Things to do in Texas
60 places worth stopping for and 24 places to stay on a road trip through Texas.
See and do
- Walk
Walk · Fredericksburg
Enchanted Rock
Climb a bare pink granite dome for 360-degree views over the Hill Country.
- Swimming hole
Swimming hole · Dripping Springs
Hamilton Pool Preserve
A collapsed grotto with a waterfall spilling into a green swimming pool.
- Activity
Activity · Fort Davis
McDonald Observatory star party
Public star parties under some of the darkest skies in the lower 48.
- Swimming hole
Swimming hole · Toyahvale
Balmorhea State Park
A giant spring-fed swimming pool in the desert, clear enough to snorkel.
Walk · Terlingua
Santa Elena Canyon
Walk up into a 1,500-foot canyon carved by the Rio Grande.
- Roadside oddity
Roadside oddity · Amarillo
Cadillac Ranch
Ten old Cadillacs buried nose-down in a wheat field, and you are expected to spray-paint them.
- Scenic drive
Scenic drive · Big Bend National Park
Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive and Castolon
30-mile drive to the Rio Grande with overlooks, desert and old trading post.
- Scenic drive
Scenic drive · Big Bend National Park
Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive
A 30-mile paved drive past cliffs, mesas and the Rio Grande canyon.
- Swimming hole
Swimming hole · SpicewoodHidden gem
Krause Springs
Family-run spring-fed pools with a rope swing, plus a cool camping area.
Walk · Vanderpool
Lost Maples State Natural Area
Hill Country trails through bigtooth maples that colour in late autumn.
- Roadside oddity
Roadside oddity · New Braunfels
Gruene Hall
Texas's oldest continuously operating dance hall, still booking live music.
- Swimming hole
Swimming hole · Austin
Barton Springs Pool
A spring-fed pool in the middle of the city that stays around 68F year-round.
- History
History · ComstockHidden gem
Seminole Canyon State Park
Guided tours to ancient rock art shelters in a canyon near the Rio Grande.
Waterfall · Johnson City
Pedernales Falls State Park
Layered limestone ledges where the Pedernales River steps down in low water.
Swimming hole · Wimberley
Jacob's Well Natural Area
Look down into a dark underwater cave shaft where a spring bubbles up.
Walk · QuitaqueHidden gem
Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway
Red canyon trails and the official Texas State Bison Herd roaming loose.
- Scenic drive
Scenic drive · LajitasHidden gem
Big Bend Ranch State Park
Rugged desert park with the River Road drive, hot springs and wide open back country.
History · El Paso
Hueco Tanks State Park
Rock-art-covered hills with top-notch bouldering and guided tours.
Walk · Salt Flat
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Hike to the highest point in Texas or wander a canyon of maples in autumn.
Wildlife · Austin
Congress Avenue Bridge bat colony
Watch around a million Mexican free-tailed bats pour out from under a bridge at dusk.
History · San Antonio
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
Four 1700s Spanish missions linked by a quiet riverside bike trail.
- Hot pool
Hot pool · Big Bend National ParkHidden gem
Hot Springs Historic District, Big Bend
Soak in a 105F spring beside the Rio Grande in an old bathhouse ruin.
- Town
Town · Terlingua
Terlingua Ghost Town
A former quicksilver-mining town now home to an eccentric cafe, porch and sunsets.
- Hot pool
Hot pool · Big Bend National ParkHidden gem
Big Bend Hot Springs
Historic ruin with a natural hot pool at the edge of the Rio Grande.
Scenic drive · LeakeyHidden gem
Texas Hill Country Twisted Sisters
Three winding ranch roads through Hill Country canyons and river crossings.
- History
History · Shamrock
U-Drop Inn and Tower Station
Art Deco 1936 gas station and cafe, now Shamrock's visitor centre.
- Beach
Beach · Corpus Christi
Padre Island National Seashore
The longest undeveloped barrier-island stretch in the world, with sea turtles.
Cave · Sonora
Caverns of Sonora
A richly decorated cave with a camping spot on the ranch grounds.
- Scenic drive
Scenic drive · Willow City
Willow City Loop
A 13-mile ranch-road loop north of Fredericksburg, best in wildflower season.
- Swimming hole
Swimming hole · WimberleyHidden gem
Blue Hole Regional Park
A shaded cypress swimming hole on Cypress Creek, bookable by the hour.
- Roadside oddity
Roadside oddity · FredericksburgHidden gem
Luckenbach
A tiny dance hall and dusty yard that became a country-music legend.
Cave · San Antonio
Natural Bridge Caverns
A big commercial cave with huge flowstone rooms, easy walking and kids' tours.
- History
History · San Antonio
The Alamo
The old mission-turned-fort where the 1836 siege took place.
- History
History · Fort Davis
Fort Davis National Historic Site
A cavalry fort in a canyon below the Davis Mountains, kept as it was.
- Roadside oddity
Roadside oddity · Valentine
Prada Marfa
A fake Prada shop in the desert, an art installation by the highway.
Town · San Antonio
San Antonio River Walk
A shaded riverside promenade with restaurants and boat tours.
Walk · Glen Rose
Dinosaur Valley State Park
Wade the Paluxy River and step into real dinosaur footprints.
- Gallery
Gallery · Marfa
Chinati Foundation
A big-sky contemporary art museum in old army buildings, with huge concrete boxes by Donald Judd.
- Viewpoint
Viewpoint · Big Bend National Park
Boquillas Canyon overlook
Short walk to a canyon overlook on the Mexican border with sunset views.
Town · Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg Main Street
German-settled town with a long main street, wineries and bakeries.
Town · Fort Worth
Fort Worth Stockyards
A restored cattle district with a twice-daily longhorn drive and honky-tonks.
- History
History · GlenrioHidden gem
Glenrio ghost town
Ghost town on the Texas and New Mexico line with old motels, cafes and signs.
- Museum
Museum · WacoHidden gem
Waco Mammoth National Monument
A fossil dig site with Columbian mammoths still in the ground.
- History
History · FritchHidden gem
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
Ancient flint quarries above Lake Meredith, by ranger-led tour.
- History
History · PresidioHidden gem
Fort Leaton State Historic Site
An adobe trading post on the Rio Grande, start of the River Road.
Town · MarathonHidden gem
Marathon
A tiny west Texas town and the northern gateway to Big Bend National Park.
Town · Jefferson
Jefferson
A riverboat-era town of Victorian homes in the piney woods.
Museum · LangtryHidden gem
Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center, Langtry
Old saloon museum of the self-proclaimed 'law west of the Pecos', with a small cactus garden.
- Cave
Cave · Burnet
Longhorn Cavern State Park
A walkable cavern with polished limestone and a 1930s CCC-built path.
- Viewpoint
Viewpoint · Austin
Mount Bonnell
A short stair climb to a view over Lake Austin and the hills west of the city.
- Viewpoint
Viewpoint · MarfaHidden gem
Marfa Lights Viewing Area
A roadside platform for spotting the mysterious Marfa lights at night.
Town · BanderaHidden gem
Bandera
Self-styled cowboy capital with saloons, a real rodeo scene and dude ranches.
Garden · San Antonio
Japanese Tea Garden
A garden built in an old rock quarry, with ponds, a waterfall and koi.
- Roadside oddity
Roadside oddity · Groom
Leaning Tower of Britten
A deliberately tilted water tower in the tiny town of Groom.
- Museum
Museum · McLeanHidden gem
Devil's Rope Barbed Wire Museum
Museum of barbed wire and its role in settling the Plains, with a Route 66 section.
- History
History · Johnson City
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park
The president's boyhood home and ranch, free to visit.
- Walk
Walk · KountzeHidden gem
Big Thicket National Preserve
A biologically rich patchwork of piney woods and swamp in east Texas.
- Town
Town · Round TopHidden gem
Round Top
A tiny town that explodes into one of the biggest antiques fairs in the country.
- Town
Town · SaladoHidden gem
Salado
A creek-side artisan town off I-35 with an old stagecoach inn.
- Town
Town · ComfortHidden gem
Comfort
A historic German-settled town in the Hill Country with antiques and old stone buildings.
Food stops
- Restaurant
Restaurant · LexingtonHidden gem
Snow's BBQ
A Saturday-only barbecue spot in a tiny town, with a pit run by Tootsie Tomanetz, open 8am until sold out.
- Restaurant
Restaurant · Taylor
Louie Mueller Barbecue
Central Texas smokehouse that has been serving barbecue since 1949.
- Restaurant
Restaurant · Amarillo
Big Texan Steak Ranch
Home of the free 72-ounce steak, if you can finish it in an hour, with a hard-to-miss cowboy facade.
Restaurant · Austin
Franklin Barbecue
Brisket worth queueing for, and the queue is half the experience.
Restaurant · Driftwood
The Salt Lick BBQ
Pit barbecue served family-style in a big stone dining hall outside Austin.
Restaurant · Lockhart
Kreuz Market
No-sauce, no-fork smokehouse in the barbecue capital of Texas.
- Restaurant
Restaurant · Lockhart
Black's Barbecue
Lockhart's family-run pit since 1932, with brisket, sausage and beef ribs sold by the pound.
Restaurant · Llano
Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que (Llano)
Choose your meat from the outdoor pit, including the thick "Big Chop" pork chop, in a Hill Country river town.
Restaurant · Lockhart
Smitty's Market
Old-school Lockhart pit in the original Kreuz building: smoky pit room, meat on butcher paper, no frills.
Bakery · West
Czech Stop
The kolache stop on I-35 that locals plan their drives around.
- Café
Café · AdrianHidden gem
Midpoint Cafe
The halfway point on Route 66, famous for ugly crust pie and a sign that says so.
- Restaurant
Restaurant · Terlingua
Starlight Theatre Restaurant & Saloon
A restored 1930s movie theatre turned dinner stop in the ghost town.
Places to stay
- Campground
Campground · Canyon
Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Camping in the second-largest canyon in the US, with red rock walls.
- Campground
Campground · KarnackHidden gem
Caddo Lake State Park
Paddle between bald cypress and Spanish moss on a bayou-like lake.
- Campground
Campground · Del RioHidden gem
Devils River State Natural Area (Dan A. Hughes Unit)
Remote, reservation-only access to one of the clearest rivers in Texas.
- Campground
Campground · Concan
Garner State Park
Frio River campground with swimming, tubing and a summer jukebox dance.
Campground · Fort Davis
Davis Mountains State Park and Indian Lodge
Camp or sleep in a CCC adobe lodge below the Davis Mountains, 40 minutes from Marfa.
- Campground
Campground · Big Bend National Park
Chisos Basin, Big Bend National Park
High-country campground ringed by cliffs, with the Window trail from the door.
- Campground
Campground · Big Bend National ParkHidden gem
Rio Grande Village Campground
Shady cottonwood campground by the Rio Grande with hot spring access nearby.
Campground · Big Bend National Park
Chisos Basin Campground
Mountain-top basin camp inside Big Bend.
- Campground
Campground · BendHidden gem
Colorado Bend State Park
Hike to 70-foot Gorman Falls, then camp beside the Colorado River.
- Campground
Campground · Needville
Brazos Bend State Park
Alligator-watching and camping on the coastal plain near Houston, plus a Saturday observatory.
- Campground
Campground · Salt FlatHidden gem
Pine Springs Campground, Guadalupe Mountains
Desert-mountain camping at the base of Texas's highest peak.
- Campground
Campground · Big Bend National ParkHidden gem
Cottonwood Campground, Big Bend
Quiet riverside camp near Castolon with cottonwood shade.
- Campground
Campground · Salt FlatHidden gem
Pine Springs Campground
Desert camp at the base of Guadalupe Peak with sunrise views.
Campground · BanderaHidden gem
Hill Country State Natural Area
Primitive backcountry camping in rolling Hill Country, mostly for hikers and riders.
- Campground
Campground · Burnet
Inks Lake State Park
Lakeside camping with granite shores and the Devil's Waterhole swimming spot.
- Campground
Campground · Fort Davis
Davis Mountains State Park
Campsites in cool mountain-desert country, plus an adobe-style CCC lodge.
- Campground
Campground · Padre Island National SeashoreHidden gem
Malaquite Campground
Beach camping on the longest barrier island.
Motel · Marfa
Hotel Paisano
Historic Marfa hotel where the film 'Giant' crew stayed, with courtyard and bar.
Campground · Canyon
Hackberry Campground, Palo Duro Canyon
Camp on the floor of the second largest canyon in the US.
- Motel
Motel · Marathon
Gage Hotel
A 1927 ranch hotel in a tiny town, on the way into Big Bend.
- Campground
Campground · MonahansHidden gem
Monahans Sandhills State Park
Slide down desert dunes on a disc rental, then camp in west Texas.
- Campground
Campground · Corpus Christi
Mustang Island State Park
Beach camping on a Gulf barrier island with 48 water/power sites.
- Campground
Campground · Bastrop
Bastrop State Park
CCC-built cabins and camping in the Lost Pines forest east of Austin.
- Campground
Campground · El PasoHidden gem
Franklin Mountains State Park
Urban wilderness with desert trails and basic camping within El Paso.
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Plan the drive, not just the stops
Roadtrip works out what the drive costs in fuel for your car, splits it into days with the best stops and places to sleep, and finds the cheapest fuel on the way.
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