Where to Picnic This Summer in the Hill Country
June 1, 2023 | By Carol Milberger
I recently introduced the term “sack lunch” to my young grandchildren for a park outing. They were so impressed, you’d think I told them I’d invented fire.
lost maples state natural area
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.
Summer for Procrastinators: Lost Maples State Natural Area
June 27, 2019 | By Anna-Kay Reeves
Lost Maples is most often touted as a destination for viewing fall foliage, but the shade from the trees make the park a cooler and more comfortable hiking destination in the summer.
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.
Atta Girl: Lucy the ‘Bark Ranger’ Completes Quest to Visit All 95 Texas State Parks
April 24, 2019 | By Dale Blasingame
The title of “bark ranger” comes with great responsibility and even greater dedication. Lucy, my 5-year-old rescue dog, knows this better than most.
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.
4 for Fall: The Autumn Trails
October 13, 2009 | By Melissa Gaskill
The coming of fall lights certain swaths of the Texas landscape with bursts of flame-colored leaves painted red, gold, and yellow, creating the image of a blazing sunset before the long night of winter.
