Charlie Llewellin
Features
Ten More Trips Worth Gearing Up For
Even more camping suggestions, from El Paso's Franklin Mountains to Caddo Lake in East Texas.
Chinati Mountains
Bastrop
Enchanted Rock
Garner
Brazos Bend
Balmorhea
Bentson–Rio Grande
Ray Roberts Lake
Caprock Canyons
Huntsville
Into the Wild
Out of more than half a million acres of state parks and natural areas, we’ve chosen the ten best trips—where to camp, what to do, and what to look for when you head to the nearest town—from a lazy Frio River getaway to a bird-filled expedition to the coast. Better clear your summer.
Devils River
You might be tempted to dismiss this waterway as the Pecos lite, but the Devils packs a bigger punch into less than one hundred miles.
Blanco River
Next time there's a big rainstorm, go online and check the water flow at Wimberley. If it's over 250 cubic feet per second, call in sick and head for the Hill Country.
Rio Grande
Impounded, channelized, and pumped dry, the river gives up the ghost in the desert at Fort Quitman and is resuscitated at Presidio by the Rio Conchos.
San Marcos River
Aquarena Springs, which has never gone dry, not even during the worst drought, has been the cradle of life in Central Texas for eons.
San Antonio River
Tourists and natives mingle along its tree-lined concrete walkways far below the fantastical jumble of the downtown skyline.
Neches River
The Neches's only natural waterfalls, Rocky Shoals, can be a mere two feet high in low-water conditions.
Pecos River
A trip down this waterway is one of the last real adventures you can have in this state.
Navasota River
This river seems to have a little bit of everything—juniper trees reminiscent of the Hill Country, tall pine trees as in East Texas, and the dense hardwood bottoms one would expect to find in these parts.
Guadalupe River
Whether you want to swim, kayak, fly-fish, or simply be part of the joyful throngs of tubers who crowd the river in the summertime, the Guadalupe is the place.
Medina River
If you're looking for a nice out-of-the-way Hill Country spot to cool off in, this gem, twenty minutes from the site of the Kerrville Folk Festival, is your answer.
South Llano River
Roughly three miles from Junction as the crow files, the river veers across the valley floor and through pecan-forested bottomlands.
Colorado River
Brazos River
Grass tussocks cover the frequent sandbanks, and behind them steep, thickly-wooded slopes complete the air of rustic isolation.
Trinity River
Wide and slow, the river is lined with familiar bottomland hardwood trees like sycamore, cherrybark oak, and the pretty but invasive chinaberry.
San Antonio River
The lush woodlands along the river support a large variety of bird-life, including herons, hawks, and kingfishers.
Canadian River
This river is usually too dry to be much good for floating, but it supports a host of other sports.
Frio River
This stretch of the waterway is both safe and exciting, a great place to introduce kids to Texas rivers.
Buffalo Bayou
Pass through the thick piney woods of Memorial Park, and you'll find yourself worlds away from the nearby crowded freeways and malls of Houston.
San Marcos River
Watch out for sunken logs and fallen trees, which rest in the river like sleeping monsters in tangle of smaller deadwood.
Llano River
Fly-fishing on this waterway is one of the best ways to surrender to the rugged and beautiful Hill Country.
Go With the Flow
Throw a canoe on the roof or a tube in the trunk and head for the Llano, the Brazos, the Pecos, the Trinity, the Guadalupe, or any of the other rivers on this list of the twenty best trips to take on Texas waterways this summer.
The Bucket List
Driving the River Road, in far West Texas; having a drink at the Mansion on Turtle Creek, in Dallas; fishing for bass in Caddo Lake; eating a chicken-fried steak in Strawn; searching for a lightning whelk along the coast; and 58 other things that all Texans must do before they die.
Climb Every Mountain
Whether you want to ride a horse, bomb down a mountain-bike trail, hike up a hill, relax in a hot springs, scale the face of a giant granite boulder, or just sit on your tailgate and look at a pretty sunset, there’s a lot to do on and around the peaks of West Texas. So strap on your pack and go!
The 50 Greatest Hamburgers In Texas
On our first-ever quest for the state’s best burgers, we covered more than 12,000 miles, ate at more than 250 restaurants, and gained, collectively, more than 40 pounds. Our dauntless determination (and fearless fat intake) was rewarded with a list of 50 transcendent burgers—and you’ll never guess which one ended up on top. Check out our Best Burger section.
Springs Eternal
Grab your towel, your sunscreen, and go! Presenting our 25 favorite swimming holes: Barton Springs, Blue Hole, Balmorhea, and other iconic places to lower your core temperature. At least for a couple of hours.
Take a Hike
Travel by foot along these thirty carefully chosen routes—from the South Rim in Big Bend to Lost Maples near Vanderpool—and you’ll take in the sights, sounds, and smells of Texas in ways you never thought possible. Lace up your boots and go.
Water, Water Everywhere
From kayaking on Town Lake to mountain biking around Joe Pool Lake, from bass fishing on Lake Fork to horseback riding on the shores of Lake Whitney, here are some of our favorite things to do in, on, and around Texas lakes.
Tour de Texas
These ten bike routes, some easy and some hard, will help you channel your inner Lance.
Hello to a River
Fourteen of them, actually. From kayaking the Colorado and rock climbing along the Pecos to tubing the Pedernales and birding on the Rio Grande, here are the most enjoyable and exciting things to do on some of our favorite Texas waterways.
On the Road Again—Piney Woods
North from Lufkin to Nacogdoches, east to San Augustine, southwest to Zavalla, west to Diboll, and north to Lufkin.
This Land is Your Land
With more than 600,000 acres of state parks, historic sites, and natural areas, Texas can be a perfect playground for every type of outdoor adventurer—if you know where to go. We do.
Fredericksburg to Amarillo on U.S. 87
Black-chinned hummingbirds, rusting tractors, chuckwagon breakfasts— and a restored brothel.
On the Water Front
Summer’s blast furnace is firing up. Luckily, Texas is a paradise of spring-fed pools, sparkling beaches, and more. Here are our picks for the best places to chill out, get wet, and go off the deep end. Plus extra web-only information!
Columns | Miscellany
Arrested Development
The flat-as-a-mouse-pad landscape bordering the Laguna Madre contains one of the greatest wildlife-viewing regions in North America—and that's not all.
One Hump or Two?
Riding a camel across the West Texas sand dunes, I got in touch with my inner O'Toole— and left the modern world far behind.
Ride On
To the long list of reasons to visit Fort Worth these days, add this: outstanding bike trails.
Cast Away
There are rivers in Texas—some of the most beautiful places on earth—where the fly-fishing is great and you don't have to battle the crowds. Now, tell me again why I should vacation in Montana?
Coasting
A kayaking trip offers close encounters with the ecosystem of the wetlands near Port Aransas, where still waters run shallow.
Bandera
Reporter
Richard and Gina Donovan
A tip of the hat to risk-taking, barrier-breaking, establishment-tweaking Texans.
Web Exclusives
Ride, Charlie, Ride
What possessed me to join about 14,000 people in ninety-degree heat to ride in one of the largest bicycle races in the country? Why the hell not.
Take Me To the River
The course of the Neches River Wilderness Canoe Race is the 22 miles of the Neches in Anderson County between Lake Palestine and U.S. 79, where the muddy channel winds through thick forest.
Saving the Llano
What's missing from all the bureaucratic back and forth over permits and mining and dredging is a sense of the importance of the river itself.
San Marcos River
Where people do crazy things in the jet stream.
Nature Trip
Whatever I do in them, Texas mountains have a way of clearing my mind.
Urban Hikes
Yes, there are ways to get in a fantastic hike without leaving the city limits.
Paradise
Musician Ian McLagan survived the British rock explosion of the sixties. Now he lives in Austin, a place he loves to call home.
A Q&A With Candy Clark
Actress Candy Clark, who played Debbie Dunham in the movie American Graffiti, will be in Dallas February 14-16 for the Autorama show at Dallas Market Center.
Down Under
You don't have to travel far to see treasures in the sea. They're right here.
Fredericksburg to Amarillo on U.S. 87
Black-chinned hummingbirds, rusting tractors, chuckwagon breakfasts— and a restored brothel.
Water Works
Should the last free-flowing river in Texas be dammed?
Multimedia
Making Tortillas With Diana Kennedy
Patricia Sharpe goes into the kitchen with cookbook author Diana Kennedy to learn how to make a proper corn tortilla.
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