Palestine and Rusk state parks serve as natural book ends for the historic Texas State Railroad that operates a steam train that huffs and puffs its way between the two parks nine months out of the year.

The parks’ Victorian-style depots will bustle with activity this summer as visitors from Dallas, Houston, Louisiana and elsewhere take a nostalgic ride on one of the nation’s few operating steam trains. From June through September, children 12 and younger accompanied by a paying adult can ride free on the Texas State Railroad that stretches 25 miles through the Piney Woods and Neches River bottomlands between the county seats of Rusk and Palestine.

While the popular Texas State Railroad, which last year hosted 58,000 riders, gets most of the attention, the two state parks that sandwich the railroad are lesser known jewels, where picnickers, campers and wildlife watchers can relax beneath towering pines, oaks and hickories adjacent to the 124-year-old railroad. Together, the two recreational units comprise 136 acres.