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Feb 9, 2022 · Wondering why you should visit Texas? From delicious food to diverse landscapes, here are just a few of the best reasons to visit Texas!
- South Texas
Visit the Hermann Park Conservancy in Houston. Hermann Park...
- Big Bend Ranch State Park
The visitor center provides you everything you need to know,...
- South Texas
Mar 30, 2024 · Texas, the Lone Star State, beckons with its unique blend of culture, history, and natural beauty. From the bustling streets of its major cities to the quiet, starlit nights in its countryside, Texas offers an array of experiences that are as diverse as the state itself. Here’s why you should saddle up and head to Texas.
- Overview
- Why you should visit Texas
- Best time to visit Texas
- Cities
- Parks and smaller cities
- Getting in and around Texas
- Know before you go
- How to visit Texas sustainably
- What to read
Here’s everything you need to know about exploring the Lone Star State—when to go, where to stay, what to do, and how to get around.
Pedestrians and cars cross Austin’s South Congress Bridge over Lady Bird Lake. The capital of Texas is known for live music, barbecue, and green spaces such as Zilker Park.
Fast facts
Statehood: Dec. 29, 1845 (28th state)
Capital: Austin
Time zone: Central United States (GMT-5 Daylight Savings/GMT-6 Standard)
Big skies and bigger parks. Barbecue and Tex-Mex food (don’t miss the breakfast tacos). A vibrant live music scene in Austin and world-class birding in South Texas. Plus, cowboys.
Spring: March and April bring colorful wildflowers (indigo-hued bluebonnets, red-and-yellow Indian blankets) to the highways and backroads in Central Texas. In Austin, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has 284 acres of native plants inspired by the Texas-born first lady.
Outdoor festivals crowd the calendar. Austin’s South by Southwest Festival offers films and concerts each March; San Antonio’s ebullient Fiesta celebrates the city’s Hispanic heritage with parades, a stuff-your-face food festival, and concerts in April. And midway between Austin and Houston, the March Round Top Antiques Fair fills tents, barns, and hayfields with French furniture, vintage cowboy boots, and more.
Summer: Y’all, it’s hot, with temperatures often soaring above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Beat the heat at one of the state’s Gulf of Mexico beaches, including South Padre Island, where you can watch hatchling releases of baby Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles. Or do as the locals do and go tubing in the Guadalupe River near New Braunfels or in the Frio River in Garner State Park.
Autumn: Cooler temps lure Texans outdoors to events such as the Austin City Limits Music Festival, with bands in Zilker Park, or the State Fair of Texas in Dallas where you can eat a corn dog and wave to Big Tex, the 55-foot-tall animatronic greeter. Lost Maples State Natural Area, northwest of San Antonio, has the state’s best fall colors. Celebrate New Braunfels’ German heritage at Wurstfest.
Four of America’s largest cities are in Texas.
In the south, San Antonio was once a part of Spain and later Mexico, a history that shows up at the Alamo and the San Antonio Missions. Houston has high culture (art museums, the acclaimed Alley Theatre) and the NASA Johnson Space Center, where tram tours take in Mission Control and other sites.
Sister cities Dallas and Fort Worth are just 30 miles apart in North Texas. In “Big D,” catch home games from the Dallas Cowboys football team or hear live music in funky Deep Ellum. A good art museum scene and cowboy culture rule in neighboring Fort Worth, where hatted herders lead longhorn cattle through the Stockyards District every day.
The capital city of Austin is known for live music, barbecue, and Barton Springs Pool, a natural, spring-fed watering hole and the soul of the city.
In the Rio Grande Valley, an agricultural region bordering Mexico, there are cities such as McAllen and Brownsville plus the varied wildlife habitats (wetlands, thorn forests) of the World Birding Center.
In West Texas, El Paso offers Tex-Mex bordertown culture amid the stark beauty of the Chihuahuan Desert and the foothills of the Franklin Mountains, best explored via mountain bike or hiking trails.
The Hill Country
The rolling terrain of the Hill Country in Central Texas is home to Fredericksburg, with its throwback main street full of indie boutiques and German restaurants plus 60-plus wineries in and around town. You’ll also find cowboy culture in Bandera and the beer-drinking enclave made famous in Waylon Jennings’ song “Luckenbach, Texas.”
The Big Bend
Two of the state’s largest parks—Big Bend National Park and the adjacent Big Bend Ranch State Park—lure hikers, bikers, and campers to the desert and mountain landscapes of West Texas. Stargaze at the University of Texas’ McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis, or check out the Donald Judd art installations in funky Marfa.
Texas Coast
The longest barrier island in the world, Padre Island stretches for 113 miles from the tip of South Texas to Corpus Christi. Farther north, Galveston Island is the birthplace of Juneteenth and home to Victorian mansions.
By plane: Dallas-Fort Worth International, George Bush Intercontinental in Houston, and Austin-Bergstrom International offer domestic and international service; San Antonio International serves Mexico and other cities in the U.S.
By bus: Vonlane and RedCoach have luxury bus service between Austin, Dallas/Forth Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Valley Metro serves the Rio Grande Valley.
By train: Amtrak operates two train routes through Texas—the Texas Eagle and Sunset Limited.
By car: Texas is easily accessible via major interstates including I-10, I-20, I-35, I-45, and I-37. One of the most scenic drives is FM 170, or the River Road, which hugs the Rio Grande and cuts through Big Bend Ranch State Park between Presidio and Lajitas.
Cultural history: Native Americans have occupied Texas for more than 14,000 years. Coastal tribes like the Karankawa were semi-nomadic, the Caddos in East Texas and Jumanos in the West farmed and traded. Comanches and Apaches hunted bison and raided villages in the north and west. Enslaved Africans helped the Spanish settle parts of Texas in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The flags of France, Spain, and Mexico once flew over the state, which declared its independence from Mexico in 1836 and joined the U.S in 1846. Texas seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America in 1861. The end of enslavement was announced in Galveston at the end of the Civil War, leading to the Juneteenth holiday. Immigrants from around the world, including Germany and Czechia, arrived during the 18th and 19th centuries, making their marks on places such as New Braunfels, Fredericksburg, and Kerrville.
Help preserve habitat by sticking to designated trails and roads. Support businesses that promote dark night skies. It’s legal to drive on public beaches, but watch for wildlife, including nesting sea turtles, and use reef-safe sunscreen. The Love Fredericksburg and Port A Way stewardship campaigns encourage visitors to keep an eye out for wildlife...
Empire of the Summer Moon, by S.C. Gwynne. This sweeping historic account follows four decades of fighting with the Comanches, Spanish colonialism, the decimation of the American bison and the arrival of railroads.
Forget the Alamo, by Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford. The myths surrounding the Texas “cradle of liberty” get debunked and explored in this fascinating look at the evolution of the Lone Star State, its legends, and its prejudices.
Valley of Shadows, by Rudy Ruiz. In this novel set in 19th-century West Texas, tensions along the Mexican border bubble up in dramatic, dark style—with a dash of magical realism.
(For more tips on what to do in Texas, see our Explorer’s Guide.)
- Rodeo. We couldn’t start with anything else! Texas’s main industry since the civil war has been cattle, and due to its long history as a centre of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy.
- It’s so big! Texas is the second biggest state in the US behind Alaska, and nearly three times bigger than the UK! Texas is also so diverse, offering different climates and dramatically diverse landscapes – such as the gulf coast beaches, piney woods, the desolation of West Texas and the East Texas swamps.
- Beaches. Texas isn’t exactly known for it’s beaches, but with over 600 miles of coastal beaches (4th highest in mainland America) around the Gulf of Mexico, Texas is one of the best states in the US if you’re a fan of crashing out, relaxing beside the sea or playing a game of volleyball with your buddies.
- History. People may knock America for it’s lack of history, but you certainly couldn’t accuse Texas of this. The nickname ‘The Lone Star State’ is a subtle reminder of Texas’ struggle for independence from Mexico in 1836 and of Texas’ status as a former independent republic in the 9 years following until they became the 28th US state in 1845.
- Texas is Diverse! Texas is cowboys riding on horses into the sunset. Texas is a sea of gorgeous blue wildflowers. Texas is amazing restaurants and food trucks in Dallas.
- Texas-sized is not a joke. Texas is huge. More than you’d think. This one stereotype is true. Everything is really bigger in Texas. You will be continually surprised by the size of things – whether it’s sprawling cities, number of freeway lanes, portion sizes in restaurants, enormous ranches, and off course – the enormous distances!
- Texas Barbecue is a religion. And we’re fanatics. Yes, the rumors are true. Texans take their barbecue very seriously. So please don’t come and say, “I’ve tried barbecue but not in Texas.”
- Tex Mex is from breakfast to dinner. The other cuisine that you must try while in Texas is Tex-Mex food. This is not just a meal but an entire experience.
Apr 3, 2024 · From the bustling streets of its major cities to the quiet, starlit nights in its countryside, Texas offers an array of experiences that are as diverse as the state itself. Here’s why you should saddle up and head to Texas.
Sep 11, 2023 · The best time to visit Texas is in early spring, from late March to April. Visiting in springtime, you’ll avoid the chillier winter months while escaping the dead heat of a Texan summer. The other bonus to traveling to Texas in spring is the chance to see the beautiful wildflowers in bloom.
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