Big Tree Trail is a 0.6 mile out and back trail located near Rockport, Texas that offers the chance to see wildlife. The trail is good for all skill levels and primarily used for hiking, walking, and birding. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
kid friendly
birding
hiking
walking
forest
wildlife
I went a few times last year. If you do decide to go some of the trails may have a possibility of being overgrown, also heads up, the mosquitoes can be bad inside some of the wooded areas (if it has rained a lot). Although, it all might be worth it. You may see lots of deer and feral pigs. The last time I went I saw an armadillo, lots of birds (of course), two large pigs and a couple of babies, two deer, and an alligator sleeping near the water. I think I was lucky that day though.
Lovely trail at the start with an observation deck to scope out the many cranes with a 1970s parks-and-rec style telescope. The trail is well maintained initially, and winds alongside various small ponds and blooming cactus and wild flowers.
Maybe 3/4 mile in, the mosquitoes began to get insanely thick (clouds of 50-75 following my hiking partner up ahead) and the trail unexpectedly entered an open, poorly maintained field of shoulder-high grasses that covered the trail. A few pools of standing water and mud on just a few places where the ground was visible were marked with hooved animal tracks and something else with claws. Too disturbed by not being able to see where we were putting our feet from about two feet to the ground, we had to turn around. We literally ran out the way we came swatting swarms of mosquitoes the whole way. If the mosquitoes minded the two coats of bug spray we applied midway through, they certainly didn't let on. My hiking partner bore the brunt of it, with probably 50 or so welts all over his limbs and back from where they hit him through his shirt.