Start from 20 curated places around Nacogdoches, TX, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Clear Springs Restaurant
A long-running East Texas institution serving what Texas Highways readers voted the best fried catfish in the state, alongside towering onion-ring loaves in a quirky, memorabilia-filled room. The catfish and the onion rings are the order. Good for a casual family dinner.
Butcher Boy's Smokehouse & Deli
A smokehouse and deli whose burger has topped statewide best-burger lists, alongside slow-smoked meats and ribs. The burger is the headline, but the smoked plates hold their own. A casual, locals-packed lunch stop.
Trails & outdoors
Lanana Creek Trail
An easy multi-use path that winds about seven miles through the SFA campus, Pecan Park, and shaded creek bottoms thick with dogwood, pecan, and water oak. Birders count scores of species along it. The town's flagship walk-run-bike corridor.
Pineywoods Native Plant Center
A 40-acre conservation property with about two miles of well-kept paved trails through native demonstration gardens and tall East Texas pines. It is flat, free, and easy to navigate with maps at the entrance. A gentle nature walk that doubles as a plant primer.
Things to do
Fredonia Brewery
The first brewery in town since the 1800s, with a taproom, beer garden, and patio that host live music and rotating food trucks in a kid- and dog-friendly setting. It is the central evening hangout. Good for an unfussy night out over craft beer.
Naca Valley Vineyard
A family winery about six miles outside town serving locally made wine, wood-fired pizza, and live local music among the trees. The relaxed, away-from-it-all setting is the appeal. Good for a laid-back afternoon or early evening.
Landmarks & sights
Sterne-Hoya House Museum and Library
Built around 1830, the oldest house in town and one of the oldest in Texas, home of Texas Revolution figure Adolphus Sterne and full of original furnishings. Free docent tours bring the early-Texas story to life. A short, rewarding stop for history-minded visitors.
Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden
The largest azalea garden in Texas, 11 acres with 1.25 miles of accessible paths, more than 8,500 plants, and a labyrinth, blooming nearly year-round thanks to camellias and Japanese maples. Spring azaleas are the showstopper. A peaceful stroll and a photographer's favorite.