The days of being beholden to big-chain hotels are long gone. As tourism has risen, so have creative places to stay. Travelers can go from a bustling city to a small town or from the Gulf Coast beaches to the West Texas mountains without having to book a cookie-cutter double room. Spend the night in a recycled shipping container with farmhouse-chic finishings via Flophouze in Round Top, near the triannual Original Round Top Antiques Fair. Wake up among centuries-old cypress branches at Treehouse Utopia, a series of whimsical elevated escapes tucked into the Texas Hill Country close to a state park and a natural area. In Marfa, settle into a brightly colored, renovated vintage trailer at El Cosmico.
FROM THE COAST to the canyons, there’s going to be even more land for Texans to explore. In 2023, the Texas State Parks system celebrated its 100-year anniversary with the exciting announcement of the upcoming opening of North Texas’ first new state park in 25 years, Palo Pinto Mountains State Park, as well as a billion-dollar fund (overwhelmingly approved by voters) to buy land for future parks and expand existing ones. Currently totaling nearly 600,000 acres, the system includes the second-largest canyon in the country at Palo Duro Canyon State Park, 113-million-year-old fossilized footprints at Dinosaur Valley State Park, and the überpopular tubing waters at Guadalupe River State Park. On the horizon: Five additional sites will be added within the next 15 years.
While Texas’ legacy of quality ’cue remains strongly ingrained in the marbled, fatty ridges of the state’s epochal brisket, young pitmasters are pushing the limits with fresh multicultural perspectives. At Distant Relatives in Austin, owner Damien Brockway infuses the classics with West African flavors, such as his unique chili-vinegar sauce. Houston-based Don Nguyen blends his Texas upbringing and his mother’s Vietnamese recipes in a recurring pop-up, Khói Barbecue, with creations like tender beef-topped pho. Meanwhile, in Fort Worth, Zain Shafi’s Pakistani-inspired Sabar BBQ serves up cumin-crusted smoked lamb ribs.
These days, traditional icehouses—Texas’ original backyard bars/convenience stores—aren’t as easily found as in the past, but there are newly christened watering holes that feel like their doors have been open for decades. They offer the same atmosphere, live music, iced-down ranch waters, and zero fancy-pants attitude. Bring your dog, and grab a street taco at Austin’s Armadillo Den. At Second Rodeo Brewing in the Fort Worth Stockyards, the spirit lives on through folding lawn chairs and daily acoustic sets. Katy Trail Ice House Ranch in Allen, planning to open this year, is the sibling venue of the similarly dubbed Dallas spot.
TEXAS’ WINE region, the second-largest American Viticultural Area, has sneakily relied upon grapes imported from the Napa Valley. But now, there are determined vintners vowing to produce wine solely from fruit grown on their own state’s land. The upshot is unique vinos that don’t, and simply couldn’t, taste like anywhere else. Try a juicy High Plains red at Lost Draw’s latest tasting room in Johnson City, a fruity Hill Country white at Pedernales Cellars in Stonewall, or a cloudy Davis Mountains orange blend from Alta Marfa Winery & Vineyard (owner Ricky Taylor cheekily describes it as “margarita inspired”). Often only a short drive or plane ride away for out-of-towners, the Texas wine country is where you can have a discounted experience compared with traveling to California or Tuscany—but with Lone Star State flair and comforting Southern hospitality. Plus, you certainly couldn’t go right from a vineyard to a honky-tonk in Napa.
There might be fewer cowboys left in Texas, but you will still see plenty of belt buckles and boots—and not just on city dwellers ordering martinis. Entrepreneurial first-generation farmers throughout the state are reimagining land stewardship by pursuing a more creative approach. They’re opening their gates for tours, booking overnight stays, and even founding gelato shops, as lawyer turned wrangler Phil Giglio did with OroBianco Italian Creamery, Texas’ only water buffalo dairy, in Blanco. After raising his herd, Giglio started a retail store selling seasonal gelato flavors made with Texas-grown ingredients and other dairy products. Recently, he opened up another location in Stonewall. Outside Fredericksburg, Taylor Collins and Katie Forrest run Roam Ranch, a regenerative-agriculture bison homestead that hosts deer hunts, workshops, and farm-totable feasts and provides tours by reservation.
The truth is, it will never be as pleasing to grab a book from a generic big-box store as from a charming local spot. The independently owned bookshops of Texas today are delightfully diverse, both in selection and function. In Waxahachie, Paper Leaves Shop has both pages and plants for purchase. In Austin, Vintage Bookstore & Wine Bar serves up pours to sip while perusing. In Houston, Kindred Stories fosters a culturally rich collection of voices.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ROBBIE CAPONETTO; ELIZABETH LAVIN; COURTESY DISTANT RELATIVES
