Downtown Drive

Reconnect Austin's radical proposal would sink I-35 underground

By Jonathan Rienstra

06.28.13 | 9:45 am

As we who have trekked through Austin on a Friday afternoon know, Interstate 35 is a miserable necessity that can turn the entire city into a glorified parking lot. It's been so bad that for th ...

Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park

Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park

6614 Blue Bluff Rd.
Austin, TX None

Sight-seeing

Austin birders lose it over the Fork-tailed Flycatcher

By Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

12.31.12 | 9:30 am

A rare bird sighting near Austin, Texas has birders flocking to McKinney Falls State Park just south of Austin. The Fork-tailed Flycatcher usually camps out in Central and South America in the ...

Endangered birds

Whoop for Whoopers: A great Texas comeback story

By Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

12.23.12 | 1:29 pm

Texas is one of the few places in the United States where you can see the endangered whooping crane. These 5-foot tall birds — North America’s tallest — fly all the way from Canad ...

Christmas in Texas

Celebrate La Posada in the Parks

By Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

12.08.12 | 4:11 pm

The first Christmas celebration in Mexico took place in 1538 when missionaries brought Roman Catholicism to the new continent. Since then, the story of La Posada, where Joseph and Mary look for a p ...

The great outdoors

Conservation with teeth! Alligator gar in the water

By Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

10.28.12 | 1:00 pm

The are ugly, a pre-historic looking creature from the deep that has gotten a bad rap over the years. But as more anglers discover the merits of the alligator gar, a meaty species with sharp teeth, ...

Funding the great outdoors

Restoring Texas outdoors: Conservation for all Texans

By Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

09.29.12 | 4:03 pm

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Wildlife Sport Fish Restoration Program. It's a program responsible for almost every important conservation achievement in Texas since 1937. Toda ...

Parks and recreation

Replanting Bastrop State Park: A million trees coming back with Arbor Day Foundation help

By Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

09.02.12 | 3:00 pm

With the one-year anniversary of the most destructive wildfire in Texas history coming up, state agencies along with the Arbor Day Foundation launched the Lost Pines Forest Recovery Campaign with t ...

Loving the outdoors

The Texas Outdoor Family program, founded by a Brit on a mission to get Texans outside

By Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

08.18.12 | 2:07 pm

He may not sound like he’s from around here, but Chris Holmes couldn’t be more proud of Texas State Parks than any native born resident. As the Director of Interpretations for Texas Sta ...

secret gardens

Thought you knew everything about Austin? Bet you didn't know about these parks or their history

By Nicole Basham

07.22.12 | 11:33 am

As a parent, it’s easy to get stuck in the same old routine. Central Market playscape, anyone? Summer gives us a good excuse to explore new parts of the city and discover new parks. For ...