Meridian State Park – Texas State Park 7/89
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The Deets
Meridian State Park is located 50 miles northwest of Waco, TX, near Meridian, TX. It is a lovely park that surrounds Lake Meridian. While visiting, you can swim, fish, get out on the lake, camp, enjoy the wildlife, and hike more than 5 miles of trails. The cost of entry is $5 per adult and free for children 12 and under (or completely free for everyone if using a Park Pass).
The History
The CCC arrived in Meridian, TX, in 1933 and set to work. Between 1933 and 1935, a CCC company comprised of WWI vets created the wonderful park we see today, including the dam to form Lake Meridian, a lovely bridge that is still used today, and the refectory.
Looking farther back in history, the lands that are now the park were once inhabited by the Tonkawa tribe. The Tawakoni also lived here before the 1840s.
Our Experience
We arrived after hours at Meridian State Park and it was dark when we pulled in. We’d called ahead to let the park rangers know, and they kindly left an envelope out with our name on it. A park map was attached, and our campsite was circled. They also traced our route so we could easily find it. How nice! The next morning, we checked in and started exploring.
This park ticked so many boxes for us. The trails were great, a sweet kitty came to visit us at our campsite while we were breaking it down, and we saw an owl! We hiked one trail and then started taking down our camp. That’s when we met this adorable lady.
After feeding her two packs of our tuna and getting her comfortable enough to pet her, we went up to the front office to let them know about her. It turns out that Meridian State Park gets a lot of drop-offs which absolutely breaks my heart. Luckily, the woman we spoke to was a cat lady (like me, Lydia) and said she’d get down there to catch her. I truly hope that sweet kitty found a home. If we lived closer (not 4 hours away), we’d have taken her!! *UPDATE* The sweet kitty DID find a forever home, and we couldn’t be happier. Check out our update vlog for the entire story!
The owl was the other highlight of the day. While walking the Bosque Trail, we must have spooked it because it flew from a tree maybe 20 feet in front of us on the trail. It then beautifully glided to another tree, maybe 100 feet further on. We were stunned! We slowly crept closer to take pictures and shoot video. Simply amazing.
From there, we enjoyed an absolutely perfect day out on the trails!
The Trails
Everyone will find something they like among the trails at Meridian State Park. They range from easy to challenging, with the shortest trail being .7 miles long and the longest being 2.2 miles long. I’d say that the Bosque Trail offered the most challenges with some inclines/declines that can be tricky. The easiest was the Little Forest Junior Trail. It remained pretty level throughout.
All of the trails were incredibly well marked. This park sprays a line of colored spray paint on trees periodically on the trail. They were usually about 5 ft off the ground, so keep an eye open for those colored stripes. At one point, the Bosque Trail comes out on the road and we weren’t sure where to go. We simply had to look down and there were arrows spray-painted on the road to lead us on! The trails were also immaculate and well maintained. We really enjoyed them!
Our Takeaway
Meridian State Park is a great place to visit. The park is delightful with so much to offer, and the staff members were all friendly. The bathrooms were well maintained, the campsites were clean, really we have no complaints! I only wish it wasn’t so far away from us. We’d visit on the regular if we could! Definitely stop by and check it out if you’re nearby. And please, don’t drop off unwanted pets here. Be responsible and take them to a shelter.
Prefer to see the park in action? Check out our vlog episode for Meridian State Park here.
Cheers,
Lydia and Billy
