News Release

Summer 2026 Programs at Big Thicket

Join a ranger-led canoe trip to explore Big Thicket's waterways.

NPS Photo / Scott Sharaga

News Release Date: May 27, 2026

Contact: Megan Urban, 409-951-6700

KOUNTZE, Texas – Explore Big Thicket National Preserve this summer at a variety of free ranger-led programs. All ages and abilities are welcome!

• Night Hikes: Have you ever experienced the Big Thicket at night? Walk through the woods after dark with a ranger and hear about some of the stories that make Big Thicket special and mysterious.
   
• Canoe Trips: Paddle the scenic waters of the preserve! This summer, park rangers are offering three kinds of canoe trips: daytime, sunset, and trash clean-up canoe trips. These trips require reservations, which open two weeks before the trip date.
   
• Free Fishing Days: Kids and families can learn all about fishing, including knots, fishing limits, and even try fishing from the bank with a ranger. No fishing license required during this event! All gear is provided and all ages and abilities are welcome. Stop by Collier’s Ferry Park in Beaumont between 8-11 am on Saturday, June 6, and on Saturday, August 29.
   
• Nature Walks: Big Thicket is home to four kinds of carnivorous plants that consume insects. Join a ranger on a 1-hour, 1-mile walk at the Pitcher Plant Trail to look for these unusual plants in the wild. No reservations are required.
   
• Summer Movie Series: When it’s hot outside, stay cool and watch a free movie in the Big Thicket Visitor Center theater on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Each movie will have a ranger-led activity or program about that movie’s connections to Big Thicket. Movies to be shown include The Lorax, Little Shop of Horrors, A Bug’s Life, and The Princess and the Frog.

Check our calendar of events for more details, including dates, times, and places.

-NPS-

Big Thicket National Preserve is in Southeast Texas, near the city of Beaumont and 75 miles northeast of Houston. The preserve consists of nine land units and six water corridors encompassing more than 113,000 acres. The Big Thicket, often referred to as a “biological crossroads,” is a transition zone between four distinct vegetation types – the moist eastern hardwood forest, the southwestern desert, the southeastern swamp, and the central prairies. Species from all these different vegetation types come together in the thicket, exhibiting a variety of vegetation and wildlife that has received global interest.