150 Miles of Trails Coming to Houston in 2020
The Bayou Greenways initiative connects existing trails and adds more green space in Houston. In an article published in Houstonia’s February 2019 issue, Associate Editor Gwendolyn Knapp writes about Bayou Greenways 2020, a $220 million project to connect 150 miles of hike-and-bike trails and parks along the city’s eight bayous. Read More »
Devils River State Natural Area Recognized as ‘Dark Sky Sanctuary’
If you’ve ventured out to Devils River State Natural Area in Southwest Texas, you know the skies can be awfully dark at night. Now the International Dark Sky Association is recognizing the 37,000-acre property for its relatively unspoiled skies with designation as a “dark sky sanctuary." “As Texas' first International dark-sky sanctuary, Devils River SNA enjoys some of the clearest and starriest night skies in the continental United States,” says Adam Dalton, a program manager with the Arizona-based nonprofit association. “Owing to the area's commitment to mitigating light pollution, the Devils River serves as a model for dark-sky conservation within the Texas State Parks system.” Read More »
Where to Find 4 Hidden Gems off Big Bend’s Beaten Path
Jaw-dropping hikes like the Window Trail and South Rim draw visitors back to Big Bend National Park year after year. But with 1,252 square miles to roam, the park also teems with trails less traveled. Many visitors stick to five or six popular trails, but for hikers who want to go farther, go wilder, and get off the beaten path, park officials recommend these four secluded options. Read More »
Epic Photos Reveal Big Bend’s Splendor in Black and White
Rob Decker and his wife, marceia decker, arrived in Big Bend National Park in April 2017 with the goal to capture a single iconic photograph he could use as the centerpiece of a poster he was designing. Decker found plenty of options: He says he was taken aback by the craggy peaks of the Chisos Mountains and the remoteness of the desert. “While most national parks are somewhat out of the way, I was surprised at just how far Big Bend is from most anything, how vast it is, and the different opportunities for recreation it offers,” he says. The couple explored Big Bend from Rio Grande Village and Panther Junction, to the Chisos Basin and Santa Elena Canyon, where Decker hiked to the banks of the Rio Grande. He then took off his shoes and waded into the river. “Even though it was spring, it was a hot day, and the cool water was a welcome relief,” he recalls. “As I sat on the rocks overlooking the Rio Grande, I thought about the Native Americans, ranchers, miners, and pioneers who at one time or another had called this place their home.” Decker calls Longmont, Colorado, home. He was just 19 years old when he studied under legendary photographer Ansel Adams at Yosemite National Park, an experience that shapes his work to this day. Decker is on a journey to visit, photograph, and create a poster for every national park in the United States. His endeavor, fittingly enough, is called The National Park Poster Project, with stylings that hark to the popular New Deal-era national park posters of the late 1930s and early 1940s. With each poster, he hopes to raise awareness of both the grandeur and the continued need to protect America’s natural treasures—and with 43 parks down, he only has 17 to go. After four days in Big Bend, he left with a trove of images, including an epic shot of Santa Elena Canyon. It fit perfectly on his poster. Read More »
10 Tips for Big Bend First-Timers
Plan to spend at least a few days in the park. You could visit for one day, but why do that when you’ve probably already driven at least a day to get there? Read More »
With Shutdown Over, Big Bend and Other National Parks Reopen
After the federal shutdown ended Friday night with an agreement to reopen the government for three weeks, Big Bend started rolling out the reopening of its campgrounds, visitor centers, and other facilities on Sunday. The process was complete by Wednesday when public access to the international Boquillas Crossing Port of Entry was also restored. "We’re overjoyed to be back," said Tom VandenBerg, the park's chief of interpretation. "It took a few days to get everybody’s mind back in the game. It’s been a little bit stressful and weird, but we’re easing into things, and visitors are showing up." Big Bend and other federal properties had been closed, or operating with significantly reduced services, for more than a month during the 35-day government shutdown. The majority of Big Bend's staff furloughed during the shutdown, while the park's law enforcement officers were kept on duty without pay throughout. Read More »
Ditch the Survival Skills With These 3 Easy Ways to Explore Big Bend National Park
BIG BEND National Park can be intimidating. Countless photographs behold the region’s undeniable grandeur, its spectacular amalgam of desert, mountain, river, and sky. But the images also convey vast emptiness—16th-century Spanish explorers dubbed this territory el despoblado, “the uninhabited.” And those scenic photos often overlook the granular details, where scorpions, thorns, snakes, sunburns, and blisters reside. So it’s understandable when the uninitiated knit their brows at the thought of Big Bend, weighing a vacation experience against fears of a survival exercise in the Chihuahuan Desert borderlands. Read More »
The Inspiring Story Behind Big Bend National Park’s Founding 6 Days After D-Day
Seventy-five years ago this summer, the country was gripped by news of the Allied invasion of Nazi- occupied Europe. But even at the height of the conflict, the commander-in-chief could not resist turning his attention, at least for a few minutes, to West Texas. On June 6, 1944, President Roosevelt met with a Texas delegation to discuss the future of what would become Big Bend National Park. Six days later, he signed legislation establishing it, capping a decades-long effort to preserve a state and national treasure. Read More »
12 Texas Trips for 2019
A new year and an empty calendar. Does inspiration know any finer muse? When it comes to travel, the arrival of January fuels daydreams of adventures and far-flung exploration—at least it does in the halls of a travel magazine. Here we explore 12 new and evolving travel opportunities across Texas, everything from cold springs to hot fiddling and craft beer to modern art. And with the exception of two—McAllen’s MXLAN festival in July and the Festival of Texas Fiddling in December—these ideas aren’t tied to a specific date, making them worthy of a trip any time of year. Start marking up that calendar now. Read More »
Want to Golf Like a Pro? New PGA Courses in Frisco will Allow Public on Championships Courses
Destination golf in Texas just got a major boost—the creation of two ... Read More »
Where to Find Your White Christmas, Lone Star-Style
Some called it a miracle: For a couple of hours across a wide swath of Texas last December, people could legitimately sing along to “Let It Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” Read More »
Boat and Fish the Friendliest Lake on the Texas-Mexico Border
The Texas badlands east of the Pecos River and along the state’s border with Mexico bristle in thorn-covered plateaus and jagged limestone canyons. But after spring rains, the country often reveals a softer side, blushing with Texas sage blooms. The sage grows on both sides of the Rio Grande, clinging to crevices, thriving among the flats, and populating the rocky shores of Amistad Reservoir, home to Amistad National Recreation Area and ground zero for the most important shared resource in badlands territory—water. Read More »
Serious Surfers Brave the Winter Chill to Ride Texas’ Waves
People who visit the coast during the summer may think there’s no surf in Texas, but that’s because they haven’t seen the waves of winter. In late January through mid-February, storm-driven northerlies blow across the Gulf of Mexico, roiling the placid surf into choppy waves that can build to heights of 5 feet and taller. Offshore winds then polish these waves to produce smooth, jade-colored swells that build then break, curling in a clean line, row after row. For those willing to brave the chill, there are plenty of destinations along the 367 miles of the Texas coast to give off-season surfing a try. “Most people are fair-weather surfers,” says James Fulbright, proprietor of Strictly Hardcore Surf Specialties in Galveston. “There are 70 percent fewer surfers in the water in winter.” Read More »
Scale Five Peaks in One Week on This Epic West Texas Road Trip
A mile or two into my hike to the top of Mount Livermore in the Davis Mountains, I stepped to the side of the trail as two speedsters overtook me on the uphill slope. “I guess that’s where we’re headed,” I said, nodding to a rocky outcrop on the horizon far above. “Nope,” one of them responded. “Baldy Peak is beyond that—you can’t see it yet.” Read More »
Home on the Texas Range, Where the Longhorns and Bison Play
An up-close visit with a Longhorn or bison can be humbling. The animals’ large chestnut-brown eyes reveal a complex blend of wild animal and domesticated stock. It’s hard to know whether they’re plotting an aggressive charge or happily anticipating a bucket of feed. Read More »
Where to See Spectacular Monarch Migrations Along the Coast
Early one morning on Trinity Bay, the autumn sky began to glisten. Myriad monarchs unfurled in clouds from the shoreline, fluttering overhead, some landing on our boat, on our fishing rods, and even on me and my husband. We watched, enchanted, as they danced ever-southward, propelled by a light north wind and their biological imperative. Read More »
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