Texas is basically its own country, so I pulled together the 16 spots that show it off best — missions and river walks, space rockets, canyon country, and swimming holes I keep saving for a future road trip.
Map
The most famous mission in America, right in downtown San Antonio. Small, sacred, and essential Texas history.
The Alamo
Miles of cypress-lined walkways one level below the street, packed with restaurants and boat rides.
San Antonio River Walk
Remote desert, the Rio Grande, and some of the darkest night skies in the country. Texas at its wildest.
Big Bend National Park
NASA's real mission control history: astronaut training tours and a Saturn V rocket you can walk under.
Space Center Houston
The JFK story told from the exact floor and window. Heavy, careful, and gripping.
The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
Twice-daily cattle drives down a brick street, honky-tonks, and the world's largest honky-tonk at Billy Bob's.
Fort Worth Stockyards
66 miles of wild, undeveloped beach — the longest stretch of barrier island shoreline left in the world.
Padre Island National Seashore
A collapsed grotto with a 50-foot waterfall pouring into jade-green water. Reservations needed and worth it.
Hamilton Pool Preserve
A giant pink granite dome you can hike to the top of for Hill Country views that go forever.
Enchanted Rock State Natural Area
Bigger than the U.S. Capitol and built from pink granite. Free tours in the heart of Austin.
Texas State Capitol
Austin's beloved spring-fed pool, 68 degrees year-round, right in Zilker Park.
Barton Springs Pool
Ten Cadillacs buried nose-down in a field outside Amarillo. Bring a spray can and leave your mark.
Cadillac Ranch
The second-largest canyon in America, hiding in the Panhandle. The Grand Canyon's Texas cousin.
Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Home to Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at 8,751 feet.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
A lone Prada store sculpture in the middle of the West Texas desert. The most surreal photo stop in the state.
Prada Marfa
German-settled Hill Country town with wineries, peach orchards, and a main street made for strolling.
