Travel & Outdoors
November 22, 2023
Texas’s Newest Mountain Bike Park Was Built by a Fearless Teen Entrepreneur
At Station Mountain Bike Park, Rhett Jones created the serpentine trails and daring jumps of his dreams.
Travel & Outdoors
Critters
November 20, 2023
Texas Birders Are Cuckoo for the Cattle Tyrant, Never Before Seen in North America
Folks are flocking to Corpus Christi to see the little yellow flier, which may have blown 2,600 miles off-course in a storm.
Critters
November 15, 2023
Behold the Biggest Beetles in Texas (and Their Creepy Larvae)
Ounce for ounce, rhinoceros beetles are among the strongest animals on earth.
Travel & Outdoors
November 13, 2023
The Sand Dunes of South Padre Island Have a Mind of Their Own
Drive up State Park Road 100 long enough and the beach comes to meet you.
Critters
November 10, 2023
Beware the Toxic Trait of the Eastern Newt
The diminutive swamp dragon of the Piney Woods has a fascinating life cycle. Just don’t eat one.
Critters
November 10, 2023
The Exotic Wildlife Trade Is Thriving in Texas
Investigators are finding new ways to catch smugglers, but high demand from China, weak laws, and cartel involvement are making enforcement harder than ever.
Travel & Outdoors
November 9, 2023
Deep—Very, Very, Very Deep—in the Heart of Texas
Call them the astronauts of the underground. The state’s cavers are a literal subculture, daring to go where no one has gone before.
Travel & Outdoors
November 9, 2023
Go Underground: Seven Texas Caves to Explore
Where to immerse yourself in the subculture.
Travel & Outdoors
November 8, 2023
How Texan Are You? Find Out on A Ranch Getaway
Wildcatter Ranch, near Possum Kingdom Lake, caters to weekend cowboys from around the world.
Critters
November 8, 2023
The Texas Indigo Snake Eats Rattlers for Breakfast
That’s why farmers and ranchers consider it a friend.
Travel & Outdoors
November 6, 2023
Six Great Texas Hikes for Families With Kids
Whatever you do, don’t forget the special snacks.
Parks & Recs
November 1, 2023
How to Watch the April 8 Solar Eclipse From a Texas State Park
Skip the traffic and exorbitant hotel rates—go camping at one of the 31 parks in the path of totality. Overnight reservations open on November 7.
Parks & Recs
October 24, 2023
Taking It Slow at Goose Island State Park
I marveled at the thousand-year-old Big Tree and stargazed with a pod of pelicans.
Style & Design
October 16, 2023
Houston’s Lesser-known Chapel by Philip Johnson Is a Golden Wonder
Just a few minutes from the celebrated Rothko Chapel, the Chapel of St. Basil provides a spiritual respite.
Travel & Outdoors
October 16, 2023
Texans Worship Brands, but We Should Celebrate Our Native Flora and Fauna Too
Step aside, Buc-ee’s and Blue Bell. Where’s the love for horny toads, swallowtails, and passion vine?
Critters
October 13, 2023
The Ghost-Faced Bat Is So Ugly It’s Cute
Found along Texas’s southwestern border, the creature has a mug only a mother could love.
Travel & Outdoors
October 12, 2023
Why the Amtrak Sleeper Car Is the Ultimate Way to Travel Across Texas
A veteran of many Sunset Limited trips to Alpine finally indulges in a private room and finds a lot to love. Especially the French toast.
Best Thing in Texas
October 10, 2023
Hats Off to the Arctic Cowboys, Who Just Became the First Paddlers to Cross the Northwest Passage
The Texas-based kayaking team completed the 1,600-mile journey over 83 grueling days.
Travel & Outdoors
October 9, 2023
The Oatmeal Festival Could Use Some More Oatmeal
Small-town charm abounds at this quirky Central Texas event, which once hosted oatmeal-wrestling and oatmeal-sculpting competitions.
Travel & Outdoors
October 6, 2023
Barton Springs Pool Says Goodbye to a Longtime Regular Named Flo
Austinites gathered poolside to celebrate a sick pecan tree’s hundred-plus years of shading swimmers.
Travel & Outdoors
October 6, 2023
Stopping to Smell the Moonflower, One of Texas’s Most Tenacious (and Poisonous) Plants
Unfazed by extreme weather, this dangerous beauty blooms only at night.
Critters
October 3, 2023
Why Are So Many Tortoises on the Loose in Texas?
They’re hard-shelled escape artists—and faster than you think.
Travel & Outdoors
September 27, 2023
An Ode to the Century Plant
No, Texans’ favorite agave doesn’t live for a century. But it is a botanical marvel.
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 & Outdoors
September 19, 2023
Dreaming of a Move to Colorado? Four Texpats Share the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
They miss Tex-Mex and barbecue something fierce.
Parks & Recs
September 15, 2023
A Pristine, 1,200-Acre Texas Preserve Will Open to the Public for the First Time This Week
Anonymous landowners donated the pristine 1,200-acre parcel, which will be open to the public on September 23.
Travel & Outdoors
September 12, 2023
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.
Books
September 12, 2023
You’ve Never Seen the Big Thicket Like This
Photographer Keith Carter explores the otherworldly wetlands of East Texas in a stunning new book.
Business
September 11, 2023
Why Texas Is the New Center of Gravity for Luxury Hotels
Exclusive: Auberge Resorts plans a posh new hotel in Houston, one of five properties it will operate around the state.
Travel & Outdoors
September 11, 2023
The West Texas Desert’s Impossible Garden
The explosion of color found at the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute is not a mirage.
Critters
September 8, 2023
Meet Texas’s Strangest Turtle
Found in the state’s riverways, the spiny softshell looks like a cross between a brontosaurus and a pancake.
Travel & Outdoors
September 7, 2023
“Escape” Means Many Things in the Lakeside Town of Kingsland
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.
Travel & Outdoors
September 7, 2023
How to Spend a Walkable Weekend in Grapevine
The booming North Texas city has an eclectic food scene, an indie bookstore, and a vintage railroad—all within downtown.
Sports
September 6, 2023
A Guide to Texas’s Best Public Golf Courses
From arid El Paso to the Piney Woods, Texas boasts outstanding links that don’t require an expensive membership.
Travel & Outdoors
September 6, 2023
Where to Watch the October 14 Solar Eclipse in Texas
Paddle on a sea kayak in Rockport, party with Kinky Friedman in Kerrville, or find a quiet spot close to home.
Best Thing in Texas
August 30, 2023
Four Rare Baby Crocodilians Just Hatched at the Fort Worth Zoo
Congrats to new parents Raani, Snaggle, and Big Boy—and the zookeepers who worked for years to help bring their toothy babies into being.
Critters
August 29, 2023
Whale Sharks Near Texas? A Rare Sighting Thrills Anglers and Scientists
The world’s biggest fish swims in the Gulf, but much about it remains a mystery.
Travel & Outdoors
August 28, 2023
Sip Wine, Watch Bats, and Paddle the Llano River in Cozy Mason
The home of Old Yeller, this scenic Hill Country getaway also has a beautifully restored courthouse.
Film & TV
August 24, 2023
No Store Does More . . . for Texas Wildlife?
H-E-B’s snazzy new nature docuseries highlights the conservationists who protect bats, bears, ocelots, and redfish.
Travel & Outdoors
August 24, 2023
The Texan’s Guide to Italy
After badly behaved tourists made headlines in Italy this summer, one Texpat offers a few pointers on local etiquette.
Travel & Outdoors
August 11, 2023
In This North Texas Town, It’s Always Shark Week
The small city of Sherman, which lies far from the coast, is a fossil hunter’s paradise.
Travel & Outdoors
August 10, 2023
Oaxaca Is More Than Mezcal and Mole
How to weave your way through this magical Mexican destination.
Critters
August 9, 2023
Swimmers, Beware the Texas Toe-Biter
I recently had a terrifying run-in with one in a West Texas stock tank.
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.
Critters
August 7, 2023
One of the World’s Rarest Whales Swims off the Texas Coast. Only About Fifty Are Left.
Just as scientists begin to understand the Rice’s whale, environmentalists contend in a lawsuit that it may be threatened by a proposed offshore oil terminal.
Travel & Outdoors
August 3, 2023
Why Texans Should Log Off and Touch Grass
Gardening brings us together, even as culture wars divide us over almost everything else.
Parks & Recs
August 2, 2023
We Found Texas’s Best Beachcombing Spot in Matagorda
The seaside town is also a great place to catch redfish, watch dolphins, and stay in a snazzy new bungalow.
Travel & Outdoors
July 31, 2023
Denison Is a Cozy, Not-(Yet)-Too-Crowded Getaway in North Texas
Wineries, stylish bed-and-breakfasts, and a beautifully restored old train depot make this North Texas town a great weekend getaway.
Critters
July 25, 2023
Emerald Ash Borers Are Decimating Texas Trees. Wasps Might Help Defeat Them.
As the invasive beetle carves a path through Texas, state and federal officials are searching for solutions.
Critters
July 23, 2023
My Search for the Snow Monkeys of South Texas
In the half-century since a troop of Japanese macaques arrived in Texas, a truly wild tale has played out.