Are there Alligators in Texas?

Join us for a trip to Brazos Bend State Park in Needville, Texas!

Are there Alligators in Texas? Yes!

When we first moved to Houston (Texas) from California, in 2014, we did some research to see if there are alligators in the area. A quick search told us there are alligators in Southeast Texas.

After living in the Houston area for a few years, we had still not seen any alligators. We would often go to parks, lakes, and ponds and see warning signs that alligators were in the water, but hadn't seen any in person.

That all changed when we found Brazos Bend State Park! We have since been to the the park many times, and are now frequent visitors.

Our day trip to Brazos Bend State Park

On this trip we started out by heading to the Nature Center. The Nature Center is a fairly small building in the park, that has information and learning resources about the park and animals that live there. They also have restrooms in this area, so we feel it’s a great starting point!

When we first entered the Nature Center, we were greeted by a park ranger and asked if we wanted to pet a baby alligator! We, of course, said yes! They keep a tank with a few baby alligators inside. All of our kids got to pet the baby alligator, while learning about the alligators, and other animals in the park. They had a great time, as always!

The Park ranger was really knowledgeable and gave us a quick tour around the building, showing us the snakes and a legless lizard that they keep in the building. There is also a section in the building with animal skulls and bones that you can pickup and touch as well.

After checking out the Nature Center, for about 30 minutes, we decided to head out on a hike to Elm Lake. That’s were we were told we could see alligators on this visit.

We took a trail from the Nature Center to the lake, that runs along a creek. The trail is very beautiful and well maintained. We had no problems pushing our double jogger stroller. As we started to get closer to the lake we saw a lot of wildlife and even a large alligator in the creek.

Elm Lake has a walking trail the circles the entire lake so once we got there we started off on the trail. We immediately started to see alligators on the banks of small islands on the lake. After walking on the trail for a few minutes we also spotted a small snake on the trail. We didn’t believe the snake was venomous, but there are venomous snakes in the park, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled and careful to watch your step!

We continued along the loop, which has some beautiful old oak trees with Spanish moss on them. It is also worth noting that Elm Lake can also be accessed by car; there is a decent sized parking lot, along with some picnic tables and day use area by the lot.

As we continued along the trail we spotted several turtles crossing the trail. It had rained a lot the night before and it seemed like it was making the turtles very active.

We saw many alligators on or walk, but coming up towards the end of the loop, we started to see some large alligators right beside the trail. Just walking along the path we were able to get pretty close to them. They were mostly docile and just laid there sunbathing, but be sure to keep an eye on kids and pets, because they can be anywhere in the park. We were able to get some pretty good video and pictures of these gators up close and personal. Be sure to check out our YouTube video on the trip above!

Overall, Brazos Bend State Park is an awesome park, and our favorite state park in the Houston area! We definitely recommend going if you are a nature lover, like us, and you want to see some gators!

Have you made a trip to Brazos Bend State Park?

If so, what are some of your favorite stops?! We would love to hear in the comments!

Thanks for visiting our blog, see you next time!