A popular 1,800-acre state park that has been open to the public for almost 50 years may soon be lost thanks to plans to sell the land to a developer.
Fairfield Lake State Park, about 100 miles southeast of Dallas-Fort Worth, is one of the most popular parks in Texas, offering miles of trails used for hiking, biking, and horseback riding, but this could soon end if a potential sale goes through. The park also contains Fairfield Lake, which is the largest private lake in Texas.
The land is owned by a company called Vistra Corp which has leased it to Texas Parks and Wildlife since the 1970s.
The property was listed for sale for $110 million in 2021 and has finally found a purchaser and is now under contract. Sadly for those who have been enjoying the state park, the new owner “has no intention of continuing the state park lease,” according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting agenda from late January.
“What we were hoping to do was to highlight the need to be expanding parks. And suddenly we’re starting the centennial year with the prospect of closing one, which is really a shame.” Janice Bezanson, the senior policy director for Texas Conservation Alliance
Your thoughts
Have you visited Fairfield Lake State Park? Are you sad that it may be lost to a real estate development project? Would you like to see more state parks in Texas?
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