The Texas Overlanding Guide

Texas is the second-largest state in the country by area, but most of it is privately owned. A long history of ranching, farming, and oil extraction means public land here is the exception, not the rule. The pieces that do exist include one of the largest national parks in the country (Big Bend), four East Texas national forests, and a state park system that operates about 89 individual units. Most multi-day overland trips in Texas center on one of three places: the Hill Country in the center of the state, the Big Bend region along the Mexican border, or the East Texas piney woods.

Texas overlanding destinations and routes

Texas Hill Country

The Texas Hill Country is a region of central Texas on the Edwards Plateau and Balcones Escarpment, west of Austin and north of San Antonio. The published Texas Hill Country overland route covers about 150 miles of mixed dirt and small-town pavement through rolling hills and grasslands. Several rivers, limestone bluffs, and caverns sit along the route.

Inks Lake State Park is the standard developed campground option along the route, with sites for hiking, paddling, and fishing. Overland Trail Guides also publishes a Hill Country tour itinerary for variants.

Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park covers more than 800,000 acres along the Mexican border in southwestern Texas, protecting one of the largest sections of Chihuahuan Desert in the United States. The Rio Grande forms the southern boundary; the Chisos Mountains rise to 7,825 feet at Emory Peak in the center.

Glenn Springs Road skirts the eastern side of the Chisos Mountains.

The park's backcountry road system supports 64 primitive campsites, each with a gravel pad. Most sites require high-clearance vehicles, and several require four-wheel drive. Trailers and RVs are prohibited at primitive sites. Black Gap Road is the technical four-wheel-drive route inside the park. The park publishes a current list of backcountry roads and primitive sites with conditions and access notes.

Big Bend is remote. The nearest major city is Midland (3+ hours), and the nearest fuel and groceries are in Marathon, Alpine, or Terlingua. Cell coverage inside the park is minimal.

Big Bend Ranch State Park

Big Bend Ranch State Park lies west of the national park along the Rio Grande, with about 30 miles of backcountry road access and several primitive campgrounds. The state park is less visited than the national park and has fewer restrictions on dispersed exploration. River Road (a county road between Lajitas and Presidio) is the standard scenic drive along the Rio Grande connecting the two parks.

East Texas national forests

Four national forests sit in East Texas (the Angelina, Davy Crockett, Sabine, and Sam Houston, jointly managed as the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas). The piney woods country is denser than the western half of the state and offers dispersed camping under the standard 14-day rule, with motorized travel limited to designated routes (see each forest's Motor Vehicle Use Map).

Texas state parks and OHV areas

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department operates 89 state parks across the state, with several open to off-pavement vehicle travel. The department also manages designated OHV areas, and several large private off-road parks operate in East Texas (Hidden Falls and Barnwell Mountain are the largest). Current rules and OHV registration requirements are on the TPWD OHV page.