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March 21, 2024
Prepare for Your Next Adventure at Whole Earth Provision Co.
Join community of Texans who share a passion for life outdoors and help support Texas State Parks.
Texas State Parks
Sports
February 21, 2024
Happiness Is a Community of Ultramarathon Trail Runners in Central Texas
PJ Izaguirre is a race director for Tejas Trails. The routes are long; the preparation is grueling. And you'll never meet someone with more positive vibes.
Arts & Entertainment
February 13, 2024
Palo Duro Canyon’s ‘Texas’ Is More Than a Musical
A visit to the long-running outdoor stage production reveals how members of the cast and crew are connected to the show in personal ways.
Art
February 9, 2024
A North Texas Painter Gets a First Look at the Newest State Park
Before Palo Pinto Mountains State Park opens its doors the public, Billy Hassell, whose career is intertwined with wildlife conservation, got a sneak peek—sketchbook and watercolors in hand.
Parks & Recs
February 6, 2024
Most Dinosaur Tracks Are Hidden on Private Land. At Government Canyon, You Can Stroll Alongside Them.
Hikers at this San Antonio preserve peer down at 110-million-year-old footprints.
Parks & Recs
September 20, 2023
After a Summer of Heat Deaths, Texas Parks Debate How to Protect Hikers
Six hikers died from heat-related causes in Texas state and national parks this summer. Should trail closures on the hottest days be standard?
Travel
August 9, 2023
Swing by Texas’s Smallest State Park to See Three Million Bats Soar From an Old Railroad Tunnel
Austin’s urban bat colony has nothing on this.
Books
June 26, 2023
Five Great Texas Parks and Books to Read in Them
Is there anything better than a good story with a view?
Parks & Recs
May 1, 2023
Get Lost in the Fog at This Swampy, Spooky East Texas Park
Mossy cypresses seem to float in the clouds at Martin Dies Jr. State Park, which offers otherworldly paddling and hiking trails.
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.
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”?
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.
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.
Travel & Outdoors
February 7, 2022
Set to Become a State Park, Powderhorn Ranch Is an Unspoiled Coastal Paradise
One of the biggest conservation projects in Texas history, the vast parkland encompasses some 17,000 acres along Matagorda Bay.
Travel & Outdoors
June 17, 2021
Seven Outstanding Parks for Riding or Renting Horses
Hoof it to these parks with your steed (or someone else's).
Travel & Outdoors
June 17, 2021
Texas Parks by Horseback Offer a Whole Other View
Equestrians can ride their own steeds, or in a few cases rent them, on public lands across the state.
Travel & Outdoors
January 26, 2021
As More Novices Head to the Wilderness, Rescues Are Spiking at Some Texas State Parks
Big Bend Ranch State Park and Enchanted Rock State Natural Area both saw a 50 percent surge in backcountry rescues last year.
Politics & Policy
December 17, 2020
2020 Has Been Awful, but It Was a Good Year for State and National Parks
Two major conservation funding victories could create a brighter future for Texas's public lands.
Travel & Outdoors
April 25, 2020
I Visited a State Park This Week. Here’s What I Found.
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.
Travel & Outdoors
April 20, 2020
Where to Get Outside While Social Distancing
There are places across the state where you can commune with nature, if not one another.
Parks & Recs
March 19, 2020
Is It Okay to Visit Texas Parks During the Coronavirus Pandemic?
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.
Business
January 10, 2019
How Texas Parks and Historic Sites Are Dealing With the Government Shutdown
Volunteers and others step in to help maintain Big Bend, the San Antonio missions, and other beloved sites, but fears about lasting damage grow as the impasse drags on.
Parks & Recs
September 21, 2018
Blanco State Park Embodies True Texas Spirit
Despite threats to its survival over the years, the picturesque and petite park goes with the flow, just like its namesake river.
Parks & Recs
September 21, 2018
The Best of Blanco
Where to eat, drink, and play once you venture outside the park.
Travel & Outdoors
February 21, 2018
Star Search: A Night Guide for Urban Texans
Where to find wide-open skies—or a big telescope—if you live in the big city or in the eastern half of the state.
Travel & Outdoors
January 21, 2013
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
Travel & Outdoors
January 21, 2013
A Q&A With Charlie Llewellin
Our outdoors guru on exploring the state’s parks, getting lost, and being next to alligators.
Feature
May 31, 2011
Girl Gone Wild
How I learned to (sort of) love camping.
Feature
May 31, 2011
Outdoors 101
Nothing marks an expert camper more than a mastery of the essential skills, so study up on these backwoods tricks before your next expedition.
Travel & Outdoors
May 31, 2011
Ten More Trips Worth Gearing Up For
Even more camping suggestions, from El Paso's Franklin Mountains to Caddo Lake in East Texas.
Travel & Outdoors
March 1, 2004
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.
Travel & Outdoors
November 1, 1996
Social Climbers
This month, a ragtag group of wanderers will descend on Hueco Tanks state park in West Texas, where they’ll spend their nights hanging out and their days hanging on to the most challenging boulders around.
Politics & Policy
January 1, 1990
The Bucks Stop Here
The troubled Parks and Wildlife Department is supposed to protect the state’s natural resources. Instead, it protects its friends and, above all, itself.
Travel & Outdoors
August 1, 1983
Secret Places
In the hidden corners of Texas’ outback—in foresty swamp and shimmering desert—there are a few places that are still primeval.
Travel & Outdoors
April 1, 1981
Tenting Tonight
How you can—and why you should—go camping in the middle of the week.
Feature
November 1, 1975
The Strange Case of the Missing Parks
Why Texans don‘t get the parks they pay for.