Oakhurst's housing is defined by wooded, low-density lots and a mix of modest ranch-style homes, country houses, and scattered acreage rather than subdivisions. Pine trees and the forest's edge shape the setting, and many properties include enough land for privacy, gardens, or outbuildings. The community's unincorporated status and distance from larger towns keep the housing character informal and countrified. Residents are typically drawn by the combination of seclusion, forest access, and proximity to Lake Livingston, and the market reflects that outdoors-oriented, retreat-like appeal.

Oakhurst does not have formal neighborhoods or subdivisions; it is a dispersed rural community where homes are spread along county roads and the U.S. 190 corridor near the forest. The nearby communities of Coldspring, Point Blank, and Cape Royale serve as surrounding anchors, and residents tend to identify with the broader San Jacinto County lake-and-forest region rather than any single residential development. This dispersed pattern is itself part of Oakhurst's rural character.

Oakhurst's lifestyle revolves around the forest and the lake. The Sam Houston National Forest offers hiking, hunting, and wildlife viewing at the doorstep, while Lake Livingston provides boating and fishing a short drive east. Daily life is unhurried, with most errands and services in Coldspring, Livingston, or Huntsville. The community's small size fosters a quiet, neighborly atmosphere, and seasonal rhythms follow the outdoors. It is a way of life suited to retirees, outdoor enthusiasts, and anyone seeking distance from urban congestion.

Oakhurst is part of the Coldspring-Oakhurst Consolidated Independent School District, a small 3A district based in Coldspring and situated, as the district describes itself, in the heart of the Sam Houston National Forest. The district serves students from the Oakhurst and Coldspring areas through elementary, middle, and high school campuses. Its small scale and forest setting give the schools a close-knit, community-oriented character. For families, the district's presence ties Oakhurst to the county seat and keeps education local despite the area's rural, spread-out geography.

U.S. Highway 190 is Oakhurst's primary link, connecting the community west to Coldspring and east toward Livingston, where U.S. Highway 59 offers routes toward Lufkin to the north and the Houston area to the south. County roads branch through the surrounding forest. Most travel is by car, and there is no public transit in this rural setting, so Oakhurst functions as a country retreat removed from metropolitan commuting patterns.

Recreation in Oakhurst is built around the Sam Houston National Forest and Lake Livingston. The forest, one of only four national forests in Texas, offers hiking, camping, hunting, and wildlife viewing across more than 160,000 acres, while Lake Livingston provides boating, fishing, and swimming for the broader region. The combination of forest trails and lake access gives residents two distinct outdoor settings within a short drive, and the area's mild East Texas climate supports year-round activity in the piney woods.