Hiking + Biking

With Austin Perpetually Booming, Conservationists Secure More Protection for Beloved Hamilton Pool

With Austin Perpetually Booming, Conservationists Secure More Protection for Beloved Hamilton Pool

Hamilton Pool has drawn people to its sparkling pool and limestone overhang for at least 8,000 years. But as ... Read More »

Jester King Brewery Adds a 2-Mile Trail to its 165-Acre Property

Jester King Brewery Adds a 2-Mile Trail to its 165-Acre Property

Even before the trail officially debuted last weekend, Jester King was a fun place to socialize while spreading out. But the new addition tap into something else Texans have been craving since March—a connection with nature. Read More »

Embrace a New Year Full of Adventure

Embrace a New Year Full of Adventure

We’re at the front end of 366 days of possibilities—a brand new (leap) year ripe with the potential for ... Read More »

Trail Race Offers Sneak Peek of Unopened Hill Country State Natural Area Near San Antonio

Trail Race Offers Sneak Peek of Unopened Hill Country State Natural Area Near San Antonio

Spectrum Trail Racing and Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation are presenting the Oct. 10 race, which traverses rugged ranch roads and climbs hills with elevation gains of up to 1,700 feet at the Albert & Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area. Read More »

Texas A&M Forest Service Branches Out by Hosting “Forest Bathing” Events

Texas A&M Forest Service Branches Out by Hosting “Forest Bathing” Events

Based on a Japanese practice, the Texas Forest Service sets out to prove communing with nature can lead to increased happiness. Read More »

A Road Trip to Utopia, Complete with Wildflowers and the Rugged Wonders of the Hill Country

A Road Trip to Utopia, Complete with Wildflowers and the Rugged Wonders of the Hill Country

Garner State Park, Lost Maples State Natural Area, and the surrounding Hill Country take you away from it all in the May edition of "A Piece of Texas" video series. Read More »

National Forests in Piney Woods Closing Some Trails, Campsites

National Forests in Piney Woods Closing Some Trails, Campsites

Planning a wilderness escape to the Piney Woods? Consider double-checking the availability of your preferred camping areas and hiking trails—particularly in East Texas’ national forests, which are closing some campsites and trails to ease the financial strain. Read More »

Four New Trailheads Lead Hikers to El Paso’s Wild Outdoors

Four New Trailheads Lead Hikers to El Paso’s Wild Outdoors

Four new urban trailheads opened this March in El Paso, providing stunning views and helpful amenities for hikers and mountain bikers trekking from the city’s streets into Franklin Mountains State Park, the largest urban park in the country. Read More »

A Palo Duro Canyon Community Offers More Than Meets the Eye

A Palo Duro Canyon Community Offers More Than Meets the Eye

Your first time in Canyon, you’ll be forgiven for wondering where this Panhandle community of about 15,000 gets its name. Heading into town, you pass beehives from a local honey farm, the sprawling campus of West Texas A&M University, and tidy brick houses. What you won’t see is anything resembling a canyon. Read More »

Explore the Guadalupe Ridge Trail with Texas Highways and New Mexico Magazines

Explore the Guadalupe Ridge Trail with Texas Highways and New Mexico Magazines

This month, we’re partnering with New Mexico Magazine to share the story of this dual-state treasure with our neighbors to the west. For our joint feature story, Managing Editor Wes Ferguson made his second trip to explore the Guadalupe Ridge Trail. As the fall 2017 artist-in-residence at Guadalupe Mountains National Park, he had spent nearly four weeks hiking and writing while immersed in the highest and wildest country Texas offers. “This assignment brought me back to the Guadalupes for the first time in nearly a year,” Ferguson says, “and it felt like a reunion with an old friend I don’t see nearly as often as I wish.” Read More »

Hike from Texas to New Mexico on This 100-Mile-Long Trail

Hike from Texas to New Mexico on This 100-Mile-Long Trail

Pieced together from several existing trails, the GRT begins near the depths of New Mexico, not far from the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, and ends on the top of Texas—Guadalupe Peak, which at 8,751 feet is the highest summit in the Lone Star State. The trail connects Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains national parks via the Lincoln National Forest, most famously the site of Sitting Bull Falls, which tumbles from a spring-fed creek over a mossy, 150-foot-high canyon wall. An oasis flowing year round, it fills clear pools where visitors come to relax, wade, and cool down in an otherwise desolate stretch of desert. If you’ve been hiking for nearly a week on the Guadalupe Ridge Trail, you’ve certainly earned a dip and drink from the falls. Read More »

Watch Out for Tiny ‘Fairy Shrimp’ on Your Next Hike Up Enchanted Rock

Watch Out for Tiny ‘Fairy Shrimp’ on Your Next Hike Up Enchanted Rock

Shallow pools that form after rains on the massive granite dome north of Fredericksburg are among the few places where fairy shrimp are found in Texas. Growing about a centimeter long, the translucent freshwater crustaceans exist on the constant edge of survival, laying eggs that endure the dry season only to hatch when the pools refill with rainwater. Read More »

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