The Outdoors in Hallsville, Texas

To the north of Hallsville lies Lake O' the Pines, a sprawling reservoir on Big Cypress Bayou that's one of East Texas's premier fishing and camping lakes. Anglers come for abundant largemouth and white bass and plentiful, good-size crappie, fishing from boats or the bank along the lake and below the dam.

The shoreline is lined with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers parks — Brushy Creek, Johnson Creek, Buckhorn Creek, and Hurricane Creek among them — offering campgrounds, swim beaches, picnic areas, and boat ramps beneath tall pines. For a weekend of camping or a day on the water, the lake is an easy trip from Hallsville.

To the southeast, also in Harrison County, lies Caddo Lake — the only large natural lake in Texas and one of the most distinctive landscapes in the state. Its maze of bald-cypress sloughs draped in Spanish moss is a paddler's and angler's dream, famous for bass and crappie fishing, birdwatching, and quiet exploration by canoe or kayak.

Caddo Lake State Park and the surrounding bayous offer camping, cabins, paddling trails, and some of the best wildlife watching in East Texas. Between Caddo's cypress country and Lake O' the Pines to the north, Hallsville residents have two very different but equally rewarding lakes within reach.

Closer to home, Hallsville is surrounded by the rolling Piney Woods of Harrison County — pine and hardwood forest, farms, and quiet country roads made for scenic drives. The woods make for good hunting, with deer, hogs, and other game across the rural countryside, and the region's creeks and ponds add small-water fishing close to home.

The broader area offers still more lakes and outdoor opportunities within a reasonable drive, but the heart of Hallsville's outdoor life is its setting: pine forest all around and two celebrated lakes — Lake O' the Pines and Caddo — bracketing the town to the north and southeast.