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 »
Make A Splash With These 7 Quintessential Texas Rope Swings
When Mother Nature doles up a summer afternoon so hot you need oven mitts to handle the steering wheel of your car, smart Texans head to the nearest swimming hole. Read More »
The Call of The River Brings Peace and a Sense of Nostalgia
There’s something about a river that evokes feelings of nostalgia. Perhaps it’s the tie to ... Read More »
Make a Date with Mother Nature on the Pecos River
For nearly a week, an unspooling ribbon of greenish-blue will carry you down frothy rapids, alongside towering escarpments, and into deep, fish-filled pools. You’ll tangle with tall reeds that line the banks, drag boats through a section of bony limestone channels called The Flutes, and camp on rocky riverbanks. Read More »
Explore South Padre Island with a Drive up State Park Road 100
I get my first clear view of South Padre Island from the summit of the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway. At 85 feet above Laguna Madre, the bridge reveals the island stretching majestically on a north-south line, like a thin ribbon of sand floating in a cobalt sea. Read More »
Dive into Classic Summer Activities at Daingerfield State Park
Summer fun awaits at Daingerfield State Park, located a couple of miles southeast of the city of Daingerfield in Northeast Texas. The 507-acre park offers plenty of classic summer diversions from camping to swimming, fishing, hiking, dancing, canoeing, kayaking, and pedal boating. Read More »
In the Tiny Town of Christoval, an Amazing West Texas Oasis Awaits You
In bone-dry West Texas, water draws people together, and the cool, refreshing water of the South Concho once made Christoval, 20 miles south of San Angelo, a mecca for West Texans. In the early 20th century, Christoval—named for an early settler—had a hotel, mineral baths, a Baptist encampment that hosted thousands each summer, and an impressive artist colony. Read More »
Find Texas Events
[gravityform id="1" title="true" description="true"]