Top 5 Texas natural wonders

Visitors and native Texans alike have plenty to choose from when it comes to seeing nature’s beauty. These five natural wonders are among the most camera-ready places to be.

By Rebecca L. Bennett

Every year, Big 7 Travel conducts a study to determine the “Most Instagrammable” state of the year. Texas won this honor for 2019, amassing an overall score of 97.3% and topping its closest competitors nearly 3%.

These five natural Texas wonders certainly played a role in these rankings: 

 

Padre Island National Seashore

There’s something magical about walking along Padre Island National Seashore’s Malaquite Beach at sunrise, birdwatching in the vast marshy grasslands beyond the barrier dunes, or witnessing a sea turtle hatchling release.

 

Colorado Bend State Park: Gorman Falls

Texas has no lack of stunning waterfalls, but the lush and layered 70-foot spectacle of Gorman Falls in Colorado Bend State Park looks like something straight out of Jurassic Park. 

 

Big Thicket National Preserve

A national and state gem, East Texas’ Big Thicket National Preserve protects more than 112,000 acres of swamps, forests and wetlands, as well as numerous endangered and threatened species — including four of the five types of carnivorous plants that grow in the U.S. The park is best explored via its 40 miles of hiking trails and more than 32 miles of paddling trails.

 

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

As perhaps the Panhandle’s most iconic natural wonder, Palo Duro Canyon State Park is often called the “Grand Canyon of Texas”. Measuring in at 120-miles long, 20-miles wide, and up to 800-feet deep, hoodoo-adorned Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the country. Also notably, the canyon is a reliable place to see Texas horned lizards, which have largely disappeared in most other parts of Texas.

 

Big Bend National Park

Although Guadalupe Mountains National Park deserves recognition as one of Texas’ most gorgeous landscapes, Big Bend National Park is significantly larger and much more remote. Encompassing more than 800,000 acres of some of the most unique and challenging terrain in the nation, Big Bend is simply not for the faint of heart — and that’s why Texans love it. 

 

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