January 16-17, 2026.
Let me start by saying I LOVE the Texas State Park system. We’ve visited several of them on our two trips through the state and they are all fantastic. The landscapes are unique and interesting. They are very affordable to visit and even more so if you buy and annual pass (highly recommend). The campgrounds are simple, but nice. And when you visit off peak season they are rarely crowded. If you check the calendar before your visit you can often find special programs or tours to enhance your visit. The online reservation system is easy to use, too. So whatever ideas you have about Texas as a whole, I think one visit to a state park might enhance your opinions.
Needless to say, I was excited to book a couple nights at Monahans Sand Hills State Park. Although they don’t have any trails besides the very short one at the visitor center, you’re allowed to wander anywhere you want. I had to double check that on the website, because often state parks limits foot traffic to developed trails. I love a good exploratory hike, so off we went.
Day 1
We arrived at the park not long before sunset, so we pulled into our campsite and took a quick walk on the dunes right behind the van. The weather was sunny, but chilly. I have a rule about walking on sand: barefoot only. So I pulled off my shoes and strolled along the soft, cool sand. In January, there’s not much plant life to be found, so we also kept our eyes peeled for birds and other critters. We heard a strange sound coming from the dunes and I opened up my Merlin app.
I’ve talked about Merlin before. It’s an excellent tool for learning about birds, and it has a listening feature where you can record a bird noise and it will attempt to identify it for you. “Scaled quail” came up.
OHHH! I squealed in excitement. I’d only recorded this bird one time before, as we were driving on the highway in Texas the previous spring. We stood there quietly, wondering where the bird could be. The dunes are studded with clumps of dune vegetation, otherwise there’s really nowhere to hide. We watched and listened and waited.
THERE! We spotted two quails running from one patch of grass to another across the sand. I couldn’t contain myself. This was better than watching sportsball.
We kept watching, listening. Minutes later, dozens of quails emerged, traveling in a loose pack. I was not expecting this. The air subtly lost a few degrees as we stood there, mesmerized by the silly little birds in the hills. A great introduction to the park.
Day 2
Aaron wanted to take a chill day and I wanted to explore, so we found a compromise. We drove to the Visitor’s Center, which was closed when we arrived the day before. Inside, we learned about the park and checked out the array of exhibits. They even had a Monahands Sand Hills video game to play, which taught about the ecology of the dunes. Fascinating! To no one’s surprise, Aaron was very good at the game.
Amped up from our bird sighting yesterday, we hiked the short nature loop just outside the building. Maybe we’d see more cool birds! But, it was cold, windy and boring. The plants were dormant for the winter and there was no evidence of animals either. We drove back to camp.
On to my adventure. Since there were no trails, I had to manufacture my own fun. I noticed a road on the map a couple miles north from camp, so I made a goal to hike to the road. The wind was absolutely ripping, so I made up a big thermos of tea, layered up and started walking. I had to cinch my hood down and shove my mittened hands into my pockets to fight the wind. Did I mention it was cold?
I followed the rolling, open dunes away from camp. That Sahara-like landscape didn’t last long, though, as thick stands of vegetation began to appear. Combine that with the poky stems and plants growing along the ground, I had to keep my shoes on for this dunes hike.
To my surprise, I found myself navigating one of the largest oak forests in North America. I generally don’t associate oaks with sand dunes or Texas, but here I was. The park is home to a piece of the 40,000 acres of Havard pin oak trees, connected through a massive underground root system. My vision of dancing along the top of endless rolling dunes faded into the reality of bushwhacking among waist high, scratchy brush. Fortunately, there were enough animal routes and bare dunes that I could zig-zag along on my way to the road.
Lucky for me, I had an obvious visual landmark to get me to my goal: towering electrical poles. Of course, this is Texas. You can’t go anywhere without being reminded that you’re in energy extraction country.
At the moment, the power poles helped me get to the road without having to continually check my GPS. The desert is a big landscape without many natural landmarks. I set my annoyance aside and used the tools at my disposal.
I crossed a pipeline, walked by some plastic fencing and at last reached the base of one of the monstrous power poles. In a landscape that receives seemingly endless wind and sun (both of which I was trying to protect myself from today), I wondered why they are still so reliant on coal and gas. The things one thinks about on a solo hike.
At this point, I just needed to walk back. But to keep things interesting, I set some rules: no following my footsteps in the sand and no GPS. Could I do it?
I like giving myself these challenges to practice my natural navigation skills. I had my phone in my pocket, which had been running a track all day. That was my backup in case I felt like I walked way off course. But, I felt pretty confident that I could use the cues of the sun’s position, the power poles vanishing behind me and a few subtleties of the natural landscape to guide my return. Here we go…
Having that little challenge made the return hike more fun. Weaving my way through the shin oaks was not my idea of a great time and I really hate the wind. So the added test of my navigation skills gave my brain something interesting to focus on. I had to look really closely to detect differences in the shapes of the dunes, the density of the tree patches and the angle of the sun. As I got much closer to camp, I noticed another recognizable object: an oil rig. I vaguely remembered seeing one near the campground, so I walked in that direction. Occasionally, I looked down and noticed a set of tracks: mine. Those reassured me that I was doing well. I tried not to follow them specifically, so I’d wander off to an adjacent set of dunes.
Once I reached the oil rig, I knew I was getting close. It was actually inside a small picnic area with tables, shelters and parking spots! I also saw people walking around on the nearby dunes, another clue. Before too long, I wandered back into the campground and back to the van.
It was hot cocoa time. Later that afternoon, the ranger stopped by our camp to warn us about the predicted nighttime low: 20 degrees. They were turning the water off at 7pm in advance of the expected extreme conditions. Leave it to us to visit Texas at the coldest time of year!