The Big Tree
The Texas Forest Service put this live oak at over 1,000 years old. Other recent estimates say nearer 2,000. The sources do not settle it, and we will not pretend to. It was the Texas state champion live oak from 1969 to 2003, and Texas Parks and Wildlife still calls it one of the largest live oaks in the United States. The trunk is over 35 feet round, the tree over 45 feet tall, and the crown spreads about 90 feet. It was a charter member of the Live Oak Society, number 16, and locals also know it as the Bishop Oak or the Lamar Oak. Hurricane Harvey struck this coast on 25 August 2017. The Big Tree came through relatively unscathed, which says as much about it as any measurement. The tree stands by the road inside Goose Island State Park, with parking beside it. A fence keeps people off the roots at the base, but you can stand under the crown. The park opens daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with entry at $5 for adults and free for children under 13, and you will need a car: it lies north of Rockport on Park Road 13.
The line is our estimate of how much there is to see, not a measurement. Typical for this species where this tree stands; exact weeks shift with the year.
Goose Island State Park, 3918 Park Road 13, Rockport, TexasYou can recognise it by the fence around a live oak trunk over 35 feet round, under a crown about 90 feet across. It stands beside the park road, with parking, in the Lamar section of Goose Island State Park.
Paid park entry: Goose Island State Park open daily 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., adults $5, under 13 free (TPWD). The tree stands by the road with parking; the base is fenced to protect the roots, though visitors can stand under the crown (Wikipedia). The ranger-led gate opening in a 2008 article may have changed.
No public transport; by car, 12 km north of Rockport (distance not verified here), Goose Island State Park.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from.