake Sommerville, Inks Lake, Palmetto, Caddo, Cooper Lake, Atlanta, Mission Tejas, Tyler, Daingerfield, Choke Canyon and Huntsville. If you are an evacuee from the storm damaged areas other parks across the state will allow you to tent camp for free or stay in screen shelters or cabins at reduced rates.

Texas officials on Wednesday the 10th of August, 2008 are preparing to evacuate the first of 1 million Texan residents who could be in the path of ever strengthening Hurricane Ike.  Hurricane Ike is expected to make landfall early Saturday morning near the Texas coastal city of Corpus Christi.  If a mandatory evacuation is called it would be the first ever in South Texas history.  The State and County have always let people voluntarily decide to leave or not.  Now however the county has the authority to order people out.  Governor Rick Perry, in order to start the flow of state aid has declared 88 coastal communities disaster areas in advance of the hurricane.  Several coastal parks are evacuating campers and closing today.  They are Galveston Island, Goose Island, Mustang Island and Lake Texana State Parks.  Brazos Bend and Stephen F. Austin State Parks are on standby for evacuation.  Upper coastal state parks are on standby for hurricane preparedness and are not accepting evacuees.  Other parks across the state of Texas will be accepting evacuees who may tent camp for free or stay in cabins and screen shelters at reduced rates.  Call the Austin reservation center 512-389-8900 or the individual park for more information.  Sea Rim State Park remains closed due to Hurricane Rita in 2005.