Native Grasslands in Texas
Looking for native grasslands in Texas (or nearby) to see, visit, or just learn about for knowledge?
This list is a work in progress – please submit additions, corrections, and updates.
Some of these are on public lands, and others are on private property with limited visitation. Please follow all rules and laws, and don’t trespass.
Many of the sites have native grassland area within a larger site. For these, the “Prairie Size/Size” column will list X/Y meaning X acres of grassland within a larger site of Y size. For many of these sites, the native grassland size is unknown.
Region | Name | Nearby | Ownership | Prairie Size/Size | Grassland Types | Visiting | Notes |
Blackland Prairie | Clymer Meadow Preserve | Celeste | TNC (private, non-profit) | ~1000ac/1400ac | Tallgrass prairie | Periodic field trips only | |
Blackland Prairie | Parkhill Prairie | Blue Ridge | Public – Collin County Parks | 52/436ac | Public Park | ||
Blackland Prairie | White Rock Lake Prairie | Dallas | Public – Dallas Parks | ~250ac | Tallgrass prairie, limestone/chalk prairie | Public park | |
Blackland Prairie | Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary | McKinney | Private, non-profit | 289ac | Restored tallgrass prairie | Open to Public | |
Blackland Prairie | Crawford Memorial Park Prairie | Pleasant Grove (near Dallas) | Public – Dallas Parks and Recreation | ~27ac | Tallgrass prairie | Public park | 1 |
Blackland Prairie | Arbor Hills Nature Preserve | Plano (NE Dallas) | Public – Plano Parks | ~200ac | Public Park | ||
Blackland Prairie | Paul Mathews Prairie | Greenville | NPAT (private, non-profit) | 100ac | Tallgrass prairie | Periodic field trips only | |
Pineywoods | Mary Talbot Prairie | New Boston | NPAT (private, non-profit) | 115ac | Periodic field trips only | ||
Pineywoods | Talbot Brothers Prairie | New Boston | NPAT (private, non-profit) | 336ac | Periodic field trips only | ||
Fort Worth Prairie (Cross Timbers and Prairies) | Fort Worth Nature Center | Fort Worth | Fort Worth Parks | ? /3621ac | Public Park | ||
Fort Worth Prairie (Cross Timbers and Prairies) | Tandy Hills Natural Area | E Fort Worth | Fort Worth Parks | 160ac | Public Park | ||
Fort Worth Prairie (Cross Timbers and Prairies) | Stella Rowan Prairie | Fort Worth | Fort Worth Parks | 160ac | Public Park | ||
Fort Worth Prairie (Cross Timbers and Prairies) | LBJ National Grasslands | Decatur (Fort Worth) | Federal – USFS | ? /20,250ac | Public Land | High quality remnants in many units | |
Blackland Prairie | Post Oak Preserve | Seagoville (SE Dallas) | Dallas Independent School District | ?/335ac | Post-Oak Savanna (in E half of preserve) | Open to Public | 1 |
Blackland Prairie | Kachina Prairie | Ellis (Dallas) | TLC (private, non-profit) | 30ac | Contact before visiting | ||
Blackland Prairie | Tridens Prairie | Paris | TNC (private, non-profit) | 97a | Silveus Dropseed/Longspike Tridens prairie | Contact before visiting | 1 Historical marker, viewable from road |
Blackland Prairie | Smiley-Woodfin Prairie | Paris | Private | 2100ac | Silveus Dropseed/Longspike Tridens prairie | Private – No public visitation | 1 Historical marker, viewable from road |
Blackland Prairie | Gambill Goose Refuge | Paris | City of Paris | ?/600ac | Silveus Dropseed/Longspike Tridens prairie | Open to public | |
Blackland Prairie (NE) | Daphne Prairie | Mount Vernon | Private w/ NPAT conservation easement | 922ac | Periodic field trips only | ||
Blackland Prairie | Cedar Hill State Park | Dallas | TPWD | ?/1826ac | Tallgrass prairie | Open to public | 1 Small remnants in park |
Blackland Prairie | Burleson Prairie | Temple | Private | ~300ac | Tallgrass prairie (remnant + restoration) | Periodic field trips only | 1 2 3 4 |
Blackland Prairie | Indiangrass Prairie Preserve | Austin | Austin Parks & Recreation | ~10ac/200ac | Tallgrass prairie | Periodic field trips only | |
Grand Prairie (Lampasas Cut Plains) | Simpson Prairie | Crawford/Valley Mills | Private w/ NPAT conservation easement | 75ac | Periodic field trips only | ||
Post Oak Savanna | Tanglewood Prairie | Tanglewood | TLC (private, non-profit) | 31ac | Post oak savanna | Periodic field trips only | |
Edwards Plateau | Balcones Canyonlands NWR | Lago Vista | Federal – USFW | ?/27,500ac | Mixed-grass prairie, oak savanna | Open to public | Doeskin Ranch unit, Indiangrass Trail |
Edwards Plateau | Enchanted Rock Natural Area | Fredericksburg | TPWD | ?/1643ac | Oak savanna | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | Attwater Prairie Chicken NWR | Sealy | Federal – USFW | ?/10,541ac | Tallgrass prairie | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | Lawther – Deer Park Prairie | Deer Park (Houston) | NPAT (private, non-profit) | 51ac | Coastal prairie | Periodic field trips only | |
Coastal Prairie | Armand Bayou Nature Center Prairie | Pasadena (Houston) | Private, non-profit | 654/?ac | Coastal prairie | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | Nash Prairie | West Columbia (Houston) | TNC | 400ac | Coastal prairie | Periodic field trips only | |
Coastal Prairie | Mowatny Prairie | West Columbia (Houston) | TNC | 101ac | Coastal prairie | Periodic field trips only | |
Coastal Prairie | Brazos Bend State Park | Needville | TPWD | ?/4897ac | Coastal prairie | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | University of Houston Coastal Center | La Marque (Houston | Private non-profit | 200ac | Coastal prairie | By special arrangement only | |
Coastal Prairie | Texas City Prairie Preserve | Texas City | TNC (private, non-profit) | ?/2303ac | Coastal prairie | Volunteers and appointment only | |
Coastal Prairie | Anahuac NWR | Anahuac | USFW | ?/34,000ac | Coastal prairie | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | Brazoria NWR | Brazoria | USFW | ?/44,413ac | Coastal prairie | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | San Bernard NWR | Brazoria | USFW | ?/54,000ac | Coastal prairie | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | Justin Hurst WMA | Brazoria | TPWD | ?/15,612ac | Coastal prairie (cordgrass) | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | Mad Island Marsh Preserve | Bay City | TNC (private, non-profit) | ?/7063ac | Coastal prairie | Periodic field trips only | |
Coastal Prairie | Mad Island WMA | Bay City | TPWD | ?/7200ac | Coastal prairie | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | Aransas NWR | Austwell | USFW | ?/115,324ac | Coastal prairie | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | Matagorda Island WMA | Austwell | TPWD | ?/56,688ac | Coastal prairie | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | Mustang Island State Park | Corpus Cristi | TPWD | ?/3954ac | Coastal prairie | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | Galveston Island State Park | Galveston | TPWD | ?/2013ac | Coastal prairie | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site | La Porte (Houston) | THC | ?/455ac | Coastal prairie (restoration) | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | Powerhorn Ranch WMA/State Park | Port O’Connor | TPWD | ?/17,351ac | Coastal prairie | Not yet open | 1 2 3 |
Coastal Prairie | Padre Island National Seashore | Corpus Cristi | NPS | ?/130,434ac | Coastal prairie | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | Refugio-Goliad Prairie Project | Victoria | Private | ?/? | Coastal prairie | Private, no public visitation | 1 |
Coastal Prairie | Laguna Atascosa NWR | Brownsville | USFW | ?/97,000ac | Coastal prairie | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | Eunice Cajun Prairie | Eunice, LA | Private non-profit | 10ac | Coastal prairie (restoration) | Open to public | |
Coastal Prairie | Duralde Prairie | Mamou, LA | USFW | ?/334ac | Coastal prairie (restoration) | Open to public | |
Rolling Plains | Maddin Prairie Preserve | Colorado City | NPAT | 1114ac | Mixed-grass prairie | Periodic field trips only | |
Rolling Plains | Caprock Canyon State Park | Quitaque | TPWD | ?/15,314ac | Mixed-grass and short-grass prairie | Open to public | |
Trans-Pecos | Davis Mountains State Park | Fort Davis | TPWD | 2709ac | Mountain desert grassland | Open to public | |
Trans-Pecos | Davis Mountains Preserve | Fort Davis | TNC | ?/33,075ac/102,675ac(easements) | Mountain desert grassland | Open to public | |
Trans-Pecos | Big Bend National Park | Alpine | NPS | ?/801,163ac | Mountain desert grassland | Open to public | |
Trans-Pecos | Marathon Grasslands Preserve | Marathon | TNC (private, non-profit) | 2701ac | Mountain desert grassland | Closed to the public (visible from road) | Frequent black-tailed prairie dog and pronghorn antelope sightings |
Trans-Pecos | Chinati Montains SNA | Marfa | TPWD | ?/38,137ac | Mountain desert grassland | Not yet open to public | |
Trans-Pecos | Davis Mtns area | Alpine | Private, mixed | ? | Mountain/desert grassland | Various | Drive the Fort Davis, Marfa, Alpine, Marathon area |
High Plains | Palo Duro Canyon State Park | Canyon | TPWD | ?/16,402ac | Short-grass prairie | Open to public | |
High Plains | Rita Blanca National Grassland | Texline | Federal – USFS | ?/92,989ac | Short-grass prairie | Open to public | |
High Plains | Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument | Fritch | Federal – USNPS | ?/1371ac | Short-grass prairie | Open to public | |
High Plains | Buffalo Lake NWR | Canyon | Federal – USFW | ?/7664ac | Short-grass prairie | Open to public | |
High Plains | Grulla NWR | Arch, NM | Federal – USFW | ?/3230ac | Short-grass prairie | Open to public | |
High Plains | Muleshoe NWR | Muleshoe | Federal – USFW | ?/6440ac | Short-grass prairie | Open to public | |
High Plains | Lake Meredith NRA | Federal – NPS | ?/44,878ac | Short-grass prairie | Open to public | 1 2 3 | |
High Plains | Yoakum Dunes Preserve/WMA | Lubbock | TPWD/TNC | ?/14,037ac | Short-grass prairie | Closed to public | 1 2 3 |