Herman Baker Park (City of Sherman): This is
located south of Highway 56, a couple of miles west of downtown Sherman.
To get there from campus, you can go south on Grand Avenue to Houston Street
(which is also Hwy 56). Take Houston St. west through downtown — it is
one-way to the west at this point (Lamar St is one-way to the east). About
half a mile west of downtown you will pass under Hwy 75, then in another
half mile or so you will pass Sunset Blvd. Soon after this the divided
streets will merge back into a two-way street. About half a mile (maybe
a little more) past this merge, there is a left turn onto Baker Park Road.
This is marked with a sign that is fairly prominent. Follow Baker Park
road to the parking lot. There is a small lake (Pickens Lake), and there
is a trail that goes around the lake through a wooded area. There are often
waterfowl on the lake, and maybe turtles basking on logs, plus songbirds
in the woods.
Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (US Fish and Wildlife
Service): Located about 30 km northwest of Sherman. Take Hwy 82 west to
FM 1417 (this is about 3-4 miles west of the intersection of Texoma Parkway
and Hwy 82). Go north (a right turn) on FM 1417. After about 2-3 miles
you will come to the intersection with FM 691. Continue north on FM 1417
about another mile to a left turn onto "Refuge Road". This is marked with
a sign directing you to the refuge. Go west on Refuge Road several miles;
you will pass the Grayson County Airport on the left, go through a couple
of curves, and cross a railroad track.. When the road makes a sharp right
turn followed by a sharp left turn, you are nearly to the refuge. The road
curves to the right again and you will see the refuge headquarters on the
right. A short distance past the headquarters, there is a turn to the left
which is the main road through the refuge. Take this turn. You will be
going west and the road will soon turn from pavement to gravel. The Big
Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma is on your right. As you go along this road,
you will soon come to a one-lane bridge. Be careful going across this bridge;
watch for wading birds and waterfowl in the shallows to the left. After
half a mile or so the road bends toward the south, with the lake still
on the right. You will pass 2 or 3 right turns that take you out along
jetties built for access to oil-production equipment. You can take these
jetty-roads to get better access to the lake and to some mud-flats that
were created when the jetties were built. There should be plenty of birds
both in the lake and in the mudflats. Come back to town the way you went
out.
Denison Dam area of Lake Texoma and Red River (US Coprs of Engineers): Located about 20 km north of Sherman. Go north on Hwy 75, through Denison, to the exit for Hwy 91 (I think the sign says Denison Dam and Cartwright OK). Take a left onto Hwy 91, going more or less north. After about 2 miles you will come to a right turn onto a paved road that goes below the dam. Follow this road and you will come to a series of parking and picnic areas along the south side of the Red River. If you follow the road as far as you can go you will come to a yellow gate blocking the road. Park here (but not in front of the gate) and walk past the gate for a view of the river. There are often several species of fish-eating birds along and on the river, plus vultures, hawks, and other species. Watch out for drunk crazy Okies.