On the Road

Explore your wild side in Jacksonville, a nature lover's dream getaway

Take a drive on the wild side at Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari.

Photo courtesy of Explore Jacksonville

From the woods to the water — and even a safari-inspired adventure — Jacksonville has all your outdoor adventures handled.

Here are some ways to use your outside voice in this small-town East Texas gem.

Get on lake time
The crystal-clear waters of Lake Jacksonville make it an East Texas treasure — and a prime spot for splashing around. There are two public swimming areas, one of which is adjacent to covered campsites with picnic tables, a pier, and a sand beach.

And there’s plenty more to do across the 1,325 acres of liquid playground, including boating and fishing. It’s also where the city’s annual Fourth of July fireworks light up the sky.

Go on a safari
When you venture 12 miles east of Jacksonville, you’ll get up close and personal with a world of wildlife that’s anything but common to the area.

Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari is home to exotic and endangered species that thrive in open habitats that are similar to their native lands. When you take a self-guided drive through the hills and savannas of the 300-acre preserve, you’ll spy animals at every turn: at watering holes, lazing under the canopy of a native tree, or striding across an open field. And, yes, some of the creatures will come say "hi."

Embrace the view
About four miles from downtown, Love’s Lookout is just the place to pack a picnic and soak in the scenery. Rising 240 feet above the surrounding terrain, the vaulted ridge boasts a panoramic view of the eastern horizon.

And although this place is lovely, the historic park was actually named after Wesley Love, who purchased the surrounding 600 acres at the turn of the 20th century.

Hug a tree
The Neches River National Wildlife Refuge features 7,000 acres and 25 miles of trail, ranging from a quarter-mile to seven miles each, where you’ll journey through beautiful native hardwood forests and the pine uplands while seeing and hearing lots of birds.

Hop a train
If you want to see outside, but not be outside, the Texas State Railroad takes you through the best views of the Piney Woods from the passenger car of an authentic steam or diesel locomotive.

No matter the season, the 50-mile roundtrip trek features rolling hills, 24 bridges, and unique railroad structures along the way. Also, while there may not be snow at Christmas, the Polar Express trip is still a holiday fave. All aboard!

Find more things to do — indoors and out — at Explore Jacksonville.

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Your Expert Guide

Oak Cliff: The underestimated historic and culturally rich 'hood

Photo courtesy of Briggs Freeman

Kay Wood

There are so many great places to live in Dallas that it helps to have an expert on your side. The Neighborhood Guide presented by Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty gives you insider access from the agents who live and work there, providing in-the-know info about your possible new community.

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Bishop Arts is a huge attraction, but Realtor Kay Wood wants people to know that Oak Cliff is a lot more than just Bishop Arts.

"Oak Cliff has a really rich and complex history," the Briggs Freeman agent says. "I think it's one of the most underestimated neighborhoods in Dallas."

Wood has lived in Oak Cliff with her high school sweetheart-husband since 2008, but she's been helping people buy and sell homes there for the past 15 years, currently with her business partner Brian Davis.

"The neighborhoods here are close to everything but still relatively affordable compared to other areas of DFW," she says. "I love all the historic homes with their architectural interest and variety, the strong sense of community engagement, and how there's so much to explore. Whether you're looking for the best new restaurant, the most authentic taco, film festivals, the zoo, the best public high school in Texas, parks, nature preserves — I could go on all day!"

Wood offered up a few of her personal favorites about life in "the Cliff." Here's her guide to the area:

Where to eat & drink
The list is long: Nova ("you have to get the hummus," Wood says), Encina (pro tip: don't skip the blue cornbread), Cibo Divino for pizza and wine on the patio, coffee from Peaberry ("my husband swears their Vietnamese coffee is the best in town"), oysters at Boulevardier, the Perfect Picnic at Eno's Pizza Tavern, tio's elotes next to El Si Hay, the pistachio ice cream at Joy Macarons, and the spicy lobster ramen at Ten Ramen.

Wood advises picking up a great bottle of wine from Neighborhood Cellars and some steaks from Cooper's Meat Market. And, of course, there are tons of taco options in the neighborhood: "We can't get enough of Maskaras, Trompo, and Taco y Vino," she says.

Where to play
Marvel at the best skyline views in town while playing a round at Stevens Park Golf Course, take a walk through Twelve Hills Nature Preserve, bike along the Trinity River, or play disc golf at Founders Park.

The Kessler Theater is "such a great and intimate venue" for concerts, while the Texas Theater adds a touch of history to movie-watching. Escape to The Wild Detectives for books, music, and poetry, or head to the Dallas Zoo for a wild day out — "our whole family loves to feed the giraffes," Wood says.

What to see
Oak Cliff is home to the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial at Kiest Park and the La Reunion Monument at Stevens Park Golf Course that honors some of Dallas' earliest settlers.

On Jefferson Boulevard, you can pop into the Oak Cliff Cultural Center for regular art shows, and "my daughters love to walk down the street and look at all the quinceañera dresses in the shop windows," she says.

Where to live
A few years ago, Wood helped her buyers purchase 626 Rainbow Dr., a rare, two-acre midcentury modern estate that's wrapped on three sides by a babbling creek.

"When you're there, it's really hard to believe you're less than four miles from downtown Dallas," she says. The buyers hired local architect Eddie Maestri to update some aspects of the house while carefully preserving its midcentury style. There was an original barn that had been previously converted to a studio, but the buyers reinvented it as a guest house and added a pool and outdoor kitchen.

"It's hard to say what a 'typical' Oak Cliff house would be, because we have some of the very best examples of almost every architectural style in town," Wood says.

"In Winnetka Heights, you'll find Craftsman architecture (four squares, bungalows, Sears catalog, etc). Kessler Park has Tudors and Colonials and Texas eclectics from notable local architects like Charles Dilbeck and David R Williams. Stevens Park has all of these, as well as Spanish Revival and Dutch colonials. Wynnewood, North Kiestwood, and Wynnewood Hills have some of the best midcentury moderns in Dallas, as well as wonderful ranches. East Kessler has cutting-edge contemporaries that take advantage of the rare-to-DFW hilly terrain. You could teach a pretty comprehensive architectural history of Dallas without ever leaving Oak Cliff."

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Kay Wood lives, works, and plays in Oak Cliff. For more information on buying and selling a home in the area, click here, email kwood@briggsfreeman.com, or call 214-908-5442.