Lake Palestine visitors to gain new 650-acre state park in Henderson County by 2028

A privately owned ranch on the shores of Lake Palestine in East Texas is on its way to becoming a new state park. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation has purchased the 650-acre property in Henderson County, and Texas Parks and Wildlife is expected to take ownership of it in February 2028.

Key facts

• Property: 650-acre ranch near Lake Palestine, Henderson County, Texas
• Price: listed at just under $10 million; the foundation confirmed the sale price was around $10 million
• Ownership transfer: Texas Parks and Wildlife is expected to take over in February 2028
• Planned facilities: hike-and-bike trails and campsites
• Location: about an hour and a half's drive east of Dallas

What is being acquired?

The ranch once belonged to the Pollard family, owners of Texas Pecan Nursery, which farmed pecans on part of the land for decades before growing and selling pecan trees wholesale. The property includes rolling hills and ten bodies of water, among them a seven-acre lake and several ponds, and it adds roughly two thousand linear feet of forested waterfront to the state's holdings.

The land is known for its towering pecan trees and piney woods, including an orchard planted more than eighty years ago. Wildlife in the area includes whitetail deer, waterfowl, coyotes, feral hogs and an established alligator population in the lake, while bald eagles have been known to nest in the pines during winter.

Where is it and what is nearby?

Lake Palestine spans 25,560 acres across Henderson, Anderson, Cherokee and Smith counties and is popular with anglers for catfish and largemouth bass, and it regularly hosts big bass tournaments. The lake's calm expanse accommodates jet skiing and other water sports.

Nearby Purtis Creek State Park also draws anglers, but bass fishing there is catch-and-release only and its lake is much smaller. Texas Parks and Wildlife has said Tyler State Park, about a half-hour's drive away, is among the state parks most visited by travellers from the Dallas area, and the department hopes to draw visitors from the same region to Lake Palestine.

Why is this happening?

Texas Parks and Wildlife sought public feedback on the possible deal in August and noted that the area around Lake Palestine Ranch is underserved, with the purchase intended to increase space for recreational activity in Northeast Texas. Anne Brown, the foundation's executive director, said it is "obviously stunning" to have that many contiguous acres in East Texas right on the lake.

The purchase forms part of a wider push by the department to expand the state's park offerings with help from the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund, a voter-approved billion-dollar trust created in 2023. The department had reached its funding cap with that fund before this purchase, so private donors including the NextEra Energy Foundation and the foundation's conservation loan fund made the deal possible. In February 2028, the department will pay the foundation a portion of the purchase price, with the remainder handed over as a donation.

What this means for travellers

The park is not open to the public yet. Habitat rehabilitation work is due to begin this autumn, and the foundation plans to work on the property for a full year before deciding on the transfer to the agency, which will then start its own planning process. When the park does open, it is expected to include hike-and-bike trails and campsites.

No opening date for the park has been announced. The land transfer is expected in February 2028, after which Texas Parks and Wildlife will begin its planning.