As you travel through the Huntsville Historical Trail, we hope that you have fun as you learn a little history of our town, including Sam Houston’s connection to it. This trail is open to anyone but was designed with youth groups in mind such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and church groups. To earn a patch, especially designed for this trail, you must complete the questions listed in the booklet linked below and do a small service project at either the Josey Scout Lodge, Sam Houston Museum Complex or Oakwood Cemetery. Boy Scout and Girl Scout groups are also required to spend one night at the Josey Scout Lodge, Girl Scout House, or Huntsville State Park. Families and other individuals are encouraged to stay in one of Huntsville hotels.

Lose yourself among the majestic trees and natural beauty of the East Texas Pineywoods. Rent a canoe, explore our trails or just relax by the lake. We are a short drive north of Houston, in the Sam Houston National Forest.

At Huntsville State Park, you can camp, hike, bike, picnic, fish, swim, paddle, geocache and study nature. We have 21 miles of trails, playgrounds, a bird blind and nature center. Take a virtual tour with our interactive trails map.

This 129-mile National Recreation Trail meanders the breadth of the Sam Houston National Forest passing through the eastern edge of the forest near Montague Church on FM 1725 close to Cleveland, Texas to the extreme western edge near Richards, Texas.

Sections of the trail cross private property and public road rights-of-way. Therefore, visitors should show good trail manners, so private property owners will continue to allow foot passage across their land.

The Sam Houston National Forest, one of four National Forests in Texas, is located 50 miles north of Houston. The forest contains 163, 037 acres between Huntsville, Conroe, Cleveland and Richards, Texas. With land in Montgomery, Walker, and San Jacinto counties, the Sam Houston National Forest is intermingled with privately owned timber lands and small farms.

HEARTS Museum is a one of a kind museum.  We are not a typical military museum, in fact, we don't consider ourselves a military museum at all.  We are a museum about people.  Particularly the veterans who have served to protect our nation, preserve our freedom, and to secure the freedom of people around the world. 

The Sam Houston Memorial Museum is an educational institution that teaches about the exciting history of Texas and the life of Sam Houston and his family through a variety of programs and exhibits.  The complex is situated on 15 acres of the original farm of over 200 acres owned by General Sam Houston and his family from 1847-1858. 

The Texas Prison Museum offers an intriguing glimpse into the lives of the state's imprisoned citizens. The museum features numerous exhibits detailing the history of the Texas prison system, featuring a look inside the operations behind the fences and walls.

All planetarium showings are on Friday evenings at 7:00 PM in the SHSU Farrington Building, room 102. Admission is free and open to the public. Seating availability is first-come, first-served. For more information or a complete list of available shows, contact Mike Prokosch at 936-294-3664, or follow us on Facebook.

The Sam Houston State Natural History Collections is a science research facility with limited access to the public.

The collections include varying specimens, archives, and libraries which are used primarily for advanced undergraduate and graduate student education and research.