The Outdoors in Troup, Texas

Troup is well placed for lake recreation. To the southwest, Lake Jacksonville offers fishing, boating, swimming, and a popular city park near the town of Jacksonville. To the north, Lake Tyler and Lake Tyler East — covering about 4,700 surface acres combined — provide more open water for boating, fishing, and water sports.

Whether you're after bass, catfish, or crappie, or just an evening on the water, the lakes within a short drive of Troup give anglers and boaters plenty of options. The reservoirs of the Tyler and Jacksonville areas are a real perk of living in this part of East Texas.

The land around Troup is some of the prettier country in the region — rolling hills, tall pines, and hardwood bottoms that give the area its scenic character. Country roads wind through woods, pasture, and the occasional historic community, perfect for a leisurely drive or a look at rural East Texas.

For those who enjoy hunting, fishing, and simply getting outside, the surrounding land offers the space and green calm that define Piney Woods living. The hills and forests around Troup are part of what makes the town feel rooted in its natural setting.

One of the most memorable outdoor outings near Troup is the Tiger Creek Animal Sanctuary, north of Tyler — a rescue refuge for tigers and other animals in need, where visitors on guided tours, booked in advance, can see these animals up close. It's a wildlife experience unlike anything else in the area.

A bit farther, Tyler adds its own outdoor draws: the world-famous Tyler Municipal Rose Garden, the pine-shaded lake and trails of Tyler State Park, and the parks of a small city. Between the lakes, the rolling hills, the big-cat sanctuary, and Tyler's parks, Troup offers a surprisingly full menu of ways to get outside.