Summer for Procrastinators: Splashway Waterpark & Campground
The small community of Sheridan, located between San Antonio and Houston, offers a more relaxed water park experience with Splashway, which opened in 1998. Read More »
Frio 101: Everything You Need to Know for a Trip to Texas’ Favorite River
If you love Texas outdoors, how could you not know the Frio? Well, maybe you’re one of the millions of newcomers who just got to Texas. Or perhaps you’ve lived in Texas your entire life and, unlike all those people whose families have been vacationing on the Frio for generations, you have no clue what or where they are talking about. Never stepped foot in Garner State Park? Think Concan is in Mexico? Well, pull up a chair and scoot closer. Read More »
Find Summer Bliss with a Spontaneous Trip to One of Texas’ Lesser-Known Destinations
When it comes to iconic Texas summer destinations, the early bird gets the worm, or in this case, the prime Garner State Park campsite. With the population of Texas continuing to grow by 1,000 people a day, some of the state’s most sought-after vacation spots are booked five months to a year in advance. But, luckily, there are plenty of equally enjoyable summer diversions for the more spontaneous-minded travelers. Read More »
I Survived the Texas Water Safari
Today, three days after my finish, I feel feral. I also feel like Wonder Woman filled my lungs with magic air that makes me capable of doing almost anything I set my mind to. Read More »
Endangered Turtle Hatchlings Draw Crowds Along the Texas coast
PINS has a list of nest locations and projected hatch-dates— the next predicted hatch date for 2019 is June 12-16, with dates continuing through mid-July. However, hatchlings are unpredictable and emerge when they’re ready, according to the park. Read More »
Balmorhea State Park is Ready for Summer Visitors
Sometimes the best summer moments are unplanned—a spontaneous road trip, a lazy day at the lake, or an impromptu backyard barbecue. But some of our state’s most memorable summer diversions require advance planning. Balmorhea State Park's star attraction, the pool, reopened March 1 after being closed nearly 10 months for repairs, and visitors are already returning in droves to cool off in the aquamarine water of the world’s largest spring-fed swimming pool. Read More »
Visit Canyon Lake in the Texas Hill Country with Our New Video Series “A Piece of Texas”
Check out our new video series “A Piece of Texas” and follow Rich, Amberly, and Luke as they head out on the road, making music and exploring the state’s hidden gems. First stop: Canyon Lake. 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 »
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 »
Cast Away Your Cares on Six Texas Islands
“Islands will always be places we project onto,” writes Judith Schalansky, the German author and designer of Pocket Atlas of Remote Islands. Their inaccessibility is part of their allure, the crossing over water a literal rite of passage—the more remote, the more deserted, the better. And Texans have options: From my experience, you can pitch a tent on the mud, sand, and weeds of islands in East Texas rivers; string up a hammock between bald cypress trees on a crescent-shaped gravel bar on a Hill Country stream; and lug your gear across the wooden footbridge at Martin Creek Lake State Park near Tatum to spend a night among the pines on an island ringed by a short hiking trail. Read More »
Find Rustic Relaxation on the Nueces River at Camp Wood in the Hill Country
The Nueces River valley plummets from the Edwards Plateau with the abruptness of a summer squall. The topography plunges from dry to drenched when you cruise south from Rocksprings on State Highway 55, blank skies giving way to blue-green canopies of oaks and pecans as the road abandons the grassless flats for glimpses of resplendent waters that seem to chase canyon twilight into the brightness of day. Here, the Nueces River finds its voice: a convergence of forks, prongs, creeks, and springs that begin their last odyssey to the Gulf of Mexico as one. Read More »
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