Texas
Discover Texas
Introduction
Texas is the second-largest American state by both area and population: 268,596 square miles, over 31.7 million people in 2025, 801 miles from the corner of the Panhandle to the mouth of the Rio Grande, and 367 miles of Gulf coast. It borders Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, and Mexico along the Rio Grande, and its landscapes run from the pine forests of the east through the coastal plain, the Hill Country and the Panhandle plains to the Chihuahuan Desert and the mountains of the west, where Guadalupe Peak reaches 8,751 feet. Its economy is the second-largest of any state, $2.8 trillion in 2024, and has led the country in exports since 2002 on oil, gas, chemicals, electronics and aircraft.
Six flags have flown over it: Spain from 1519, France for three years from 1685, Mexico from 1821, the Republic of Texas from 1836 to 1845, the Confederacy, and the United States, which it joined as the 28th state. The Alamo, the Republic, the cattle drives, the Spindletop gusher of 1901 and Mission Control in Houston are the chapters everyone knows; the layers underneath are Tejano, German, Czech, Cajun, Black and, since 2022, a Hispanic plurality. About 40 per cent of Texans are Hispanic, more than a third speak a language other than English at home, and the state has the largest Black population in the country.
For the visitor it is the San Antonio missions and the River Walk, Austin's music and Houston's space centre, the Fort Worth Stockyards and Dallas's museums, brisket and Tex-Mex, the bluebonnets of spring, the bats of summer, and three national parks few Americans have seen: Big Bend on the Rio Grande, the Guadalupe Mountains and the 70-mile beach of Padre Island. Distances are the first fact of a trip, a car the second; the national parks charge $10 to $30, the Alamo is free, and 911 answers everything.
Do I need a visa?
Every visitor needs an approved ESTA or a visa before travelling, by any route; Canadians can usually stay six months without one. Carry your passport as proof of status, and take it to Big Bend if you want to cross to Boquillas.
Do I need a car?
Yes, almost everywhere; the exceptions are the Texas Eagle and Sunset Limited between the big cities, DART in Dallas, METRORail in Houston and CapMetro in Austin. Foreign licences are accepted; get an IDP.
What do the national parks cost?
Big Bend $30 a vehicle for seven days, card only; the Guadalupe Mountains $10 a person; Padre Island $25 a vehicle; the San Antonio Missions free; the Alamo free with a church reservation.
When is the best time?
March and April for wildflowers and the festivals, November to March for Big Bend and the coast; June to September is hot everywhere and the hurricane and tornado seasons overlap in spring and early summer.
How far is it?
Far: 801 miles corner to corner, 880 miles of Interstate 10 alone, and El Paso closer to San Diego than to Houston. Fly between regions.
What is the emergency number?
911.
