Destinations in Texas
15 destinations to explore
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
Potter County, Texas
13,000 years ago, Alibates Flint was used by mammoth hunters as a source of flint for tools. Learn how important this site was to the survival, commerce, and culture of the people of the High Plains.
Amistad National Recreation Area
Del Rio, Texas
An oasis in the desert, Amistad National Recreation Area consists of the US portion of the International Amistad Reservoir. Amistad, a Spanish word meaning "friendship," is known for excellent water-based recreation, camping, hiking, and rich cultural history dating back nearly 5,000 years. Amistad is also home to a wide variety of plant and animal life both above and below the water.
Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park, Texas
There is a place in Far West Texas where night skies are dark as coal and rivers carve temple-like canyons in ancient limestone. Here, at the end of the road, hundreds of bird species take refuge in a solitary mountain range surrounded by weather-beaten desert. Tenacious cactus bloom in sublime southwestern sun, and species diversity is the best in the country. This magical place is Big Bend...
Big Thicket National Preserve
Kountze, Texas
Life of all types abounds in the Big Thicket. This national preserve protects the incredible diversity of life found where multiple habitats meet in southeast Texas. Hiking trails and waterways meander through nine different ecosystems, from longleaf pine forests to cypress-lined bayous. It is a place of discovery, a place to wander and explore, a place to marvel at the richness of nature.
Blackwell School National Historic Site
Marfa, Texas
Written by prejudice rather than law, the story of the Blackwell School is one of “separate but equal” education for Mexican and Mexican American citizens of Marfa, Texas. Built in 1909, the school serves as a significant example of how racism and cultural disparity dominated education and social systems in the United States during this period of de facto segregation from 1889-1965.
Chamizal National Memorial
El Paso, Texas
Chamizal is more than just an urban park to recreate or enjoy a quiet afternoon. These grounds are a reminder of the harmonious settlement of a 100-year boundary dispute between the United States and Mexico. We celebrate the cultures of the borderlands to promote the same mutual respect that helped to diplomatically resolve an international disagreement.
Fort Davis National Historic Site
Fort Davis, Texas
Fort Davis is one of the best surviving examples of an Indian Wars' frontier military post in the Southwest. From 1854 to 1891, Fort Davis was strategically located to protect emigrants, mail coaches, and freight wagons on the Trans-Pecos portion of the San Antonio-El Paso Road and on the Chihuahua Trail.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Salt Flat, Texas
Come experience mountains and canyons, desert and dunes, night skies and spectacular vistas within a place unlike any other. Guadalupe Mountains National Park protects the world's most extensive Permian fossil reef, the four highest peaks in Texas, an environmentally diverse collection of flora and fauna, and the stories of lives shaped through conflict, cooperation and survival.
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
Fritch, Texas
Set within the wide‑open Texas Plains, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area offers a peaceful retreat in the heart of rugged grasslands. Over thousands of years, the Canadian River carved dramatic 200‑foot canyons—known as breaks—that now frame the lake in striking layers of color and texture. These quiet coves sustain an unexpectedly rich array of life, providing seven distinct habitats.
Lyndon B Johnson National Historical Park
Johnson City, Texas
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park tells the story of our 36th president beginning with his ancestors until his final resting place on his beloved LBJ Ranch. This entire "circle of life" gives the visitor a unique perspective into one of America's most noteworthy citizens by providing the most complete picture of any American president.
Padre Island National Seashore
Corpus Christi, Texas
Protecting sixty-six miles of wild coastline along the Gulf of America, the narrow barrier island is home to one of the last intact coastal prairie habitats in the United States. Along the hypersaline Laguna Madre, tidal mud flats teem with life. Native Americans, Spanish explorers and cattle ranchers have walked along its shores. Padre Island National Seashore is waiting to be rediscovered.
Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park
Brownsville, Texas
On May 8, 1846, U.S. and Mexican troops clashed on the prairie of Palo Alto. The battle was the first in a two-year long war that changed the map of North America. Although the two countries have developed strong bonds and friendly ties since the war ended in 1848, these neighbors continue to contend with the legacy of the war.
Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River
Big Bend National Park, Texas
For 196 miles, this free-flowing stretch of the Rio Grande winds its way through desert expanses and stunning canyons of stratified rock. For the well prepared, an extended float trip provides opportunities to explore the most remote corner of Texas and experience the ultimate in solitude, self-reliance, and immersion in natural soundscapes.
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
San Antonio, Texas
Welcome to San Antonio Missions, a National Park Service site and the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas. Each mission in the park is a center of community and has been since the early 1700s. They changed life in this region, introducing new technologies while enforcing new cultural guidelines. As you visit, reflect on change, culture, power, and how people have used the land.
Waco Mammoth National Monument
Waco, Texas
Standing as tall as 14 feet and weighing 20,000 pounds, Columbian mammoths roamed across what is present-day Texas thousands of years ago. Today, the fossil specimens represent the nation's first and only recorded evidence of a nursery herd of ice age Columbian mammoths.