Quick getaways for spring break
So you canceled that spring break flight to the beach or ski slopes or to visit family. There are tumbleweeds at the rodeo, and you’re trying to avoid large groups of people. Luckily, you’ll find plenty of drivable adventures, especially of the outdoor variety, waiting across the state and in nearby Louisiana. Here are 14 ideas.
Take a driving tour of the
wildflowers. Bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, buttercups and pink evening primrose are blooming early this year in some spots. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin is a good destination; check its website wildflower.org/texas for routes in all regions of the state.
Explore Palo Duro Canyon, southeast of Amarillo, the second-largest canyon system in the United States, reaching 800 feet deep. Called the Grand Canyon of Texas, it’s 120 miles long and 20 miles wide, so plenty of space for everyone.
Step out onto Katy Prairie Conservancy’s Matt Cook Memorial Wildlife Viewing
Platform, which overlooks a lake south of Hockley and has lots of cool migrating waterfowl this time of year.
Visit our ecological heritage at Pasadena’s Armand
Bayou Nature Center, the largest urban wilderness preserve in North America. You’ll see bison, alligators, snakes, eagles, osprey and other wildlife in the three ecosystems — coastal tall grass prairie, Armand Bayou stream and coastal flatwood forest — that comprise its 2,500 acres.
Go birding on Bolivar.
While the Rockport/Fulton area gets all the attention this time of year during the last days of the whooping crane’s winter migration, other parts of the Texas coast are welcoming new guests. The roseate spoonbills are flocking to the rookery at High Island. They’re loud and lovely, and easily visible with the naked eye but better seen through a lens. The rookery has lovely little trails and also offers an opportunity to visit Bolivar Peninsula. The area works as both a day trip and a visit across a few days.
Canoe East Texas’ Caddo
Lake, with its mesmerizing cypress trees draped in Spanish moss. You’ll see a variety of wildlife, from great egrets to eagles to alligators.
Go wild at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge in
Chambers County. The 34,000-acre refuge by East Galveston Bay envelops grasslands, marshes, ponds, oak trees and legions of birds. Species such as snowy egrets, tri-colored herons, white ibises and roseate spoonbills reside all year. Migratory songbirds such as yellow warblers and Baltimore orioles abound in spring.
Climb Enchanted Rock.
The mystical pink granite dome near Fredericksburg rises more than 425 feet in the Hill Country. The Tonkawa Indians believed Enchanted
Rock, which creaks and groans as it contracts on cool nights, was inhabited by spirits.
Make the trek to
West Texas. The 10hour drive from Houston to Big Bend National Park is pretty enough with pockets of paintbrush, phlox and bluebonnets along Interstate 10, but the park’s trails will take your breath away this spring. A few ideas while you’re there: Camp under the stars near the Davis Mountains and hike through the cliffs of Santa Elena Canyon, which soar some 1,500 feet high as the canyon runs along the legendary Rio Grande River. Across Terlingua Creek, a short trail leads into the canyon up to a breathtaking vista. Have fourth graders in your family? They get free entry into national parks with the Every Kid Outdoors pass (everykidoutdoors.gov).
Drive the Creole Nature Trail in southwest Louisiana. The 180-mile self-drive route includes 26 miles of beaches and wildlife refuges with boardwalks where you can see alligators and other creatures. For a rich experience, there’s a tour app that you can download to your smartphone, or stop by the Lake Charles Visitors Bureau, 1205 N. Lakeshore, for a physical map. The 5,000square-foot Creole Nature Trail Adventure Point, which has familyfriendly interactive displays, is at 2740 Ruth, Sulphur; creolenaturetrail.org. Watching a full moon rise somewhere on the Llano Estacado in the High Plains, such as Caprock Canyons State Park southeast of Amarillo.
Commune with nature at Big Thicket National Preserve in
Kountze. The preserve is a seven-county network of 112,250 acres supporting forests, creeks and rivers. Diverse plant communities from cacti to cypress swamps attract diverse birds, including breeding migratory songbirds such as hooded warblers and yellowthroated vireos. Highly sought birds are resident brown-headed nuthatches, Bachman’s sparrows and endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers.
Drop a line in the
water. Fishing is a bonding activity, whether you catch something or not. Countless charter companies offer trips along the Gulf Coast, in Galveston, Rockport and beyond, and you can even fish in stocked local lakes such as Mary Jo Peckham Park in Katy and Community Park Lake in Missouri City. Newbie? Check the Texas Parks & Wildlife website for a calendar of classes; tpwd.texas.gov.
Jaunt to Brazos Bend State Park in
Needville. The 5,000acre park along the Brazos River bristles with birds among woodlands, lakes and prairies. Resident birds include teal, egrets, herons, hawks, woodpeckers and songbirds. Bald eagles nesting nearby soar overhead, as gators lurk just below the water.