Best Hikes in Texas

Texas is enormous — 268,000 square miles — and hiking spans from desert canyons in the west to piney woods in the east, Gulf coast prairies in the south, and Hill Country cedar/limestone in the center.

Big Bend National Park: South Rim Trail (14.5 miles)
The premier Big Bend hike — a high-altitude loop along the rim of the Chisos Mountains with views 2,500 feet down to the Chihuahuan Desert and across the Rio Grande into Mexico. The exposed ridgeline sections are spectacular; the creek valleys on the descent harbor Mexican jays and columbines. Best done as an overnight.

Guadalupe Mountains: Guadalupe Peak Trail (8.4 miles)
A strenuous climb to the highest point in Texas through agave, juniper, and pine forest. The exposed summit delivers 360-degree views across the Chihuahuan Desert and the salt flats below. The adjacent El Capitan Trail loops around the iconic limestone escarpment.

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area: Summit Trail
A 0.6-mile trail to the top of the massive pink granite dome near Fredericksburg in the Hill Country. Enchanted Rock is a batholith — exposed ancient granite that formed underground and eroded to the surface. The view from the top surveys 20+ miles of Hill Country. The rock makes creaking and groaning sounds at night as it contracts after cooling — the "enchanted" origin story.

Lost Maples State Natural Area (Vanderpool)
Famous in fall for its bigtooth maple foliage — a rare population of maples isolated in a deep canyon in the southern Hill Country. The 10-mile East-West loop is the most popular; Maple Trail covers the most iconic scenery. The canyon walls and spring-fed streams make this excellent year-round.

Palo Duro Canyon: Lighthouse Trail (6 miles)
Palo Duro Canyon — the "Grand Canyon of Texas" — is 120 miles long and 800 feet deep, carved by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. The Lighthouse Trail leads to an iconic 310-foot rock pillar formation. The layered red, orange, and white canyon walls are extraordinary.