Davy Crockett National Forest

Named for the legendary frontiersman who famously traveled through East Texas, Davy Crockett National Forest covers 160,647 acres of rolling Piney Woods between the Trinity and Neches Rivers in Houston County. The 20-mile Four C National Recreation Trail winds through bottomland hardwoods, pine uplands, and ephemeral streams, offering one of the best backpacking experiences in East Texas. The Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, provides a scenic 45-acre lake for swimming, fishing, and camping beneath towering loblolly pines. The forest manages some of the most important red-cockaded woodpecker habitat in Texas, with active colony clusters in mature longleaf pine stands maintained through prescribed fire. The Neches Bluff Overlook provides sweeping views of the Neches River bottomlands, one of the last large undeveloped river corridors in East Texas. Hunters are drawn to the forest for white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and feral hog, while birders enjoy sightings of Bachman's sparrow, brown-headed nuthatch, and wintering waterfowl.