It may not look it now but there used to be a body of water near Lubbock that’s drawn visitors for 12,000 years.
It’s now known the Lubbock Lake Landmark.
“We have 336 acres, 4.5 miles of trails, nature trail, an archaeology trail that takes you through the excavation sites, and we have the wild flower trail,” said Susan Rowe the Education Program Manager at Lubbock Lake Landmark.
But all of the modern features actually started as an accident.
In 1936 the City of Lubbock dredged the area in an effort to make it a usable water supply.
Those attempts failed. But, crews found something more important, ancient projectile points.
“We have found that this a site where people would come and hunt. A hunting site, a butchering site, the Clovis people would come, they’d follow the bison herd, Clovis people followed the mammoths here,” said Rowe.
But, that’s not all archaeologists have found. Through several excavation projects researchers have uncovered camels, giant short-faced bears and giant pampathere.
“A lot of times they learn about animals in Africa and in south America. But, a lot of kids don’t know about the animals that are right in their back yard,” said Rowe.
The discovery of those animals and other human artifacts prompted the United States Department of Interior to designate the spot a historic landmark in 1977.
Plus if you’d like to take your family you won’t break the bank because, the entire site is 100% free.
Which means the site’s 4.5 miles of trail will keep your family active while having fun. Plus, a new program allows you to bring your bike and ride the trails if you don’t want to walk.
All you have to do is drive to the north side of Lubbock and park. Rowe also said that if your children have a hard time disconnecting from their electronics, they won’t when they leave the Landmark.
“By the time they leave they feel like being outside is a cool thing to do. And learning about nature is not so bad,” said Rowe.
The Lubbock Lake Landmark also has various youth activities throughout the summer. Again, all of them are free.
Just call 806-742-1116 to register your child and find out what activities are available.
The Landmark is located at:
2401 Landmark Drive Lubbock, Texas
(Just north of Loop 289, at Indiana Avenue and U.S. Highway 84)
