Travel & Outdoors
March 14, 2023
How One Texas Town Is Rethinking the American Lawn
The North Texas suburb of Lewisville is encouraging residents to let their lush, manicured yards grow wild.
Outdoors
Texas Country Reporter
March 14, 2023
A Longview Couple Brings Vintage RVs Back to Life
Ethan and Amanda Langley restore classic travel trailers for road warriors from all over North America.
Texas Country Reporter
March 13, 2023
This Texas Panhandle Rest Area Is an Unassuming Nature Haven for Highway Travelers
With access to hiking trails and waterfalls, Silver Falls Park is a beloved stop for weary travelers looking to refresh, recharge, and reminisce.
Parks & Recs
March 8, 2023
Empire, Wide and Glorious
As we celebrate one hundred years of our state parks, they are more popular than ever. But our booming population is overwhelming the state’s scarce public lands. What will the next century hold for Texas’s “best idea”?
By
Rose Cahalan
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Parks & Recs
March 8, 2023
There’s a State Park for That!
The twenty best Texas parks for birding, time traveling, kayaking, meeting up with relatives, and more.
Travel & Outdoors
March 1, 2023
Saying Goodbye to Fairfield Lake State Park
I stopped by for a hike on the park’s final day. Its 1,420 acres are set to become luxury homes.
Hunting & Fishing
February 21, 2023
Texas Women Fly-fishers Are Angling for Respect
They’re changing the state’s male-dominated fly fishing scene.
Travel & Outdoors
February 6, 2023
One of Texas’s Coolest Caves Lies Beneath an Upscale San Antonio Neighborhood
Robber Baron Cave once hosted fortune tellers, dance performances, and even a zip line.
Travel & Outdoors
February 2, 2023
But What About the Trees? The Rundown on Texas’s Icy “Oakpocalypse”
A forester assures us most of our Texas trees will likely come out of this fine. Until then, “Cra-a-ck.”
Texas Country Reporter
February 1, 2023
Jahmicah Dawes on the Origins of Slim Pickins Outfitters
The founder of the first Black-owned outdoor retailer says there should be no gatekeepers to the great outdoors.
Art
January 30, 2023
Texas Charged 30 Artists With Capturing the Beauty of State Parks. This Is What Happened.
To mark the state park system’s centennial, the Bullock hosts an exhibit dedicated to the great outdoors.
Texas Icons
January 17, 2023
Big Bend, Big Crowds
What happens when hundreds of thousands of people go to the same place looking for a little quiet time? One of our two national parks is finding out.
Texas Icons
January 17, 2023
But It’s Not a Dry Heat, Actually
State climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon says we need to be ready for more triple-digit days and more humidity.
Texas Icons
January 17, 2023
“We Lived a Wacko, Crazy Life” on Caddo Lake
Dottie Carter shares her memories of life in Uncertain, Texas.
Texas Icons
January 17, 2023
Whither the Wild Pecan?
Our state tree has been genetically transformed to meet the global nut market’s demand. But what’s good for the world may not be great for Texas.
Texas Icons
January 17, 2023
An Ode to Texas’s Disappearing Swimming Holes
I’ve spent the past half century immersing myself in Texas’s clear, cool waters. But if development and drought have their way, I may be the last of my kind.
Parks & Recs
January 9, 2023
Welcome to Palo Pinto, Texas’s Next State Park
Set to open later this year, it'll give North Texans 4,871 scenic acres to roam.
Parks & Recs
January 4, 2023
I Fell in Love With Camping at Stephen F. Austin State Park
This peaceful spot near Houston is perfect for families, history buffs, and first-time campers.
Travel & Outdoors
December 21, 2022
Take a Hike on New Year’s Day, and You’ll Have Good Luck All Year
Well, that might be a stretch. But these six Texas hikes will start your 2023 off right.
Travel & Outdoors
December 16, 2022
Reclaiming the Outdoors for My Abuelos
Edward Abbey’s acolytes and their ilk lament the overcrowding of natural spaces. But the land was never theirs to begin with.
Critters
November 22, 2022
Please Do Not Touch the “Toxic Toupee,” a.k.a. the “Mortal Mustache,” a.k.a. Texas’s Most Venomous Caterpillar
It’s furry and cute, but it can cause intense, throbbing pain for up to twelve hours!
Travel & Outdoors
November 21, 2022
El Paso’s Uphill Fight to Save Its Mountain Range
Unexploded ordnance saved Castner Range from development. Now conservationists want to open it to the public.
Books
November 3, 2022
Texas Is the Main Character in Laura Griffin’s Twisty Mysteries
She weaves the state’s climate disasters, including droughts and floods, into terrifying tales.
Travel & Outdoors
October 25, 2022
Texas Is Looking Colorful. Here’s Where To See Fall Foliage Around The State.
Fall foliage might be harder to come by in Texas this year, but there’s still hope for some colorful leaves.
Travel & Outdoors
October 18, 2022
The Godfather of Organic Gardening Is Bringing All the Millennials to the Yard
San Antonio talk radio host Bob Webster has dispensed gardening tips on air for 31 years. A new generation is starting to listen.
Travel & Outdoors
October 12, 2022
The Best Mountain Bike Trail in North Texas Is in . . . the Suburbs
The tree-packed twists and turns of Northshore Trail are a magnetic draw for those looking to escape bustling suburban sprawl—without actually leaving said sprawl.
Sponsored
October 1, 2022
A Dream Catch
The best fishing trips in Texas and beyond are now at your fingertips with Captain Experiences.
Travel & Outdoors
September 29, 2022
Three Days, Three Parks: How to Spend a Green Weekend in Downtown Houston
The neighborhood formerly known as a business center is now a walkable, family-friendly haven.
Travel & Outdoors
September 22, 2022
Why the Group “Hot Girl Walks” Popping Up Around Texas Are Kind of Beautiful
Texas women often feel targeted and unsafe. With "hot girl walks," they're (again) finding safety and well-being in one another.
Travel & Outdoors
September 14, 2022
Whimsical, Yes. But Is This TikTok Grass Alternative Suited for Texas Lawns?
Clover lawns are trending as an environmentally friendly, adorable alternative to grass. The benefits are real, but one Texas expert says that’s not the point.
Hunting & Fishing
September 9, 2022
How Alvin Dedeaux Went From Punk Rock to Redefining Texas Fly-fishing
The affable musician turned guide is the rare fly-fisherman to reach star status within the angling world.
Travel & Outdoors
September 8, 2022
Texas Gardeners, Here’s What to Plant Now in Time for Thanksgiving
It’s not too late to plan to serve something homegrown on your holiday table—and impress your friends in the process.
Critters
September 6, 2022
5,000 Years Later, Beavers Return to the High Plains of West Texas
Thousands of years after they were wiped out from the area, an obsessed wildlife ecologist has found evidence that the bucktoothed critters are beginning to recolonize.
Politics & Policy
September 1, 2022
An Iconic Texas Spring Was Dry for Months. Is Mother Nature or Man to Blame?
Plans were underway to revive tourism at Fort Clark Springs in southwest Texas. But then, in a scenario increasingly common across the state, the water stopped flowing.
Being Texan
August 31, 2022
4 Signs It’s “Fall” in Texas
Texans don’t celebrate the start of fall so much as they spend a solid one to two months willing summer to end.
Travel & Outdoors
August 17, 2022
Miniature Cattle Have Ambled Into Our Hearts and Onto Our Modest Acreages
They’re cute, they’re charismatic, and they’re lil’. But these “posh pets” are still a lot of work.
Business
August 10, 2022
The Unlikely Rise of Slim Pickins, the First Black-Owned Outdoors Retailer in the Country
Jahmicah Dawes opened his idiosyncratic outdoors shop, in Stephenville, hoping to inspire people from all walks to explore natural spaces. Then a brush with viral fame changed everything.
Sports
August 9, 2022
The Real Dill: Powerful Texans Are Betting on Pickleball
Why a host of Texas notables, from Steve Kuhn to Brené Brown, are investing heavily in the popular sport.
Travel & Outdoors
August 5, 2022
These Veterans Have Found a Post-Service Mission: Beekeeping
Through Houston-based nonprofit Hives for Heroes, veterans trade their uniforms for bee suits, work to save pollinators, and learn mindfulness.
Travel & Outdoors
August 4, 2022
Welcome, Critters: An Experts’ Guide to Wildscaping Your Texas Garden
Learn how to attract the creatures you want and keep out the ones (ahem, deer) that you really, really don’t.
Travel & Outdoors
July 19, 2022
Paradise Lost: Where You Can’t (or Shouldn’t) Swim Right Now in Texas
The drought is taking a toll on our swimming holes, although a few favorites are still in good enough shape to help us handle the record heat.
Travel & Outdoors
July 5, 2022
View From the Top: A Texas Man Climbs the State’s 10 Tallest Peaks
Rafael Mujica bushwhacked, scrambled, and backcountry climbed his way to an achievement he says no one else has completed.
The Stand Up Desk
June 27, 2022
What Stephen Harrigan’s Late-’80s Reporting Prophesied for Galveston Bay
“Your article may be an epitaph,” the then-president of the Houston Audubon Society told the writer.
Sports
June 27, 2022
The Rise and Rise of Texas-Based BMX Superstar Brad Simms
When early pandemic lockdowns led to empty streets, Simms, a leader among Black BMX riders, catapulted himself to social media fame.
Travel & Outdoors
June 21, 2022
Wet Hot Texas Summer
38 ways to cool off in our state's springs, lakes, and more.
Sports
June 21, 2022
Kayak Polo Is the Most Joyful, Adrenaline-Fueled, Raucous Sport You’ve Never Tried
Marco who? This is the ultimate water game.
By
Ben Rowen
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Travel & Outdoors
June 21, 2022
Welcome to Party Island on Lady Bird Lake
At Austin’s weekend-long floating bacchanal, it’s BYOP (as in “paddleboard”).
Travel & Outdoors
June 21, 2022
The Many Lives of Caddo Lake
The swampy network of waterways straddling the Louisiana border teems with natural wonders—and more than a few secrets.
By
Cat Cardenas
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Travel & Outdoors
June 21, 2022
Barton Springs Pool in the Dark Is Its Own World
Swimming before sunrise became a necessary ritual for novelist Elizabeth McCracken during an uncertain time. And then came the strangers.
Travel & Outdoors
June 21, 2022
Reeling in the Years at a Cabin in the Laguna Madre
My family’s shack on an island in the world’s largest hypersaline lagoon has brought us closer to the fishing—and to one another.