Robert Crouch knows the difference a quarter of an inch of elevation can make.

He carries a pressure gauge, a level and an assortment of other tools in his belt to help measure the incline of ramps and the weight of doors as he inspects the halls of the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, where he works as a maintenance specialist. Since he received specialized training in Americans with Disabilities Act standards several years back, Crouch has been tasked with facility compliance at TFFC, a role he takes in earnest. After all, a simple gap in the sidewalk can determine whether or not a person is able to get where they want to go. As the nearly-30-year-old TFFC facility undergoes renovations, Crouch is determined to go above and beyond the minimum standards to make sure the facility is the most accessible it can be when it reopens later this year.

Crouch's task is a difficult one, but one of utmost importance within the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. For state park users like Julie Maloukis, features like accessible parking spots and campsites have allowed her to make many important memories with her family over the years.

“A lot of times, people with disabilities are left in the house, on the concrete and separate from their friends,” she says. “Because of accessible features at Inks Lake (my local state park) I've been able to share so many memories by the campfire and on trails with my friends and family.”

Accessibility is set to become even more important in years to come. Approximately one in four adults in Texas has a disability, and that number will continue to rise as our population ages. That means it's likely you will be affected by disability at some point in your life, whether you experience a disability yourself or through caring for a loved one. Planning, designing and maintaining accessible spaces can be challenging because disability can take a long list of different forms — mobility differences, depression and anxiety, vision or hearing impairment, and more - meaning there is no one-size-fits-all solution for accessibility. It can also be tough to find creative solutions for inclusivity in some inherently inaccessible outdoor spaces like root-filled trails and rocky scrambles.

To meet this growing need, TPWD is investing in accessible infrastructure that goes beyond facilities, from sensory-friendly programs to loaner, all-terrain wheelchairs and enhanced customer service. “Accessibility is part of our shared culture, and I've yet to meet an employee that doesn't agree,” says Jessica Burke, accessibility manager at TPWD. “Between the park reservation staff who answer the phones, the aquatic biologists who take schoolchildren on tours of fish hatcheries and the maintenance staff out there every day ensuring our spaces stay accessible, we are all working together to reduce barriers and provide modifications.”

“When we say our parks and facilities are for all, we really mean all. Keeping that promise is what gets me out of bed every morning.”

Decisions about access and upgrades are not left just to agency employees. The disability community uses the phrase “nothing about us without us” when championing social and environmental changes. “You have to think carefully about how someone uses a feature,” says Maloukis, who is also a member of TPWD's Accessibility Advisory Committee. The committee is composed of members from the disability community and professionals engaged in advancing outdoor access for people with disabilities. “Oftentimes, facilities are built exactly to the standard, but they still aren't usable — like an accessible shower with a great ADA-standard bench, but the user can't reach the faucet from the bench, or, even worse, the water doesn't reach the bench at all,” Maloukis says. “You don't need to pave the park to make it accessible, but you do need to provide various ways for people with different limitations to access the activities and facilities. In the process, you'll probably make the park better overall.”

Last year, in partnership with the committee, the TPWD accessibility team wrapped up a project evaluating all facilities across the TPWD system — every bathroom, campsite, parking lot, etc. — to create a comprehensive database of every facility barrier. Using these data, the agency has developed an Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan, which serves as a roadmap to bring existing facilities and programs above and beyond compliance standards using industry best practices.

“When we say our parks and facilities are for all, we really mean all,” says Crouch. “Keeping that promise is what gets me out of bed every morning.”

To get you started on your journey of discovering accessible activities outside, we've listed several highlights from across the state.

Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park

No matter what your level of mobility, you can enjoy one of the top birding destinations in the United States by loading up on the park's tram. In the warmer months, between May and September, the tram runs Thursday through Sunday (subject to change in extreme heat). Once it cools down, between October and April, the tram runs every day. On days when the tram is running, rides begin every hour on the hour starting at 9 a.m. with the last departure at 4 p.m.Park guests who use wheelchairs can access the tram using ramps and the designated wheelchair space.

Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area

This 3,757-acre state natural area set to open in late 2026 will feature camping, hiking and biking. One of the main features of the Hill Country park will be an overlook boardwalk — a scenic walkway designed with accessibility in mind. The elevated steel pathway will spiral for 150 feet around a 20,000-gallon cistern to a point 15 feet in the air. Although the original design had a spiral staircase as well, the design was later modified to remove the stairs so that all visitors can share the same overlook experience. Future experiences at the park are enhanced by the Accessibility Advisory Committee's review and feedback on park plans - a process that will also improve other new state parks and natural areas.

Lost Maples State Natural Area

A new feature at Lost Maples will allow visitors with colorblindness to experience the fiery colors of changing leaves as fall washes over the park. The state natural area has installed a specially adapted binocular viewing station that uses “notch band filters” to alter the wavelengths of specific light frequencies and make certain colors more vivid. This will greatly enhance the experience of many guests. One out of every 12 men and one in 200 women are colorblind, and the predominant form of colorblindness affects the red/green spectrum of light that defines fall foliage. Fall colors just got a lot more exciting! Lost Maples isn't the only park to install these scopes. Scopes will be installed at seven state parks or state natural areas in the coming years.

Inks Lake State Park

Julie Maloukis has had her share of adventure at this Hill Country state park over the years. Even as her mobility challenges have changed, she's found that she has always been able to easily enter the buildings, navigate the wide and uncluttered halls of the park store, and camp in several accessible campsites and cabins. Lately, Maloukis, who uses a wheelchair, has been frequenting the park's new adaptive Kayak Transfer Bench and Chariot to more easily get out of her chair and on the water. But that's not the only accessible feature at Inks Lake. The park hosts an annual accessibility event, Fun For All, featuring a wheelchair-accessible archery range with adaptive equipment. Of the park's eight hunting blinds, three are accessible with a phone call in advance of drawn hunt opportunities. The park recently lowered rails on its fishing piers and acquired adaptable fishing gear. Inks Lake staff are also working on trail updates to enhance accessibility on the Pecan Flats Trail.

Sea Center Texas

This 76-acre facility includes a visitor center with aquariums, exhibits on Texas marine life, the largest red drum hatchery in the world, 36 one-acre fish culture ponds, an outdoor wetland exhibit and a youth fishing pond. The entire 15,000-square-foot visitors center is wheelchair-accessible, as are the docks on the fishing pond. Sea Center Texas is home to an annual Special Olympics fishing tournament. Binoculars, a wheelchair and walker are available for use on a first-come, first-served basis. Additionally, Sea Center Texas is part of a pilot program through the Texas Technology Access Program that provides a loaner library of accessible gear, including adaptive fishing gear that is available during special events.

Sea Rim State Park

According to State Parks Director Rodney Franklin, trails are the most used and requested park amenity at Texas state parks. Thanks to a number of accessible trails across the parks system — including at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, Brazos Bend State Park and Lake Somerville State Park — park guests with disabilities or mobility challenges can also enjoy these popular park features. At Sea Rim State Park, the nearly three-quarter-mile Gambusia Nature Trail Boardwalk is a wheelchair-accessible wooden walkway that offers visitors the chance to traverse over the coastal wetlands. From this vantage, they can watch for hundreds of migratory bird species for which the park is famous — and maybe spy an American alligator in the process.

Hueco Tanks State Park

A new piece of equipment at Hueco Tanks State Park will allow park visitors with limited mobility to see areas of the park they could not before. The Action Trackchair, the first of a growing fleet in the Texas state park system, enables access to steep, uneven or other challenging surfaces with its large, rubber conveyor belts that surround a wide base of wheels. The chair can be controlled by the person using it or an assistant using an attached controller. The park allows visitors to use this new piece of equipment on guided tours of the historic ranch roads that encircle portions of West Mountain.

In addition to the Action Trackchair, the park also has an all-terrain manual-powered GRIT Freedom Chair, which increases access to the trails on the self-guided North Mountain trails and roads.

GRIT Freedom Chairs, beach wheelchairs and motorized off-road chairs can be found across the state by visiting the Texas state parks website.

Ray Roberts Lake State Park

In 2024, the park installed two universally accessible beach mats in the swimming areas. The mats extend from the parking lot sidewalks down to the waterline. The new feature enables park patrons to access the beach using their regular, daily mobility devices such as walkers and wheelchairs. Ordinarily, the thin wheels on regular wheelchairs would get stuck in the sand, but the mats provide a smooth surface to roll over for a fun and stress-free day at the beach.

Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center

The premier fisheries outreach and educational complex in East Texas is undergoing a complete renovation and is set to reopen this year. The upgrades include completely rebuilt fishing docks with enhanced accessibility, including lowered handrails and easier slopes. When the site reopens, it will continue tram tours of the fish hatchery ponds — the tram is accessible with its built-in, accessible ramp that can accommodate wheelchair users. The facility renovation has incorporated accessibility throughout all planning and upgrade efforts, including assisted listening devices for the dive theater.

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