Don’t Just Drive — Take the Scenic Route

In every region, Texas boasts long and scenic stretches of roadway perfect for those long spring drives (preferably with the top down).

Ranch Roads 335, 336, and 337 are known as “The Twisted Sisters” and meander through the scenic Texas Hill Country outside of Leakey.

Story and photos by Gerald McLeod, retired TCDRS Communications Manager

 

Texas has more than 683,500 lane miles of roads. That’s enough to circle the planet 27.45 times and provide a lifetime of scenic drives. Here are a few ideas for your next road trip:

Central Texas

The Texas Hill Country has a deserved reputation for its unique beauty and scenic highways. The spring wildflower season explodes along the roadways from March through June.

Three ranch-to-market roads in the Hill Country outside of Leakey are known as the Twisted Sisters and are considered one of the best motorcycle rides in America, but they’re good in a car, too (preferably a convertible). The 100-mile loop using Ranch Roads 335, 336 and 337 can easily take four hours. Take your time and enjoy the scenery. One 15-mile stretch has approximately 65 curves.

For an abbreviated version of the Twisted Sisters, drive the spectacular 37 miles on RR337 between Medina and Leakey.

U.S. 90 traverses some of the most rugged country in the state. Travelers once drove their wagons down one side of this canyon wall, crossed the river, and then climbed up on the other side. Today, the Pecos High Bridge is the highest highway bridge in the state, allowing crossings 273 feet above the water. Follow the highway west to find Langtry, home of Judge Roy Bean’s Law West of the Pecos Saloon.

 

North Texas

In the Texas Panhandle, the tabletop-flat Llano Estacado drops off into the multi-colored canyons that also form Palo Duro Canyon, the Grand Canyon of Texas.

TX 207 runs 48 miles between Silverton and Claude through colorful canyons. Much of this land was or is part of the historic JA Ranch. A picnic area south of the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River offers a beautiful view.

East Texas

Drive the 41 miles between Lumberton and Woodville on US287 through the biodiverse, 113,000-acre Big Thicket National Preserve.

 

For a completely different landscape, head to East Texas, where towering pine trees create the canyon walls lining the highways. Texas has four national forests and five state forests, each with its own scenic byways.

No single highway can compete for historic significance and beauty with El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail, or the King’s Highway of Texas, which roughly follows TX21. Today, the road is known as the Old San Antonio Road and travels almost 300 miles to the Louisiana border. The northern 100 miles from Crockett to Toledo Bend Reservoir are some of the most beautiful.

Texas