With teams like the legendary Dallas Cowboys and the 2006-2007 NBA Champion San Antonio spurs, Texas is famous for its spectator sports, but when it comes to getting in on the action, particularly in the great outdoors, the state may not be top of mind. Tenacious is the perception of Texas as unrelentingly flat and arid, with an outdoor recreational menu to match. Yet from birding and golf to enchanted rocks and exotic safaris, the uninitiated have much to discover.
Texas Edens? Yes, in the eastern Piney Woods and in the Hill Country, likened by poet Robert Frost to a Westernized New England. Water? River walks, ideal for alfresco strolls, abound, with abundant aquatic adventures besides.
From El Paso to Texarkana and the Panhandle to Brownsville, Texas has 267,000 square miles of surprises.
Walks on the Wild Side
Billed as “one of the most spectacular convergences of birds on Earth,” the Lower Rio Grande Valley in deepest South Texas is home to the World Birding Center, migratory stop for some 500 bird species and nearly as many butterflies. Headquartered at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park just west of McAllen, this nine-site network is a global birding draw.
Near Alamo just east of McAllen is the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, one of the top birding sites in the country.
Farther east, Brownsville is another premier wildlife destination. The city hosts the Brownsville International Birding and Nature Festival in February, and its Sabal Palm Audubon Center is a favorite for birders and nature lovers.
Up the coast, Corpus Christi has been the National Audubon Society’s “birdiest” coastal American city for the last six years, with San Antonio taking 2007 inland honors.
Other popular Texas birding destinations include Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and Goose Island, both in Rockport-Fulton; the Habitat, a four-cabin retreat in tiny Lamar; the centrally located town of San Angelo; and Big Thicket National Preserve, situated north of Beaumont.
Meanwhile, Lady Bird Johnson brought blooms to Washington, D.C., and wildflowers to U.S. highways. Her legacy continues to blossom at her namesake Wildflower Center in Austin, a 284-acre garden dedicated to preserving native botany.
Other Lone Star State oases include Austin’s Zilker Botanical Garden, the Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden in Nacogdoches and the acclaimed Municipal Rose Garden in Tyler, “America’s Rose Capital.”
Count Abilene, Fort Worth, El Paso and Houston among Texas cities with great zoos, but you would have to circle the globe to see the 60-plus species at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center near Glen Rose. Originally an exotic wildlife ranch, the facility is now known for conservation and in-captivity breeding, with drive-through tours and overnight stays in a luxury lodge or tents.
Geographic Greats
The Lone Star State’s “flat and arid” stereotype quickly gets swallowed by natural wonders like Palo Duro Canyon. Stretching 120 miles across four Panhandle counties south of Amarillo, this 20-mile-wide, 800-foot-deep chasm is rivaled only by the Grand Canyon in size.
Prehistory paints El Paso’s phenomenal Hueco Tanks Historic site. Rainwater collected by these ancient rock basins sustained Native Americans and travelers for centuries. Millennia-old pictographs decorate the rocks, including animal figures and stunning human faces.
Another sacred location is the centerpiece granite dome in the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area near Fredericksburg. Born of erosion, the 425-foot-high “batholith” is a popular climbing, hiking and star-gazing destination.
Also stellar are the Guadalupe Mountains in Big Bend Country, home of the state’s highest peak and impressive McKittrick Canyon. Big Bend Country is known for its pristine parklands, wide-open skies and outdoor adventures such as hiking. Southeast of Guadalupe Mountains State Park, the University of Texas’ McDonald Observatory offers sweeping vistas of the Davis Mountains, where the well-preserved Fort Davis stands amid volcanic outcroppings. Once a Victorian-era summer resort, this high-altitude getaway is one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2008 “Dozen Distinctive Destinations.”
Between San Antonio and New Braunfels, Natural Bridge Caverns is an outstanding cave, while the Cave Without A Name near Boerne remains an evocative secret.
Watering Holes
Originally supplying water to San Antonio’s famed missions, Paseo Del Rio’s evolution began after a devastating flood in 1921. Architect Robert H.H. Hugman’s 1929 vision of an urban oasis—floodgates and dams included—became today’s sensational River Walk. This three-mile (to be quadrupled in length by 2012) fantasy is among Texas’ most dynamic and invigorating outdoor attractions.
Houston was founded on the Buffalo Bayou, and pontoon tours are the latest way to enjoy this 52-mile waterway.
Meanwhile, San Angelo’s River Walk runs along the Concho River; in Waco, the Brazos River flows under a vintage suspension bridge; and in Wichita Falls, river trails pass the reconstructed 54-foot namesake cascade.
The Trinity River figures in two master urban recreational and environmental plans. Dallas’ Trinity River Corridor Project includes forest development and five “signature” bridges; Fort Worth’s “Trinity River Vision” will expand upon 30 miles of existing riverside trails.
Hill Country brims with lakes, but Lake Caddo in northeast Texas is the state’s only natural lake. Caddo flows into Louisiana, and the Texas side is swampier, but recreational pursuits abound in its mysterious cypress groves, including rides on the Graceful Ghost paddle-wheel steamer.
Austinites cool off in spring-fed Barton Springs, always at 68 degrees, while waterpark enthusiasts retreat to Schlitterbahn Resorts in New Braunfels, Galveston Island and South Padre Island, the world’s longest undeveloped barrier island.
The star of the Gulf Coast’s 624-mile coastline, South Padre was one of Conde Nast Traveler’s “World’s Top 30 Island Beaches” in 2007, and it offers myriad ways for visitors to experience the great outdoors, including sailing, windsurfing, nature walks, birding and wildlife cruises.
