Feb 17, 2023
Take the Chevy and Discover These 5 Outdoor Activities Near Athens, TX

Load up the Chevy Silverado or Trailblazer and take the road out of Athens, TX on adventures packed with outdoor activities. Hike and bike through breathtaking woodlands wet your hook in the fourth-largest lake in Texas, cool off in the splashiest spot in the region, go off-roading through the mud, and pitch your tent on the shores of a scenic lake.

Take the Chevy and Discover These 5 Outdoor Activities Near Athens, TX

1. Explore the Beautiful Purtis Creek Prairies and Woodlands

The beautiful Purtis Creek State Park at 14225 FM 316 N in Eustace is just 11.8 miles from Athens and stretches over 1,582 acres of rolling prairies and deciduous woodlands abundant with birdlife. Put on your hiking boots, get on your bicycle, and head down the trails that cut through the woods and run along the shores of the scenic 355-acre Purtis Creek Lake.

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2. Pitch Your Tent at Shiloh on the Lake

Pack your camping gear in the Chevy and take a short 12.7-mile drive to the scenic 48-acre Shiloh on the Lake campground at 14638 Travis Parkway in Malakoff for an extraordinary camping adventure. Pick a full hookup or primitive campsite in Piney Woods, or pitch your tent on the shores of the beautiful Cedar Creek Lake.

Spend your days fishing from the pier, kayaking, and boating on the lake, hiking and biking through the woods, or just sticking your toes in the sand on the sandy swimming beach.

3. Go on a Fishing Expedition at Cedar Creek Reservoir

Take a 15-mile drive west on US 175 to the enormous 32,623-acre Cedar Creek Reservoir, the fourth-largest lake in Texas, for an epic fishing expedition. The water is brimming with largemouth, white, hybrid striped bass, blue, flathead, and channel catfish, and the 320-mile-long shoreline has plenty of spots to wet your hook. Texas Parks and Wildlife stock the lake annually with hybrid striped bass, and a whopper of 13.19 pounds was hooked here.

4. Cool Off at Splash Kingdom Paradise Island

There’s no need to drive hundreds of miles to the ocean if you can hop in your Chevy and catch the waves 24.6 miles away in Canton. The extraordinary Splash Kingdom Paradise Island at 18814 Interstate 20 has a 350,000-gallon wave pool where you can ride the waves on the Flow Rider, glide down thrilling waterslides into swirling pools of water, and a long lazy river if you want to kick back and relax.  

5. Hit the Trails at River Run ATV Park

The 2,000-acre River Run ATV Park at 2001 County Road in Jacksonville, 37 miles away, is the ultimate spot in the region to head down the trails on horseback, in a golf cart, an off-road motorbike, or ATV, UTV, or your Chevy truck. The routes vary from hard-packed clay to slippery mud, with plenty of challenging sections, and you can ride for days without hitting the same trails twice.


Go on exciting excursions and have loads of fun outdoors. To ensure your Chevy is ready for an outdoor adventure, drop by Bacon Auto Ranch today for an expert maintenance service.