Sam Houston Forest, Lake Livingston & Big Thicket

The Stubblefield area of Sam Houston National Forest is where the Lone Star Hiking Trail crosses Lake Conroe's headwaters — sandy-banked creek crossings through stands of loblolly pine and American beech that feel nothing like Houston at all. The swimming beach on the reservoir side is calm and shaded by late morning.

A classic East Texas roadhouse in New Waverly, a short drive from the national forest — fried catfish platters, hush puppies, and sweet tea in a no-frills dining room that feeds the loggers, rangers, and hunters who work this part of the state.

The south end of Sam Houston National Forest trails through bottomland hardwood and past beaver ponds on the Long King Creek corridor. Look for pileated woodpeckers and prothonotary warblers in the creek-bank vegetation.

A relaxed American restaurant in downtown Huntsville with a local following — burgers, steaks, and Texas-sized portions in a comfortable setting after a day in the woods.

East Texas's largest reservoir is surrounded by longleaf pine, and the state park's trail system winds through the forest before descending to the lake's edge. Bald eagles nest in the tall pines near the water; early morning is the best time to spot them along the shoreline.

Use the afternoon to explore a different trail, cool off at a swimming hole, or find a scenic spot to watch the sunset.

A local cafe on the Livingston town square serving straightforward lunch plates — brisket, chicken-fried steak, peach cobbler — in a dining room that's been feeding Polk County for years.

The Alabama-Coushatta are one of two federally recognized tribes in Texas, and their reservation in the Polk County pines has offered guided forest and cultural tours for decades. The towering longleaf pine forest surrounding the tribal lands is among the most intact in the state.

A Tyler County institution in Woodville — shrimp, catfish, and steaks served in a rustic timber-frame dining room on the edge of the Big Thicket country.

The Kirby Trail is the best introduction to the Thicket's improbable biodiversity — in a single 2.5-mile loop you walk through four distinct ecosystems: beech-magnolia forest, cypress slough, baygall wetland, and arid sandyland. Four of the five North American carnivorous plant species grow here.

The spring-fed Village Creek runs tannin-dark through towering bald cypress and water tupelo. The 2.7-mile paddling trail from the park's boat launch is the finest flat-water paddle in East Texas — kayak rentals available at the park.

A Big Thicket-area institution in Woodville that serves Southern boarding-house style — platters of fried chicken, black-eyed peas, cornbread, and peach preserves set down family-style. One of the most honest meals in East Texas.