Fort Parker State Park offers a fun, warm weather playground.
Swimming and water activities
Activities center around Fort Parker lake, the result of a CCC-built dam on the Navasota river. Water-based outings are a tried-and-true method to survive a Texas summer!
The swimming area is next to a large, grassy expanse. The lake is relatively shallow with a squishy, muddy bottom (yes, ick). Upshot: you won't freeze when it drops below 90 degrees. The water is rather opaque. I recommend life jackets if your kids can't comfortably stand in 3-5 ft of water and/or you won't be confident they are not drowning when they disappear below the surface. Slap one on each kid and you can serenely lie on a blanket in the shade, letting the peaceful sound of screaming children wash over you. If they're screaming, they're alive.
In addition to swimming, there is a paddling trail that is a bit over 5 miles. More paddling is available down river. The park rents canoes and kayaks. We haven't yet made use of this trail, but fellow campers have told us it's pleasant.
Water toys: it's complicated
Water toys can be quite useful for long periods of entertainment, which is often the goal of a water outing. They can also be a nightmare. Our first season of water adventures, I made the mistake of buying each kid a beach ball. After blowing up the first one I was faced with asphyxiation or fighting children. I chose life, which narrowly meant the first choice. Eventually I got the second one blown up. Blown up beach balls take way more space than you think they should. Yup, you think you should be able to shove them into a nice, neat hidey-hole in your garage, or fit them in your car trunk. But, they possess an anti-packing force-field that defies physics. Even worse, they make a horrible toy. Can your 3 year-old barely play catch on land? Can your 7 year-old reliably keep track of their toys? Water does not help with these tasks. Between currents and wind, beach balls become optimized light-weight watercraft that elude tiny, grasping hands...just as soon as your kids get around to looking for them. By then, said beach balls will be well downstream.
Our favorite water toys?
For preschool kids, it's heavier-duty pool noodles, which float but don't seem to run off into the wind. Kids seem to naturally want to hold onto them even with a life jacket on. Bonus points, the noodles get year-round use out of the water as a sort of nerf-like fighting staff or impromptu balance beam.
For older kids, it's inner tubes with handles. The trick to the inner tubes is to store each one in a cheapo string backpack that you can make your kid carry. Get yourself a $20 USB hand-held air pump, and bam...kid-friendly fun without blacking out. Inner tubes still have a reasonable chance of floating off if your kids forget about them. But, I've found that they're engrossing enough that the loss to use ratio is low.
Hiking
There are several hikes in the park. The Springfield trail makes a nice morning hike before the afternoon heat sends you into the water. It is short--only 2 miles, although it can be extended by taking some spurs or nesting it with other trails. There are several features to stop and look at, making it optimal for maintaining the interest of tired children. The features are all located on a loop, so it can provide an early lesson in map-reading.
Keep an eye out for herons, particularly on the inlet that you cross to get to the main trail. The park is home to a Great Blue Heron rookery. We have spotted a few!
Next, the loop goes by the old Springfield Cemetery. Have a 4 year old? Prepare yourself for discussing all the ways people can die. ...always an uplifting topic for an early morning stroll.
The trail continues on to Lake Springfield. I guess the lake level has been high when we've gone, because one of the park benches is very helpfully located in the water. It's a kid magnet. Hustle them around to the other side where there is a bounty of sticks and stones to distract them. There is also another bench that does not require waders.
Near Lake Springfield you'll find the dam and the Navasota River springs. After this, the trail winds around the the park headquarters and heads back to the start.
Camping
The campsites are located next the water. Several sites offer water-front views of the sunset. Even if you don't score one, enterprising children may drag their chairs down to a strip of no-man's land that is too narrow for a campsite.
Camping next to the water seems to inspire mud pie making. It's handy that full bathrooms and showers are located nearby. Also near the water and electric sites-- a playground, a fishing pier, and a fish gutting station. The latter is way more interesting to your kids as an object d'climbing than you think it should be.
My favorite campfire interaction took place on our recent Fort Parker camping trip. While one child was hiding from the sparking fire, two others were developing a healthy dose of pyromania, experimenting with throwing things in. One girl had just picked up a bunch of leaves and the other was compelling her to toss it in,"It'll make it more flamey." As she tossed it in, she proclaimed,"More flamey it is!"
Get out and make it flamey, my friends (only in a sanctioned firepit).
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