Texas is the second-largest state in America, with 268,000 square miles of territory ranging from East Texas pine forests to West Texas desert to Gulf Coast beaches. Most visitors see Austin, San Antonio, maybe Houston. That covers about 0.01% of the state.
Here are 15 small towns worth a detour.
Marfa Marfa became famous when artist Donald Judd moved here in the 1970s and turned an abandoned Army base into one of the world's great permanent art installations. The Chinati Foundation now houses massive concrete sculptures, Dan Flavin fluorescent light installations, and works by John Chamberlain. The town has about 2,000 residents and an art scene that punches well above its weight.
The Marfa Lights — mysterious glowing orbs visible from a viewing platform east of town — have never been fully explained. Scientists have theories. None of them are satisfying.
Terlingua On the edge of Big Bend National Park, Terlingua is a ghost town that came back to life. The old mercury mining town has been partially restored and now hosts one of the most famous chili cookoffs in America every November. The cemetery is worth a visit — the graves date to the mining era and the stories on the markers are extraordinary.
Palo Duro Canyon The "Grand Canyon of Texas" drops 800 feet into the Llano Estacado near Amarillo. Most Texans have never been. The canyon is 120 miles long and 20 miles wide in places. At sunset, the reds and oranges and purples rival anything in Utah.
Langtry Judge Roy Bean declared himself "the law west of the Pecos" and ran his saloon-courthouse from this tiny town on the Rio Grande. The Jersey Lilly saloon still stands. So does Bean's billiard room. The state maintains it as a visitor center and the story is genuinely wild.
Wimberley In the Hill Country between Austin and San Antonio, Wimberley sits at the confluence of Cypress Creek and the Blanco River. Jacob's Well — a natural swimming hole fed by an artesian spring — opens for swimming in summer and the waiting list fills up fast. The town square has good food and an antique market every first Saturday.
Gruene The oldest dance hall in Texas is in Gruene, a tiny community on the Guadalupe River. Gruene Hall has hosted Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, and most of the Texas music canon. You can swim the river, float in an inner tube, and still catch live music on the weekend.
Marathon Population 430. The Gage Hotel, built in 1927 by a rancher who wanted somewhere to stay when he came to town, has been restored to its original elegance. The Chihuahuan Desert surrounds it on all sides. The stargazing is extraordinary.
Shiner Home of Shiner Bock, one of the most beloved regional beers in America. The Spoetzl Brewery — the oldest independent brewery in Texas — gives free tours Tuesday through Friday. The town of 2,000 is otherwise sleepy, Czech-German, and completely charming.
Jefferson The most unlikely Victorian town in Texas. Jefferson was a major riverport in the 1870s, when the Red River was navigable this far inland. When the railroad bypassed it, the town froze in time. The historic district has more intact 19th-century buildings than anywhere in East Texas.
Lockhart The barbecue capital of Texas, per the Texas Legislature (yes, there's an actual resolution). Lockhart has four legendary barbecue institutions within blocks of each other: Kreuz Market, Smitty's, Black's, and Chisholm Trail. Visiting all four in one day is ambitious but achievable.