Fort Boggy State Park – Texas State Park 27/89
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The Deets
Fort Boggy State Park is located in Centerville, TX, less than two hours east of Waco, TX. The park covers over 1,800 acres and offers swimming, fishing, boating, paddling, hiking, biking, camping, and cabin rentals. As of this writing, they are expanding their hiking trails and are also updating their cabins. A new bathroom/shower block is also being put in for the use of those renting the cabins. The cost of admission is only $3 per adult and is free for children 12 and under (or free for everyone if using a Parks Pass).
The History
As far as state parks go, Fort Boggy State Park is fairly young. Eileen Crain Sullivan donated the land in 1985. She wanted it to become a state park, and in 2001, her wishes were realized when Fort Boggy State Park opened. The land itself has a much longer history.
As with most of Texas, Native American tribes called this land home long before anyone else arrived. In 1840, the Byrns and Staley families established a settlement here. Not long after, C.C. Staley was attacked and killed by Native Americans in the area. The other recent settlers took action to protect themselves and built a palisade fort. The fort soon received the name Fort Boggy because it was in close proximity to Boggy Creek. By the end of 1840, 75 people called Fort Boggy home. After many hard years, attacks on the fort stopped, and the fort, no longer needed, fell into disrepair.
The land was farmed for nearly a century but then lay fallow for 60 years. Because of this dormancy, the land has returned to what its natural state would have been all those years ago when the Byrns and Staley families arrived.
Our Experience
Upon arrival, we learned that the park has expanded quite a bit and that their website does not reflect this growth yet. New trails have been added, and new cabins have been built. If we’d have known about the cabins, I think we’d have rented one! They are very nice. For a tour of one of the cabins, check out our vlog that is linked at the bottom of this article.
We had a great chat with the woman at the front office and then enjoyed the park. The facilities were spotless, and the park was well-maintained. It might be a small park, but they keep it spik and span.
The Trails
Before we arrived at Fort Boggy State Park, we were only aware of one hiking trail, the Lake Trail. When we checked in, we found out that nearly three more miles of trails had recently been added. Unfortunately, the rainfall in recent days made the new trails practically impossible to walk.
We started with the Lake Trail because the woman checking us in said it would be the least flooded. It is a really nice trail that is easy to walk. It was pretty muddy for our visit and multiple areas had standing water. However, that didn’t stop us from enjoying the path. Bug spray is a must in the summer months, though. We forgot ours and quickly regretted it. We were walking buffets for the mosquitos, but as long as we were moving, they weren’t so bad. If we stopped, however, those little buggers were on us in a heartbeat.
After this trail, we decided to find one of the newer trails. After finally tracking it down, we quickly decided to pass. We made it around the first curve and were met with a good 20-foot stretch of mud and standing water with no way around. Bummer!
Our Takeaway
As long as it hasn’t poured in recent days, Fort Boggy State Park has a lot to offer! I wish that we’d have gotten to see more, but what we did see, we liked. The cabins are some of the most beautiful we’ve seen at a state park, and we’d definitely recommend checking those out. Keep in mind that the showers and toilets are in a separate building from the cabins, but the walk is short. It’s a great small park that is the perfect getaway for those in the area.
Prefer to see this park in action? Check out our vlog episode for Fort Boggy State Park.
Cheers,
Lydia and Billy
