Social cycling clubs have resumed their group rides, with tricked-out bikes and spotty mask-wearing.
Outdoors
It’s beautiful! Enjoy shoveling all of that.
Two major conservation funding victories could create a brighter future for Texas's public lands.
Winter kayaking and canoeing are catching on, even among heat-loving Texans.
With help from the McDonald Observatory in West Texas, we share seven beginner stargazing tips.
Crested caracaras used to range no farther north than Texas’s southern tip, but now they’re expanding across the state—perhaps because of climate change and habitat loss.
Texas gardeners share photos of their fall crops, plus tips for preparing for the winter season.
Eight tips from expert gardeners.
David Hocker is busier than ever this time of year. He says that at home, you should be too. Here’s what to do.
A handy guide to which of our beaches, lakes, rivers, creeks, swimming holes, and swimming pools are and aren’t open.
The world’s most endangered sea turtle has made an impressive comeback, attracting thousands of visitors to North Padre Island, but now advocates say it may be at risk again.
Affordable private places to pitch your tent when public parks aren’t an option.
Contrary to what a viral video suggests, it’s unrelated to the pandemic.
As the state started shutting down, one man took to the coast in search of a different kind of solitude. And seashells.
Thousands of Texans are finding much-needed stress relief by digging in the dirt. Plus: four tips for novice gardeners.
Documentarian Ben Masters tracks some of the few Leopardus pardalis that are left in Texas.
As Texans flock to the hobby in record numbers, we convened a virtual staff roundtable to share tips.
Merlin Tuttle has spent his career dispelling myths about bats. Now he’s defending them once again.
The reopening of state parks has not come without critics, from those who say the new rules are impossible to enforce to those who think they are too restrictive.
Robert and Vickie Lyle’s lives revolve around hunting and trapping hogs. Wildlife refuge managers count on them to keep the destructive pigs in check.
In the aftermath of tragedy, members of the Caddo Nation are drawing on their culture and traditions to help restore Caddo Mounds State Historic Site.
The Redfish Wars changed Texas fishing. A fight over flounder could be next.
We’re calling it: Texas has the best fishing in the United States. Alaska and Florida are right up there. California is too, we guess. But what many Texans may not appreciate—even those of us who grew up casting lines—is the impressive diversity of fishing in the Lone Star State. Most…
Texas offers some of the most-diverse fishing in the country—from stalking monster sharks on Padre Island to fly-fishing from a kayak on the remote Pecos River. And for three months, I got to try it all.
Here are four essential items to get off dry land and into a kayak.
The state has spent more than a century building up a world-class fishery, with some unintended consequences.
For all his success, Combs obsesses over the ones that got away—especially on the biggest stages.
On a remote property near Terlingua, a prepper community is thriving.
Even though it's legal for property owners like me to be there, it's not the right thing to do.
A Houston poet laureate on the hopeful defiance of her bluebonnets.
Spending time outdoors is good for mental health. But as COVID-19 spreads in Texas, officials and citizens are grappling with whether, and how, we can enjoy public parks.
Tips from Texans who trap, kill, and study wild pigs.
Whether they like fishing, hiking, or just enjoying the outdoors, we’ve got the explorers on your list covered.
Deer season is almost upon us, but don’t fret if you don’t have a lease. Here are four public places that welcome hunters.
Once widely hunted in Texas, the beloved game birds have been dwindling in number in recent decades. But a West Texas hunter and professor believes he’s found a way to save them.
These creatures—some creepy crawlers, some fearsome beasts, some microscopic threats—can and will kill you, maybe.
I left Texas after the brutal summer of 2011, only to return in time for the hottest September on record.
After an eventful first year as superintendent, Bob Krumenaker has a vision for the park's future as it celebrates its 75th anniversary.
The invasive species hitches rides on contaminated boats from one body of water to the next.
Austin rockers Montopolis will premiere The Living Coast—an audiovisual homage to the Texas Gulf Coast—on August 2 in Austin.
The park offers quiet coastland and abundant wildlife, and feels like a defiant bulwark against some very particular cares of urban life.
A constitutional amendment on the ballot in November aims to shore up funding for Texas’s system of state parks and historic sites.
Although they're on the rebound in Central Texas, these magical flying beetles aren't lighting up the sky like they used to. A New Braunfels expert says they're still out there if you know where to look.
It's that magical—and all too brief—time in the city, when the heady blooms seem to make everything a little bit better.
The fish stories out of this East Texas reservoir are mostly true, which is why fishermen come with their gear and beer in search of some of the state's biggest monster bass.
In addition to Lake Fork, here are some other places where trophy lunkers lurk.
At this tropical, mystical park, you’ll find animals and plants unlike anything else in Texas.
The ninety-year-old conservationist and fried-chicken tycoon reflects on land stewardship—and the invaluable lessons he learned as a young door-to-door salesman.
I set out into nature seeking serenity. I found resilience instead.