Copper Breaks State Park
| Copper Breaks State Park | |
|---|---|
Camping area in Copper Breaks State Park | |
| Location | Hardeman County, Texas |
| Nearest city | Quanah |
| Coordinates | 34°6′41″N 99°45′9″W / 34.11139°N 99.75250°W |
| Area | 1,898.8 acres (768 ha) |
| Established | 1974 |
| Visitors | 29,917 (in 2025)[1] |
| Governing body | Texas Parks and Wildlife Department |
| Website | Official site |
Copper Breaks State Park is a state park in Hardeman County, Texas, United States managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). The park covers 1,898.8 acres (768.4 ha) and opened in 1974.
History
The red-brown and green-gray mudstone visible in the landforms was laid down roughly 200–250 million years old when the area was an inland seabed. Erosion changed the level plains into rough badlands. The green-gray deposits contain raw copper, but none is mined within the park. Commercial attempts at mining the copper in the 1800s were not successful.[2]
Originally, Copper Breaks was part of the land held by the Comanche and Kiowa. Comanche mound sites can be found in Hardeman County, but not in the park itself. From the late 1940s and through the 1960s, the Gosage family owned the land and let the community use it for recreational use. In the 1970s, The State of Texas purchased the property and it was opened in stages by the TPWD between 1972 and 1974.[3][2]
Nature
The park has two bodies of water in it, Copper Breaks Lake and Big Pond. It also includes a portion of the official state Texas longhorn herd.
Plants
Copper Breaks is a semi-arid region receiving 23.4 inches (590 mm) of rainfall in an average year, allowing the growth of bunch grasses, and narrow shallow breaks of honey mesquite, redberry juniper, eastern cottonwood, some scattered native pecan, netleaf hackberry, western soapberry and a variety of wildflowers.
Animals
Wildlife observed in the park includes white-tailed deer, mule deer, eastern cottontail, common raccoon, Mexican long-nosed armadillo, bobcat, North American porcupine and coyote. Greater roadrunner, great blue heron, red-winged blackbird, northern bobwhite, Eurasian collared-dove, northern cardinal, great horned owl, northern flicker, eastern bluebird, Mississippi kite, Cooper's hawk, northern mockingbird and many species of ducks, are just a few of the many species of birds found in the park. Blanchard's cricket frog, plains leopard frog, red-eared slider, pond slider, greater earless lizard, eastern collared lizard and western diamond-backed rattlesnake can be seen, as well as an occasional Texas horned lizard. Lake Copper Breaks is stocked with rainbow trout and channel catfish each winter.
Activities
Camping, picnicking, birdwatching, nature study, swimming, hiking, cycling horseback riding and fishing in the lake or pond are some of the things to do in the park.[4]
Stargazing
Copper Breaks is an International Dark Sky Park[5] and hosts a stargazing program once a month from April through October. The park's Bortle Scale rating is a Class 2, which indicates there's a very low amount of light pollution there which makes it a great place for celestial photography.[6]
See also
References
- ^ Christopher Adams. "What is the most visited state park in Texas? Here's the top 10 countdown for 2025". KXAN.com. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
- ^ a b "Interpretive Guide: Copper Breaks State Park" (PDF). Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
- ^ Copper Breaks State Park History
- ^ "Copper Breaks State Park". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
- ^ "Copper Breaks State Park (U.S.)". International Dark-Sky Association. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ^ "Stargazing at Copper Breaks". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
External links
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department page on Copper Breaks
- Copper Breaks State Park from the Handbook of Texas Online (used as reference)