Outdoors
161 stories
Brazos River »
Grass tussocks cover the frequent sandbanks, and behind them steep, thickly-wooded slopes complete the air of rustic isolation.
May 2010 by Charlie Llewellin
Colorado River »
Paddle around while avoiding the ill-tempered swans in this lovely stretch of water.
May 2010 by Charlie Llewellin
South Llano River »
Roughly three miles from Junction as the crow files, the river veers across the valley floor and through pecan-forested bottomlands.
May 2010 by Charlie Llewellin
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.
March 2010 by Nate Blakeslee, Jordan Breal, Paul Burka, Gary Cartwright, Pamela Colloff, David Courtney, Don Graham, S. C. Gwynne, Michael Hall, Stephen Harrigan, Skip Hollandsworth, Stacy Hollister, Charlie Llewellin, Patricia Busa McConnico, Katharyn Rodemann, Jeff Salamon, Patricia Sharpe, Jake Silverstein, John Spong, Mimi Swartz, Brian D. Sweany, Andrea Valdez and Katy Vine
Lands That I Love »
Our natural resources are under greater threat than ever before. Meet three very different people who are doing something to save Texas. Literally.
January 2010 by Andrew Sansom
Into the Wild
A slide show of images featuring some of our state’s most precious landscapes, from the Dahlstrom Ranch, in the Hill Country, to the surviving patch of the Great Plains just west of Fort Worth. Photographs by Sarah Wilson
January 2010
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!
October 2009 by Charlie Llewellin
Nature Trip »
Whatever I do in them, Texas mountains have a way of clearing my mind.
October 2009 by Charlie Llewellin
Dove Hunting »
How to dove hunt.
September 2009 by Andrea Valdez
The Manual 2.0
The experts from the Dallas Gun Club and World Wide Blast and Cast teach Andrea Valdez how to hunt dove.
September 2009
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.
August 2008 by Charlie Llewellin
So Lawn, Farewell »
Lawn of a new day.
June 2008 by Jim Atkinson
The Old Man and the River »
Fifty years after the mythical trip on the Brazos that was the basis for John Graves’s classic book, I followed in his wake. Literally.
November 2007 by S. C. Gwynne
Shore ’Nuff »
The best beaches in Texas for—among other summertime pursuits—shelling, strolling, birding, fishing, treasure hunting, turtle herding, solitude, and surfing, dude.
June 2007 by Suzy Banks
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.
October 2006 by Charlie Llewellin
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.
June 2006 by Jordan Breal, David Courtney, S. C. Gwynne, Michael Hall, Skip Hollandsworth, Charlie Llewellin, Patricia Busa McConnico, Katharyn Rodemann, John Spong and Brian D. Sweany
Wings »
At the Houston Museum of Natural Science, butterflies are free (sort of).
May 2006 by Patricia Sharpe
75 Things We Love About Texas »
Including: the sopa azteca at El Mirador, in San Antonio; the spring-fed pool at Balmorhea State Park; the humidity; elbow room; free advice at White Rock Lake, in Dallas; county courthouses; boots-and- jeans-clad Academy Award–winner Larry McMurtry; and—seriously— quail hunting.
April 2006
Tour de Texas »
These ten bike routes, some easy and some hard, will help you channel your inner Lance.
October 2005 by Charlie Llewellin
Pedal Pushers »
Contributing photographer Wyatt McSpadden, who shot this month’s feature “Tour de Texas,” describes how a plum assignment became a poignant father-son journey.
October 2005 Interview by Ryan Vogt
The Thrill Of the Hunt »
How I learned to stop worrying and love “blood sport”—or at least understand its appeal.
March 2005 by Gary Cartwright
A Texas Survival Kit »
What to do if you're bitten by fire ants, lost in the
wilderness, sprayed by a skunk, attacked by a shark,
stuck in a lightning storm, swept away by a riptide, or
caught in any of eleven other worst-case scenarios.
October 2004 by Anne Dingus
Cave Clan »
As Natural Bridge Caverns celebrates forty years since its
dedication, its patron family looks back on three
generations of cave life.
July 2004 by Lori Fradkin
Conversations With a Grasshopper »
To experience the majesty and peril of the desert on my own terms, I spent a week alone in the Solitario, the most remote area of Big Bend Ranch State Park. I confronted my darkest fears—and made small talk with an insect.
March 2004 by S. C. Gwynne
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.
March 2004 by Suzy Banks, Stacy Hollister and Charlie Llewellin
My Library
