National parks

Big Bend is a diverse landscape of Chihuahuan desert, mountains born of volcanos, and a river that has carved three canyons through ancient limestone.

Guadalupe Mountains is the state's "other' national park, home to Texas' tallest peak, rough canyons and sweeping valleys - and it's just down the road from Carlsbad Caverns.

The unspoiled white sand beaches of Padre Island National Seashore stretch 70 miles along the South Texas coast. Behind the them lie tall dunes speckled with flowers, a vast coastal prairie and grassy, tidal flats that front on the Laguna Madre. In the summer, waves of endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs.