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Santa Elena Canyon

WTDO · TEXAS FIELD GUIDE

Desert dawn. Mission history. Open Gulf.

Texas asks for chapters. A Big Bend morning and a Padre Island evening belong on different trips; that is part of the adventure.

Photo: NPS / B. Trester · NPS source ↗
TX

The way in

Choose a feeling, then follow it.

Texas asks for chapters. A Big Bend morning and a Padre Island evening belong on different trips; that is part of the adventure. Connect a San Antonio food and culture day to the Missions, or build a separate Austin, Houston, or Dallas city break. Explore more local ideas ↗

Tap a scene

Four or five stories. One state.

Each photo leads to a full guide. Choose one now; the others can wait for another trip.

Top of the Lost Mine Trail
01 / 5

Big Bend

Chisos at sunrise. River by evening.

Start in one district and build driving time into the day.

Explore this place →Photo: NPS / B. Trester · NPS source ↗

Choose a direction

Tap a place on the map.

Every marker opens a different story. Switch to snowfall to compare the two NOAA climate stations.

Big Bend1Guadalupe Mountains2San Antonio Missions3Padre Island4LBJ Hill Country5Dallas FAA station: 1.7 inches average annual snowfall1Amarillo: 17.2 inches average annual snowfall2

Outline: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 cartographic boundary files. Points show guide starting areas and NOAA stations.

Snow markers compare station normals only. They are not a statewide snow cover or forecast map.

NOAA 1991–2020 · monthly normals

What does the year feel like?

Pick a station, then switch between temperature, rain, and snowfall. Mountains and cities can feel like different states.

Dallas FAA station · average temperatureMonthly mean °F
NOAA station data ↗
Show all 12 monthly values
Dallas FAA station · monthly mean temperature (°F)
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Value47.85259.667.175.483.387.387.380.169.157.849.5

Normal = 1991–2020 average at the named NOAA station. Snowfall is new snow over a month, not snow currently on the ground. A blank NOAA snow series is shown as unavailable, never as zero. See current NOAA snow depth ↗

A reason to return

What would you do this time of year?

Seasonal starting points, not event dates. The official calendar stays current as the year changes.

FALL / TEXAS

Fall · revisit western parks as heat eases.

See this year's events and dates ↗

A story worth understanding

The place has a past.

San Antonio Missions has been a center of community since the early 1700s; NPS interprets the region’s cultural changes and power as well as its architecture.

Read the NPS interpretation ↗

Your way through Texas

One good idea can become a whole trip.

Tell WTDO when you are going and what excites you. Start free and keep the route flexible.

Plan Texas free
ON THE WATER

Go from land to water.

Start with the departure area, then check the port or operator for current dates and ships.

Your next good stop.

Find published places to eat, stay, explore or rent something for the day. Own a business? Add your details and verify your business contact; paid promotion is optional.