Check out one of the premier art galleries in the world — the Texas outdoors. Enjoy the architectural majesty of the Lighthouse formation, marvel at fashionably draped cypress trees at Caddo Lake or take in the picturesque beauty of a Hill Country waterfall. Mother Nature is quite the artist.
Photo © Pierce Ingram
Play the Slots
The Grand Canyon of Texas
11450 Park Road 5 | Canyon
$8 park entrance fee
The second-largest canyon in the country lies in the heart of the Texas Panhandle. And while Palo Duro Canyon is best known for the Lighthouse rock formation and the outdoor musical drama Texas, rugged beauty can be found throughout the park.
Hike the 2.72 miles in (and back) to the Lighthouse, the symbol of Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Then snap a selfie. Don’t forget water.
Photo by Chase Fountain / TPWD
Use a GOSH Snapchat filter here! July 8 - 14
Its bark is worse than its bite
The Big Tree
3202 S. Palmetto St. | Rockport
$5 park entrance fee
Standing 44 feet tall with a trunk circumference exceeding 35 feet, the Big Tree at Goose Island State Park is centuries old and is one of the largest (and most famous) live oak trees in Texas — and the nation.
Not any big tree will do — snap a selfie in front of the Big Tree.
Photo by Chase Fountain / TPWD
ROLL ALONG THE RIO GRANDE
The Best View in the World
Barton Warnock Visitor Center | Terlingua
$5 park entrance fee
Among the most spectacular scenic drives in the nation is River Road, a 67-mile stretch of FM 170 that meanders along the southern border of Big Bend Ranch State Park. River Road Vistas author Bill MacLeod claims that it contains “the single best view in the whole world” — at the top of Big Hill overlooking the Santana Basin. While you’re there, explore some of the adjacent hiking trails and scenic overlooks! Big Bend country is amazing.
Snap a selfie from any scenic overlook along FM 170.
Photo by Chase Fountain / TPWD
Get Prehistoric
Walk With the Dinosaurs
1629 Park Rd 59 | Glen Rose
$7 park entrance fee
Millennia ago, dinosaurs walked across Texas, leaving footprints in the mud along the edge of an ancient ocean. Today, you can walk in their tracks in the bed of the Paluxy River. This Jurassic walk is just a short drive from Fort Worth.
Snap a selfie with you standing in a dinosaur footprint.
Photo © Jason Stitt Photography
Be a Moss Boss
Down on the Bayou
245 Park Road 2 | Karnack
$4 park entrance fee
Tucked away among Spanish moss-draped trees, hidden along the bank of Big Cypress Bayou, you’ll find Caddo Lake State Park. Caddo Lake is the largest naturally formed lake in Texas, and people have lived in the area for at least 12,000 years. Enjoy the serenity and the CCC work.
Snap a selfie at the Saw Mill Pond pier on Caddo Lake.
Photo by Chase Fountain / TPWD
Where gravity meets water
Texas Waterfalls
Various locations across Texas
There’s something magical about a waterfall. From small, cascading trickles to the remote Pine Canyon waterfall in Big Bend National Park, Texas is home to hundreds of waterfalls. Some are easily accessible, some are manmade (looking at you, Wichita Falls!) and others run only after a heavy rain. Which is your favorite?
Snap a selfie in front of a Texas waterfall.
