Texas is way more than flat, barren land. Try these three hikes in 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.

Enchanted Rock is the second-largest granite batholith in the country. Don’t know what a batholith is? Find out by hiking up one.

From prickly pear desert to verdant gorges, this hike shows off the range of the Lone Star State.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas

The plains meet the bottomlands in this unique ecosystem.

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

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.

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.

Check out our top fall hikes from Texas to Michigan.

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.

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.

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.

Hike 8.9 miles of undulating hills and blackjack oak forest along the mysterious, murky backwater bayous of Lake Texoma.

This gentle 4.8-mile loop rolls through Texas woods and grasslands to a breezy lakeshore.

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.

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.

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.

Cross rolling hills and recovering woodlands on this 13.4-mile, one-way backpacking trip through a sweet slice of East Texas wilderness.

This 6.4-mile loop circles the best scenery in Texas Hill Country: amazing pink rock formations, picturesque ponds, and a giant granite dome.

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.

Walk the edge of a country lake into oak woodlands and long stem prairie on this 5-mile out-and-back.

Best in the cooler months, this easy 6.4-mile hike links creeks, rolling hills, and woodlands in Sam Houston National Forest.

Waterfalls, swimming holes, and shady lunch spots highlight this 10.4-miler, just a short bus ride from downtown.

Escape busy Dallas. This 3.2-mile out-and-back pierces the heart of Cedar Hills State Park and provides a quick getaway into Texas hill country.

Surprise sights--such as a masonry spillway and an elusive armadillo--await on this 5.5-mile loop that encircles Cleburne State Park's Cedar Lake.

Hold onto your pennies! This 4.8-mile loop passes a wishing well en route to a set of refreshing swimming holes in Lost Maples State Park.

Sample the paved hike-and-bike path in Houston's George Bush Park with this flat and easy 4.2-miler that's perfect for a run or a family bike ride.

Hike through three ecological zones in east Texas’s carnivore country.

Climb up to an observation tower atop the migratory-bird crowded shores of Lake Texoma on this easy 0.4-mile interpretive loop in the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge.

Preview the Spring Creek Greenway--and pull up for a sandbar picnic--on this 12-mile paddle that cruises a lazy creek between newly protected shorelines of Montgomery and Harris county parks.

An introduction to Texas' second-largest lake, this 13.25-mile round-trip paddle on Lake Livingston's western shore will have you rubbing elbows with the locals--turtles, snakes and alligators included.

Spot abundant wildlife and wide open vistas from the shores of Lake Texoma on this easy, 3.2-mile lollipop loop in the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge just 90 minutes north of Dallas.

Descend into Closed Canyon's slot for a 1.4-mile round-trip trek from Big Bend's scenic River Road toward the Mexican border and the raging Rio Grande.

Scramble over granite faces, clamber past cacti-peppered rock gardens, and wind your way through Texas Hill Country on this 4.9-mile loop on the south side of Inks Lake State Park.

Circumnavigate a 425-foot monolith on this 4.9-miler that crosses a sandy creek and cruises classic Texas Hill Country west of Austin.

Follow the Colorado River to a shady overlook above Texas Hill Country on this easy, 3.8-mile loop through McKinney Roughs Nature Park.

Explore constant pools in the rock, called huecos, along with rock art and desert views on this hike through the part of the state park open to the public.

Hike 5.75 miles through Palo Duro Canyon State Park where sandstone buttes soar above the Grand Canyon of Texas. The payoff? Front-row sights of the 300-foot-tall spire known as the Lighthouse. Tip: Go on a weekday for quiet trails.

Hike the tallest hills in Dallas.

Hike around White Rock Lake in Dallas's largest park.

Go on a hike, ride, or just stop to smell the flowers at this park just outside of town.

This scenic trek from one end of Lake Bastrop to the other goes just over four miles, through oak and mesquite-covered hills into pine woods, over creeks and along the lake shore.

A quick loop through rocky juniper woods along the highest ridge in this lakeside Hill Country park.

See Enchanted Rock's pink granite dome, one of the most famous landmarks in Texas on this overnight loop and side trip to the 1,825-foot summit.

Trek through wide-open desert and ascend big-view mountains in the still-wild West.

Warm up for hiking season with a mellow escape to a maze of limestone plateaus.

Hike through three ecological zones in east Texas's carnivore country.

Soak up high-desert views amid the Lone Star State's tallest peaks.

Joshua Tree, Zion, and the Guadalupe Mountains are three hike-worthy desert destinations.

This peak lives up to its reputation.