Texas's only natural lake is really a flooded cypress forest hung with Spanish moss — by late October the bald cypress turn rust-orange and the whole bayou looks like another planet. You don't hike Caddo; you paddle it, down marked trails that thread between the trees.
Rent canoes right in the park and follow the marked routes through the cypress. Foggy mornings here are the best photos of any trip on this list.
Largemouth, crappie, catfish, chain pickerel — somebody's rod is always bent. Pier fishing at Saw Mill Pond, license-free inside the park.
Fifteen minutes away: brick streets, riverboat bayou tours, a haunted-hotel ghost walk the boys would actually love, and candy shops.
Not yet verified night-by-night. The Mill Pond loop is tent-only (no RVs, no generators) — that's our target, two sites side by side, ~$15–20/night + $4/day entry for 13+. Ask and I'll pull the per-site calendar. Note: the park office closes at 4:45, and there's no gate — call ahead if we'll arrive late.