Spring is a season of great optimism. After a long, often cold and dreary winter, the sun is shining, weather is warming, flowers are blooming and everything and everyone is becoming more active. Spring is a popular season to visit Texas. Here are some of the best spring vacation activities available in the Lone Star State.
Six FlagsSpring is probably the best season to visit one of Texas' top theme parks. The spring weather is warm enough to dress light, but still cool enough to make an all-day visit bearable (unlike later in the summer, when intense heat can make park visitors fade late in the day). Texas is home to a number of tremendous theme parks, most notably
Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio and the original Six Flags in Arlington.
As is the case with theme parks, spring affords ideal weather for taking a trip to a Texas zoo. Many zoos in Texas are quite expansive and spring's mild weather makes for a comfortable day strolling the zoo grounds. From the nationally-acclaimed
Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville to Texas' oldest zoo, the
Dallas Zoo, there are a variety of "traditional" zoos in the Lone Star State. There are also a number of "non-traditional" zoos in Texas, such as the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose and the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch outside San Antonio.
Again, spring's pleasant weather plays a role, but it really is hard to find a better time to attend a festival in Texas than the spring season. It also helps that the
event calendars for the months of March, April and May are loaded with great festivals. Among the highlights during the spring season are the South by Southwest Music Festival, Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, Poteet Strawberry Festival, Fiesta San Antonio, Maifest, Kerrville Folk Festival, and the National Polka Festival.
Spring sees a number of great flower trails and festivals staged across the Lone Star State. Among the most popular of these events are the azalea trails in Tyler, Nacogdoches and Jasper, the Texas Hill Country Wildflower Trail, and the Dogwood Trails Celebration in Palestine. In addition to the organized events, cruising the highways and byways of Texas to view wildflowers is also a popular spring pastime. Without a doubt, the Texas Hill Country and Prairies and Lakes regions are the best areas to view
bluebonnets and other wildflowers blanketing fields and lining roadways.
While the beginning of spring will still be a bit cool for a visit to a water park, as spring wears on the weather will be warming and water parks across Texas will be opening their doors and welcoming visitors looking for a fun way to cool off. The standard for water parks in Texas has been set fairly high by the Schlitterbahn franchise, which has locations in New Braunfels (the original), Galveston (enclosed, climate-controlled and open year around) and South Padre Island. However, the landscape of the state is dotted with water parks of all sizes, all of which are a great way to cool off and have fun as spring turns to summer in Texas.
The wonderful spring weather encourages all kind of outdoor activity and, as luck would have it, there is a myriad of outdoor recreational opportunity available in Texas. Hiking, camping, fishing, birding, surfing, swimming, boating, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, rock climbing.... The list of outdoor activities available in Texas goes on and on. And, the numerous
Texas State Parks found across the state are great launching spots for an outdoor adventure.
