The Neches River starts as a trickle from a hillside in Northeast Texas and ends 416 miles later at Sabine Lake on the Gulf Coast. Along the way, it cuts through some of Texas’s most biodiverse ecosystems, pristine bottomland hardwood forests, and ancient cypress swamps that look exactly like they did thousands of years ago.
Most Texans have never heard of it. That’s exactly why you need to go.
Start at the Beginning
Finding the Neches River’s source requires dedication. Southwest of Van, near FM 773, you’ll discover an unremarkable creek beneath a tunnel of hardwood trees. Blackstripe topminnows dart just below the surface. White-eyed vireos call from the branches. The water runs warm and brown, giving no hint that it’s about to become one of East Texas’s most important waterways.
You can’t get closer to the source on public land, but this quiet spot sets the tone for everything downstream. The Neches doesn’t announce itself. It just quietly grows into something remarkable.
Chandler Upper Neches Paddling Trail
East of Chandler, the river transforms into something you can actually paddle. Texas Parks and Wildlife manages the Chandler Upper Neches Paddling Trail, starting at River Park and heading downstream to Lake Palestine.
Launch your canoe or kayak on a September morning and you’ll understand why this river matters. Egrets and herons hunt from the shoreline. Red-eared sliders sun themselves on stumps, watching you drift past. Dragonflies follow along for company. The river starts narrow and shaded, then continually widens as you approach the lake.
The drainage basin carved itself over millennia, shaped by meltwaters from retreating glaciers during the Pleistocene epoch 12,000 years ago. Back then, saber-toothed cats and dire wolves prowled these banks instead of birders and paddlers.
History runs deep here too. The Caddo tribes used the Neches as a crucial transportation corridor. Spanish and French explorers followed for navigation and trade. In 1839, the Battle of the Neches played out along these waters, where Cherokee Chief John Watts Bowles died and his tribe faced expulsion from the Republic of Texas.
Neches River National Wildlife Refuge
Downstream from Lake Palestine, the river flows through what can only be described as a primeval water wonderland. This bottomland hardwood forest nearly disappeared under another reservoir until a grassroots fight saved it. From that battle, the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge was born.
Visit in November and you might get lucky like visitors who stumbled upon four river otters playing with a fish on the trail. The otters swam within yards of them, making quiet chuffing sounds—a moment most people never experience in a lifetime.
Dead Water Lake fills with wood ducks and mallards. Songbirds dance through the trees. Copperheads sprawl across trails like fallen branches, their coppery eyes gleaming. DeKay’s brownsnakes scurry through the underbrush. This refuge pulses with life.
The Neches floods dramatically during heavy rains, racing and roaring as it scours everything in its path. Spring 2024 brought 40 inches of rain in two months, and the river responded by doing exactly what it needs to do—spreading out across the refuge to alleviate flooding downstream. When the banks overflow, the current brings rich sediments and oxygenated water to the river bottom, along with fish, crayfish, insects, and spiders riding the flood.
Refuge manager Leo Gustafson points out that the refuge takes water in and spreads it out during floods, protecting communities downstream. The river’s power isn’t destructive—it’s functional.
Martin Dies Jr. State Park
Below the wildlife refuge, the Neches threads through Davy Crockett and Angelina National Forests before filling B.A. Steinhagen Reservoir near Jasper. Martin Dies Jr. State Park sits on the lake’s peaceful banks.
The Sandy Creek Paddling Trail delivers one of the most beautiful paddles in Texas on a December day. Your kayak slices through reflections of bright blue sky and dazzling russet-red cypress needles. Turtles watch from their logs. Egrets and kingfishers reluctantly move from their perches.
The slope forests and backwater sloughs contain incredible plant diversity. The trees on the Island Trail give you a glimpse of how awe-inspiring the virgin forests must have been before rapacious logging from the 1880s to 1930s stripped them away.
Stately magnolias and pines tower overhead. Beech trees boast buttresses so huge a child could hide inside. Water droplets cling to leaves. Mushrooms plump up after rains. Strawberry bushes dangle their bizarre fruits. Every small detail rewards attention.
Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area
Beyond Steinhagen’s dam, Big Thicket National Preserve protects approximately 80 miles of the Neches. By the time the river approaches Beaumont, it runs broad and strong past vast cypress swamps, completely transformed from the shallow wooded stream at its headwaters. After passing beneath Interstate 10, swamps give way to shipyards and industrial complexes.
At its southernmost reaches, the river nurtures a life-sustaining estuary of 90,000-acre Sabine Lake and a maze of salt marshes between the Texas-Louisiana border.
You can only reach the mouth of the Neches by boat, but you can experience the lower river at Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area near Bridge City. Visit in early February when the sea of reeds glows gold. Ospreys fish with impressive success rates, a good sign for the folks fishing along the water’s edge.
At Old River Bayou crossing, families fish from the bridge. Young Miles casts his net with impressive skill while his father Travis and grandfather Scott—called “Pa”—watch proudly. They represent three out of five generations who’ve fished up and down the Neches. Their bond, cemented by time spent along the river, shows why this waterway matters beyond ecology and economics.
Michael Rezsutek, leader of Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Upper Coast Wetland Ecosystem Project, describes the estuary as nursery grounds for all commercially and recreationally important fish and shellfish harvested in the area. The economic impact from fishing licenses, boat fuel, fishing tackle, hotel rooms, and restaurants adds up substantially.
The marshes also provide critical storm surge protection for housing, industry, and economic activities. The Texas coast winters at least half the Central Flyway’s waterfowl population every year—millions of birds along the entire coastal region.
Why You Should Go Now
Most Texans chase the same destinations. They flock to Big Bend, crowd the Hill Country, pack the beaches. Meanwhile, the Neches River flows through East Texas with pristine bottomland forests, ancient cypress swamps, and wildlife encounters that rival anywhere in the state.
Mornings and evenings blanket the marshlands with profound peace. Fog rolls in along canals at dusk. Fish jump in shallows. Water trickles softly over low dams. From trickling headwaters to vast Sabine Lake, the parks along the Neches provide access to this marvelous repository of life.
The river’s been here for 12,000 years. It’ll be here long after you. But experiencing it yourself, paddling through its quiet waters, watching otters play, spotting copperheads on trails, and fishing with families who’ve done the same for generations—that’s something you need to do this year.
Plan Your Journey
Chandler Upper Neches Paddling Trail Starts at River Park, Chandler Heads downstream to Lake Palestine Managed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Neches River National Wildlife Refuge Between Lake Palestine and Steinhagen Reservoir Features bottomland hardwood forest and wildlife viewing
Martin Dies Jr. State Park B.A. Steinhagen Reservoir near Jasper Sandy Creek Paddling Trail available Book campsites and day use through Texas Parks and Wildlife
Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area Near Bridge City Old River and Nelda Stark units open for day use Fishing, birding, and wildlife viewing
For more information about paddling trails, camping, and access points, visit tpwd.texas.gov or call Texas Parks and Wildlife for specific park details.
