Hike of the Week: Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, TX
Enchanted Rock is the second-largest granite batholith in the country. Don’t know what a batholith is? Find out by hiking up one.
Texas Trails
Texas, located in the southern U.S., is known for its flat, desert-like terrain in the southwest part of the state, where the peaks of the Davis, Guadalupe and Santiago mountains rise up. Along the coastline, bayous, bays and saltwater marshes dot the landscape making for very scenic hiking in Texas.
Texas is home to Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains national parks. With towering mountain mesas, dry Texas deserts and canyons blooming with life, Big Bend National Park pulls in hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
Discover the Secrets of the Texas Hill Country
Just half an hour north of Austin, a constellation of parks clings to the edge of a chain of clear blue lakes. At night, turn your eyes from the Hill Country’s quiet forests to the dark skies above for a stellar show. You’re far from the city now.
Latest in Texas Trails
Explore the Texas Hill Country in Colorado Bend State Park
From prickly pear desert to verdant gorges, this hike shows off the range of the Lone Star State.
The Best Day Hikes in America: Lighthouse Rock
Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
Ply the Bayous in Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas
The plains meet the bottomlands in this unique ecosystem.
Austin, TX: Area B, Lost Maples State Natural Area
Elsewhere in the country, hikers are putting away their boots and packs for the winter, but here in Lost Maples, I’m about to set up a picture-perfect campsite on an outcrop 400 feet above the fall scenery. BY JUDY PAUL
Austin's Best Local Hikes
Upgrade your lunch break; visit a lush state park; and get Big Bend-style views without the drive on three of Austin's best local hikes.
Hike the Four C Trail in Texas
Hiking in Texas? It's true! Go see for yourself as the sun dances through the 100-foot-tall pines in the woods of the Davy Crockett National Forest.
Local Fall Hikes in the Central U.S.
Check out our top fall hikes from Texas to Michigan.
Dallas: Knob Hill Trail
Hike a shadowy creek bottom to carpets of sweet-smelling Texas wildflowers on this 9.6-mile out-and-back featuring a smorgasbord of wild sights. Open to bikes.
Dallas, TX: Dinosaur Valley
Hike near theropod and sauropod dinosaur tracks, then ditch the roadside crowds for some solitude and abundant views of the Paluxy River Valley on this 6.8-mile loop.
Dallas: Ray Roberts Greenbelt Hike
Only 30 minutes from downtown, this 7.4-mile out- and-back runs a shady corridor of bottomland hard- woods teeming with deer, armadillos, and songbirds.
Dallas: Cross Timbers Trail
Hike 8.9 miles of undulating hills and blackjack oak forest along the mysterious, murky backwater bayous of Lake Texoma.
Dallas: Bonham State Park Loop
This gentle 4.8-mile loop rolls through Texas woods and grasslands to a breezy lakeshore.
Dallas: Coyote Run
Discover the river gullies, wildlife, and floral delights of Cooper Lake State Park on this winding 4.7-mile lollipop loop through a towering hardwood forest.
Austin, TX: Lost Pines Hiking Trail
This 7-mile circuit offers a Texas treasure: a chance to hike and camp under an isolated stand of loblolly pines where countless birds nest and sing. Bring a bird ID book.
Austin, TX: South Bull Creek
Explore Austin's very own all-natural waterworld on this 4.4-mile out-and-back to refreshing swimming holes and three waterfalls. Located just minutes from downtown.
Houston: Four C Trail
Cross rolling hills and recovering woodlands on this 13.4-mile, one-way backpacking trip through a sweet slice of East Texas wilderness.
Austin: Enchanted Rock
This 6.4-mile loop circles the best scenery in Texas Hill Country: amazing pink rock formations, picturesque ponds, and a giant granite dome.
Dallas: Dogwood Canyon Trail
Find an oasis of thick cypress groves, lakeside coves, and nesting bald eagles on this 4.8-mile lollipop loop in Ray Roberts Lake State Park.