TYLER – Visitors to Tyler State Park will now be able to enjoy a new park headquarters while checking in for their outdoor adventure.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and Tyler State Park announced the opening of a new park headquarters facility Friday, Oct. 18.

The facility, designed to resemble Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) facilities found elsewhere in the park, will ease traffic congestion upon arrival and make for a more efficient check-in process. The building also features an interpretive gallery highlighting the history of the park, improved accessibility for visitors and staff, increased office space, centralized conference room, increased parking options and a new radio tower for improved communications within the park. The building was also created with natural materials to help the building blend into the park’s native environment.

“It is exciting to see the hard work and dedication of so many colleagues, partners and supporters result in such a beautiful facility,” said Rodney Franklin, said Rodney Franklin, Director of Texas State Parks. “I am happy that we are able to design and construct a park headquarters of which all of Texas can be proud.  This new facility will help support staff, serve our visitors and tell the story of the park better than ever and is befitting of one our most popular Texas State Parks.”

Other recent improvements to the park include the renovation of historic structures for accessibility, replacement of shingle roofing on structures built by CCC, and repaired roads and parking lots for improved access.

Planning for the new headquarters facility began more than 10 years ago and construction commenced in the winter of 2021. Tyler State Park was originally built by CCC 2888 between 1935 and 1941 and encompasses 985 acres.

Tyler State Park officially opened in 1939 and welcomes nearly 200,000 visitors each year. It features 13 miles of trails, including 10 miles established for hiking and biking. The park has 154 reservable camp sites and a 64-acre spring fed lake where anglers can target crappie, catfish and bass.

“We could not be more excited to be able to welcome visitors into this new facility,” said Derek Dye, Tyler State Park superintendent. “The time and effort put into making this facility an amazing, welcoming experience to Tyler State Park would not have been possible without the ideas and input from numerous team members including previous superintendents and park staff. To be a part of the grand opening of our new headquarters inspires me to continue to do everything we can to serve our visitors.”

Funding for this headquarters project was provided by Proposition 5 through the Sporting Goods Sales Tax.

“The support that stemmed from the passage of Proposition 5 has allowed Texas State Parks to have a reliable source of funding to support projects at many of our existing parks, including Tyler,” said Franklin. “The efforts put in by countless staff and volunteers through the construction process has helped get us across the finish line so we can continue to provide gold-medal winning service to visitors to the Pineywoods.”

For more information about Tyler State Park, visit the park’s page on the TPWD website.

More information about Texas State Parks’ National Gold Medal Win:

In its centennial year, Texas State Parks won the 2023 National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management from the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration. The award honors communities and states in the United States that demonstrate excellence in parks and recreation through long-range planning, resource management, volunteerism, environmental stewardship, program development, professional development and agency recognition.

The over 9 million visitors to Texas State Parks every year demonstrate that Texas is one of the nation’s premiere systems. Staff have done extensive work to invite new audiences to take advantage of the recreational and health benefits provided by their state parks and to prepare a new generation of stewards for the next 100 years of growth.

A video and additional information can be found online at https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/gold-medal/.