
Rockport Is the Quintessential Texas Beach Town
With a vibrant festival scene, a funky downtown, and great birding, it offers more than just sand and surf.
With a vibrant festival scene, a funky downtown, and great birding, it offers more than just sand and surf.
Here you can sleep in a yellow caboose, swim in one of the many nearby watering holes, and eat a steak in the ‘Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ house.
Wineries, stylish bed-and-breakfasts, and a beautifully restored old train depot make this North Texas town a great weekend getaway.
The Central Texas town has a lively arts scene with a picturesque creek running through it.
The best secret in Mineola can be found at the back of a downtown mercantile where Shelia Parker serves hot, homemade fried pies.
From small woodland creatures to life-size figures, Cam Dockery has used chainsaws to carve more than 10,000 sculptures in his hometown of Whitharral.
Robert Lane took over City Shoe Shop in Palestine after his father’s death.
Here’s where to stay, eat, and explore in LBJ’s hometown.
In the rolling plains of the Panhandle, Bob Owen tears up what’s left of old vehicles so that some classic cars get a chance at a new life.
The Grammy winner is the most famous export from Lindale, but the charming East Texas town also boasts a delightful candy shop, blackberries galore, and plenty of live music.
This serene Hill Country town boasts a treehouse hotel and an idyllic swimming hole.
Craft beer, live music, and small businesses breathe new life into Old Taylor High, a repurposed school building from 1923.
For decades, Roddy Wiley ran the only bank in the small town of Oakwood, which happily resisted modern technology well into the twenty-first century.
Sixteen years ago, a small town’s only public school closed its doors. But not before the final graduating class invited a former POW to walk the stage, finishing what he started nearly six decades before.
Texas Country Reporter visits Maniac’s Mansion in downtown Wichita Falls, offering unlimited play steeped in eighties and nineties nostalgia.
Bob Anderson says the self-inflicted title is for amusement only, but the quirky farmer sure seems serious about garlic.
The town, an easy back-roads drive from Austin or DFW, is both quiet and brimming with worthy new shops and eateries.
The Hutto-based hatmaker uses decades-old equipment to meticulously customize every hat.
Professional baseball teams once traveled here in search of healing waters
Our guide to this tranquil, often overlooked slice of the Hill Country.
Bill Richardson’s creations from discarded metal were featured numerous times on Texas Country Reporter, but our friendship remains near and dear to my heart.
Pastor Buddy Blake led volunteers who help step in for the Department of Defense to honor fallen soldiers with a proper military burial.
Pianist James Dick has turned a rolling pasture outside of Round Top into a haven for classical musicians from around the world.
The piano teacher turned touring musician from Lockney has been inducted into several halls of fame across the U.S.
Bob Wills fans flock each spring to the tiny Panhandle town to “dance all night, dance a little longer.”
The community 50 miles east of Austin celebrates its Slavic heritage each year with music, crafts, and lots of buttery, handmade noodles.
Chris Morris broke his back during motocross practice, but that didn’t stop him from finding a new source of adrenaline and drive.
After fifty years on the road, the host of Texas Country Reporter recalls his favorite dish at Mary’s Cafe in Strawn.
In downtown Sanderson, shoppers can get lost in aisles overflowing with eclectic items, old and new.
Seeing a need in the community, Willa Johnson started Feeding Kids Right, a mobile meal delivery service in Athens.
In the courthouse basement, dozens of lawyers, judges, and jurors lined up for Esther Rollins’s famous fried chicken.
This far-flung spot has a rich history, excellent fishing, free beach camping, and no crowds.
Years ago, I learned an important lesson from a family in West Texas—happiness can be found in the simplest places.
Joshua Rodrigues opened a food truck to serve up good times and classic dishes to a community hungry for Cajun flavors.
I’ll never forget Herman “Train” Gates, the man who collected junk on an empty lot in Carthage, helped fix bikes for neighborhood kids, and wrote poetry.
Founded in 1946, the Shelby Store is a relic of what retail once was for many small Texas communities.
Rocky paths wend their way past the crumbling ruins of animal dens, making for a one-of-a-kind nature walk.
Mobile City was incorporated in the early nineties to facilitate alcohol sales in a dry county. Now residents—especially its devoted mayor—fear for the fate of their accidental utopia.
Where to eat, sleep, and sightsee in this town of 1,200 northwest of San Antonio.
In Jacksonville, Palestine, and Tyler, local entrepreneurs cater to tourists looking for luxury (and a very fine slice of pie) amid the Piney Woods farms and fields.
Come for the famous dance hall, stay for the outdoor adventures, charming boutiques, and local wine in this river-fringed Central Texas town.
Sample tasty barbecue, gape at one of the world’s largest wind farms, and get a dose of state history in these neighboring West Texas towns.
This scrappy town on the edge of the Big Bend region has a trendy motel, pistol-packing waitresses, and starry nights aplenty.
This delightful burg, halfway between Austin and Houston, invites you to stop and stay awhile.
Yesterday and today go together nicely in this historic town not too far from Austin.
Look out, Waxahachie! Here come the Protonettes, the Big Bang Motel, and the Phil Gramm Institute
They are the quirky enterprises that offer two things under one roof—like shrimp and guns, steaks and loans, or eggrolls and gasoline.
And other great country stores of Texas.