One thing that is very unique about East Texas is that when you name a town, you can think of at least one thing that is only found in that town. For instance, Lindale has the Cannery, Edom has it's art or Athens has the fishery. That's just scratches the surface. One Texas publication gave it's list of the six Must-Visit Towns of East Texas using those unique qualities as the reason to visit.

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traveltexas.com recently gave their list of the six Must-Visit Towns of East Texas. They used the very unique aspects of these East Texas cities to get on their list. Let's look at why you should make a day trip to these towns.

  • Tyler

Tyler is the Rose Capital of America and the Tyler Rose garden shows off why Tyler has this distinction. While early Spring is the peak time for azaleas in Tyler, the Azalea Trail is still worth a drive through to see the flowers still in bloom. There is also the Cotton Belt Depot Museum, Goodman Museum, McClendon House and other great historical stops in Tyler to check out.

  • Nacogdoches

The oldest town in Texas is full of great art, history and pure nature. Stops such as Caddo Mounds State Historic Site in Alto or the Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden or shopping for antiques in downtown Nacogdoches, there's plenty to see and do.

  • Jefferson

Jefferson is full of antique shopping, relaxing B&B's and nostalgic tours. One thing that wasn't mentioned in the traveltexas.com feature is the spooky side of Jefferson. It is widely considered the most haunted towns in Texas and is even said to be home to Big Foot.

  • Palestine

One of the biggest attractions of Palestine is the Texas State Railroad. You can start your railroad journey in Palestine and head toward Rusk or vice versa. In between, you'll get a great look at the beautiful piney woods of East Texas. Around Christmas time is the always popular Polar Express.

  • Longview

There are lots of great activities for any age to enjoy in Longview. Longview is certainly well known for it's art. Longview is also the home of the Great Texas Balloon Race each Summer. For 2022, the balloon race will move from the East Texas Regional Airport back to it's roots inside the city limits of Longview where it began in 1978.

  • Marshall

Every Christmas, Marshall's downtown is lit up with their Wonderland of Lights always bringing many oh's and ah's. Don't forget to get a taste of Bear Creek Smokehouse before you head home.

All in all, this is a great showcase of what you can find in East Texas. It is just a small showcase, however, as just about every East Texas town has it's own unique feature to visit.

Check Out Lindale's Sign War

My hometown of Lindale engaged in some shenanigans and gave everyone some smiles with a sign war.

Michael Gibson's Visit to the National Video Game Museum in Frisco

The history of video games is relatively short but is full of big moments, fond memories and a great look into the advancement of technology.

Michael Gibson's First Visit to In-N-Out Burger

To go ahead and spoil it, Whataburger is better but In-N-Out Burger is not bad at all. I would certainly welcome one to East Texas.

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