garner state park

The Frio is Chilly but That’s the Point

June 25, 2020 | By Pam LeBlanc

Dip a toe in the blue-green swirls of the Frio River and brace for the shiver that’s sure to ripple up your leg.

Fall Really Does Happen in Texas – You Just Have to Know Where to Look

September 23, 2019 | By

Mother Nature’s autumnal coloration of leaves before she applies her cruel winter grip is a visual gift typically associated with areas of the country that actually experience four distinct seasons. In Texas, where for the most part it’s oppressively hot and dry in September and October, green can abruptly give way to brown, without displaying even a hint of the kaleidoscope of oranges, reds, and yellows typical of a postcard New England fall. There are hidden pockets of the state, however, where the trees, beneficiaries of just the right weather conditions, offer one final, dramatic blush. Follow our photographers to these special places for some of the best foliage in the state—from the Nolan River in North Texas and Garner State Park in the Hill Country, to the Canadian River in the Panhandle and Guadalupe Mountains
National Park in West Texas.

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

May 23, 2019 | By

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.

Find Huge Burgers and Chill Vibes at Hippie Chic’s River Shack Next to the Frio River

June 27, 2018 | By Paula Disbrowe

Rayann Shudde, left, and Terri Archer opened Hippie Chic’s River Shack near Garner State Park three years ago.When Terri Archer and Rayann Shudde purchased one and a half acres near Garner State Park in 2015, they intended to open a business renting out tubes for lazy floats on the Frio River in Concan. One day, their landscaper commented on the lack of good food in the area, Archer recalls: “He said he put himself through college flipping burgers out here and suggested we do the same.”

4 Must-See Fall Foliage Spots in Texas

September 18, 2017 | By Melissa Gaskill

Fall color takes the right kind of trees, meaning deciduous hardwoods. These types of trees practice a sort of winter hibernation, turning off production of chlorophylls, a green pigment in the leaves responsible for producing energy for the tree. Without that green, other leaf pigments become visible, including yellow xanthophyll and orange carotenoids, or the leaf turns shades of brown. Some of the best color comes from Texas red oaks and other oaks, flameleaf sumac, cedar elm, cottonwoods, walnut, sycamore, and, of course, maples—all trees found only in certain parts of the state, at least in any significant numbers.

9 Divine Hill Country Hikes

October 14, 2016 | By Eric W. Pohl

In the Texas Hill Country, the flat Gulf Coastal plains to the east and the Texas brush country to the south collide with the Balcones Escarpment—a conspicuous topographic demarcation that nearly bisects the state from Del Rio northwest past Waco. West of the escarpment, which roughly parallels Interstate 35 in Central Texas, a land of contrasts presents itself as soaring limestone bluffs, rugged hills, and steep canyons.

Cabin Fever

January 11, 2016 | By Daniel Blue Tyx

“But won’t it be cold?” my in-laws asked, when I first proposed the idea of a February getaway to Garner State Park.

Amazing Altitudes

June 16, 2014 | By Lori Moffatt

One of the greatest values of travel is that it affords us a new perspective on the world.

Texas Top 40 No. 30, Garner State Park

February 7, 2014 | By

One of Texas’ most popular parks, Garner State Park enchants visitors with its dramatic scenery on the southwestern edge of the Edwards Plateau—high mesas, steep canyons, and hilltop vistas.

Texas Top 40 Travel Destinations

December 3, 2013 | By

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Last fall, we asked Texas Highways readers to share their favorite places in the state for our Texas Top-40 Travel Destinations.

Follow the Frio: Swim, Hike, and Dance Your Troubles Away in the Frio Canyon

May 8, 2013 | By Matt Joyce

As I climbed down from the Quarter Horse, it occurred to me that the Hill Country trail ride had been the perfect way to ease into my visit to the Frio Canyon area

Let’s Go to Garner!

April 1, 2003 | By Maxine Mayes

On a sweater-cool October day, I stood in Garner State Park in solitude and silence, watching the clear Frio River rolling through, silver sunlight reflecting from the washboard ripples of its shallow stretches.

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