Because we have been traveling, I am taking a break from our New Mexico posts and am using one I have in reserve. I will continue our New Mexico parks next week and will review Santa Rosa State Park.
On a cold day in January (Well for Texans we considered it cold!), we decided to break up the winter monotony and take a day trip to Athens, Texas. We visited the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center and East Texas Arboretum.
Outdoor Exhibits
We arrived at the entrance, paid our $5.50 entrance fee, and proceeded to peruse the outdoor exhibits. The cold wind whipping through the exhibits made me wish I had worn my jacket.
Indoor Exhibits
We then journeyed to the indoor exhibits. We enjoyed seeing more aquariums, a fun display of antique lures and other fishing equipment, including the first Skeeter Boat, and an impressive student art display.
ShareLunker Program
Texas Parks and Wildlife established the ShareLunker program in 1986. Anglers who catch a fish larger than 8 pounds or 24 inches can enter their fish information to gain prizes. In addition they use many of the fish in the breeding program. They have displays about many of the record setting fish in the museum as well as information about the program.
Dive Show
The theater has a projection screen where they show different videos throughout the day. The theater also has a giant tank where the Dive Show takes place. Make sure you check the schedule because it only happens once, except on Saturdays when they have two shows. Honestly, I was a bit underwhelmed. I guess they normally have a diver in the giant tank, but they didn’t have a back-up diver, so they couldn’t do that. It only lasted 20 minutes or so. The presenter did give us some fun facts. I would give it another shot if they had a diver in the tank to feed the fish.
Fishing Pond
They have a nice fishing pond. If you didn’t bring any rods and reels, the park will provide some. No license is required and you can keep up to five fish if you wish. A high school school group enjoyed the experience while we were there.
Other Buildings
The complex also has a gift shop, a 14,000 square foot conservation center for meeting and special events, as well as a Game Warden Memorial that wasn’t open when we visited.
Tram
Once or twice a day, a tram will take you on a short tour of the hatchery. The tour begins and ends in front of the gift shop. We chose to get off at the Wetland Trail before it circled back on its return route.
Wetland Trail
We thoroughly enjoyed the .8 mile (each way) Wetland Trail. The entrance sign is on the far side of the fishing pond.
However, as I mentioned before, I suggest taking the tram tour and getting off at the end of the trail and walking back. The sidewalk has pictures of animals and tracks embedded along the trail. This trail is wheelchair accessible.
The trail provides numerous boardwalks and viewing areas of the wetland.
There are many exhibits along the way as well. The bee hut was pretty lame, but we loved the animal communication center where you could push buttons to hear a variety of birds and animals.
RV Friendly
There is plenty of room to park your RV at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries. If you want to spend more time in the Athens area or enjoy the lake, Lake Athens Marina & RV Park is right next to the complex. I think the picture below is of the RV’s that are stowed there, not the park itself.
Two hours is enough time to peruse the exhibits, enjoy the Dive show and walk one way on the Wetlands Trail. If you are taking small children or want to spend time fishing, allow another hour or two. Spring and fall would be good times to visit since so many of the exhibits are outside. See you next week when we return to New Mexico to review Santa Rosa State Park.