Breathtaking mountains and high-country hikes. Sheer river canyons and winding back roads. Exotic panoramas and star-studded nights.
Adventure in the unspoiled West awaits you in the Texas Mountain Trail Region of Far West Texas. See land as early man saw it, as the Apache and Comanche saw it, as ranching pioneers saw it.
Visit Big Bend National Park, hike the spectacular South Rim Trail. Follow the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach route through Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Visit our charming mountain communities, where cowboys may still go to lunch in town on horseback. Catch a performance at El Paso’s 1930 Plaza Theatre, in the heart of the museum district. Visit adobe missions, still used as churches for local congregations. We invite you to plan your own adventure!
Travel by car, horse, motorcycle, bicycle, RV, or by foot—the scenery and the history is unparalleled. Let the Texas Mountain Trail be your guide to discovery and adventure. Follow the historic 1960s driving route, the original “Texas Mountain Trail” to state and national parks, to the Big Bend of Texas, where the real West is still alive and ready for you to discover!
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Look no further than the rugged land of the Texas Mountain Trail Region, and you’ll see our history. Our state and national parks—“bucket list” destinations for most geologists—reveal a past of more than 600 million years of Paleozoic deep marine sediments, volcanic remnants, and the bending, folding, and uplifting of land. Dinosaurs roamed our land some 248 million years ago, and Big Bend National Park is one of the world’s paleontological jewels of the world.
In our Chihuahuan Desert climate, where there is water, there is the history of man. The Rio Grande gradually carved a deep notch in the mountains, creating a natural river crossing the Spanish explorers named El Paso del Norte. The river also created glorious canyons in Big Bend National Park. Throughout the centuries, the climate grew hotter and the land drier. To survive, wildlife and prehistoric hunter-gatherers adapted to desert conditions. Later, diverse groups—Native Americans and Spanish missionaries, soldiers and miners, ranchers and railroaders—passed this way in search of wealth, glory and new beginnings.
"The mission of the Texas Mountain Trail Region, a program of the Texas Historical Commission, is to benefit visitors and residents of far west Texas by supporting and facilitating recreational, cultural and educational opportunities that promote responsible economic development through heritage tourism."
Read testimonials about our work!
The Texas Heritage Trails Program (THTP) is the Texas Historical Commission’s (THC) award-winning heritage tourism initiative. This economic development initiative encourages communities, heritage regions, and the state to partner and promote Texas' historic and cultural resources. These successful local preservation efforts, combined with statewide marketing of heritage regions as tourism destinations, increase visitation to cultural and historic sites and bring more dollars to Texas communities. This in turn supports the THC's mission to protect and preserve the state's historic and prehistoric resources for the use, education economic benefit, and enjoyment of present and future generations.
The THTP is based around 10 scenic driving trails created in 1968 by Gov. John Connally and the Texas Highway Department (now the Texas Department of Transportation) as a marketing tool. The trails were established in conjunction with the HemisFair, an international exposition that commemorated the 250th anniversary of the founding of San Antonio.
In 1997, the State Legislature charged the THC to create a statewide heritage tourism program. The THC responded with a program based on local, regional, and state partnerships, centered on the 10 scenic driving trails. These trails serve as the nucleus of 10 heritage regions, and include heritage tourism attractions and communities both on and off the trail.
The program began with the establishment of the Texas Forts Trail Region in 1998. Other heritage regions made a formal application to the program, demonstrating knowledge of area attractions and broad support from organizations and local government. The suite of heritage regions was completed in 2005 with the additions of the Texas Pecos and Hill Country Trail Regions.
The THTP received national recognition with the Preserve America Presidential Award in 2005. This award was given for exemplary accomplishment in the preservation and sustainable use of America's heritage assets, which has enhanced community life while honoring the nation's history. The following year, the program was awarded a Preserve America grant for developing the Heritage Tourism Guidebook and for providing heritage tourism training across the state.
We envision Texas as a place where:
