A common gripe about our massive state is its lack of four distinguishable seasons. Sure, the weather might get mild for a spell, but summer and winter seem to exchange their unpleasantries in what feels like a flash. We Texans miss out on the array of reds, oranges, and yellows that bring to mind pumpkin spice lattes, college football, and turtlenecks. When it comes to fall, Texas is no Vermont.
But, thankfully, our diverse state isn’t made up solely of dusty prairies and conifers; there are places where Texans can witness fall foliage, and one doesn’t even have to exit the state’s borders. All it takes is a tank of gas — or even less.
Lost Maples State Natural Area
Lost Maples State Natural Area
An hour northwest of San Antonio on the banks of the Sabinal River rests this natural area in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. The spot is known as an amalgamation of everything welcoming about the Hill Country — majestic limestone bluffs, canyons, grasslands, and a wide range of flora. In early October, the park’s walnuts and sycamores turn a brilliant yellow and orange respectively, creating a surreal landscape when combined with the park’s exposed limestone — a mainstay of the Hill Country. But it’s the somewhat-out-of-place maples that make this one of the Lone Star State’s most unique spots. The park’s maples and oaks turn color in November, which grants this area a sense of fall for a full two months. There’s no better spot in Texas to take in the fall colors.
37221 RM 187, Vanderpool
830.966.3413
Distance: 314 miles
Best time to go: Middle of November
Guadalupe Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains
The state’s other national park, located between Carlsbad and El Paso, is nothing to turn your nose up at. Home to the highest point in Texas, as well as more than 1,000 species of plants, the park also provides fall visitors with an array of changing leaves that produce blasts of bright red, yellow, and orange. If you choose to walk to the park’s highest peak, you’ll witness a diverse collection of walnut, oaks, and desert sumac shrubs. If you’re up for an easier saunter, we highly recommend taking the 2.5-mile stroll down canyon trail — an intermediate hike — which will grant visitors some of the best views of fall foliage.
Salt Flat
915.828.3251
Distance: 485 miles
Best time to go: Late October
Caddo Lake State Park
Caddo Lake State Park
A bayou fall experience, Caddo Lake State Park — located northeast of Marshall near the Texas, Louisiana border — provides visitors a palette of brilliant copper leaves from its hoard of cypress trees (some over 400 years old) hanging over Mill Pond. The sight in mid-November is an unmistakably East Texas encounter. Nearby Daingerfield State Park, located just north of Lake O’ the Pines and just a hop and a skip from Caddo Lake, offers an even more diverse lineup of sweet gum, oak, and more cypress. While there, we also recommend renting a kayak and paddling along the brilliant lake, where you’ll encounter magnificent views of the area’s distinct flora.
245 Park Road, Karnack
903.679.3351
Distance: 200 miles
Best time to go: Middle of November
Tyler State Park
There are parts of Tyler State Park where you’ll undoubtedly do a doubletake to make sure you’re still in Texas. There are snapshots of this park will make one swear they’re among the Catskills in New York. The park’s centerpiece — a 65-acre pristine spring-fed lake — offers beautiful reflections of the dense fall foliage, which includes a sampling of sweet gum, maple, dogwood, sassafras, hickory, sumac, and oak. This diversity will make one dizzy with bright yellows, reds, and oranges.
789 Park Road, Tyler
903.597.5338
Distance: 129 miles
Best time to go: Late November
Dean Fikar dfikar - stock.adobe.com
Moon Bridge in the Japanese Gardens
Fort Worth Japanese Garden
Fort Worth Japanese Garden
No, you don’t have to leave the city limits to witness the brilliance of fall foliage. But you will have to pay the new $12 admission fee to enter the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. Starting in early November, the crop of otherworldly flora begins to turn, and it lasts to the beginning of December. The varied trees turning magnificent reds, oranges, and yellows mingling with the well-manicured hedges and stalks of bamboo make for one of Texas’ most picturesque fall scenes. And all it takes is a trip down University Drive.
3400 Japanese Garden Blvd.
817.392.5464
Distance: Backyard
Best time to go: Late November
