• Pull off a Schlitterbahn four-bagger Texas’ beloved waterpark has four locations: Corpus Christi, Galveston, New Braunfels, and South Padre. Hit all of them and be forever named the “Sultan of Schlitterbahn.”
www.schlitterbahn.com
• Visit Blue Bell Visit the creamery in Brenham, Texas! Stop by for a scoop of ice cream at the Ice Cream Parlor, view how we make ice cream from the Observation Deck & shop in the Country Store.
www.bluebell.com
• Kayak Caddo Lake Kayak through the sprawling labyrinth of lush bayous and wetlands, using the thick cypress trees cased in Spanish moss as a sort of lakeside slalom.
tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/caddo-lake
• Mountain-bike Through Palo Duro Canyon At 120 miles long, 20 miles wide, and 800ft deep, it’s the second-largest canyon in the United States — but it’s only visited by around 300,000 people per year (by comparison, the Grand Canyon gets over 5 million).
www.palodurocanyon.com
• Camp Out At Enchanted Rock The nation’s second-largest granite dome is one of the choicest spots to catch those big and bright Texas stars.
tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/enchanted-rock
• Cliff Jump Into Jacob’s Well Ever seek the thrill of diving headfirst into a 140 ft. natural artesian spring with an extremely dangerous limestone cave below it?
www.visitwimberley.com/jacobswell
• Channel Indiana Jones Texas has plenty of amazing caves, some of which lie just west of the small city of Sonora (which, FYI, is about halfway between San Antonio and Big Bend).
www.cavernsofsonora.com
• Hike Your Way To Gorman Falls We don’t even know why you’d visit Colorado Bend State Park without hiking the 1.5-mile trail to this hidden treasure. Afterward, you’ll be treated to a misty chill and a breathtaking 60ft waterfall cascading into a fern-coated grotto.
tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/colorado-bend
• Do The River Walk Walk, shop, dine, and enjoy the hospitality of our world-renowned urban waterway. Hop aboard a river taxi and discover for yourself why millions visit every year.
www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com
• Cruise Along Route 66 The Texas slice of the legendary Route 66 is 178 miles of ramshackle ghost towns and mighty fine roadside attractions, including Amarillo’s offbeat but totally rad Cadillac Ranch and McLean’s tribute to barbed wire, the Devil’s Rope Museum.
www.barbwiremuseum.com
• Salute The Texas State Capitol Take a guided tour of the 19th-century building… or just take a selfie in front of it.
www.tspb.texas.gov
• Drink Your Way Through The Best Breweries Sip fine craft suds at all 10, then finish with a stop at Spoetzl Brewery. The magical land that pumps out each and every can and bottle of Shiner also happens to be the oldest brewery in the state.
www.shiner.com/brewery/spoetzl-brewery
• Live That Astronaut Life The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center is home to a bunch of great experiences, from International Space Station mission operations to astronaut ice cream. If you take the threehour tram tour (YOLO!), you can even get a peek at the historic mission control room.
spacecenter.org
• Wineries In Fredericksburg The Texas Hill Country is home to over 45 wineries and vineyards and Fredericksburg is the epicenter of the Hill Country wine region.
www.visitfredericksburgtx.com
• Conquer “The Texan King” The iconic Big Texan Steak Ranch harbors the opportunity of a lifetime, and that is the chance to tackle and defeat a colossal, 72oz hunk of Texas beef.
bigtexan.com
• Trip Out In Marfa Experience hyper-reality in this offbeat West Texas town, where you’ll find a minimalistic Prada art installation in the middle of the desert, and mystery lights that have gone unexplained for over half a century.
www.atlasobscura.com/places/prada-marfa
• See The Best Star Show In The State The McDonald Observatory in Davis Mountains State Park hosts “Star Parties,” where you can look through a bunch of telescopes (including the biggest in Texas) to see night sky constellation tours and views of celestial objects.
mcdonaldobservatory.org
• Eat Deep-fried Everything At The State Fair We’re talking things like America’s original Corny Dog, chicken-fried lobster with Champagne gravy, funnel cake, bacon cinnamon rolls, and deep-fried BEER.
www.bigtex.com/
Source: thrillist.com