Ever since Ulysses S. Grant made Yellowstone the USA's first national park, visitors have been flocking to these protected places of pristine natural beauty.
Taking its name from the bend in the Rio Grande where it is located, Big Bend National Park has some of the most spectacular views to be found anywhere in the USA.
Big Bend National Park
Not far from the urban jungle of Houston, Big Thicket’s system of waterways has created a lush environment rich in biodiversity.
Big Thicket Preserve
This park is home to a rich variety of wildlife and the terrain is well loved by hikers, but its main feature is the reservoir.
Amistad National Recreation Area
This park is a natural gem in itself, sprawling across a massive 160-acre green land running through the city, with the calm Buffalo Bayou in its heart.
El Camino Real de los Tejas
For inquisitive ornithologists, Sheldon Lake provides a fantastic opportunity to familiarize yourself with local bird life.
Sheldon Lake
The distinctive red flint that makes up these rocky hillsides was used thousands of years ago by mammoth hunters.
Alibates Flint National Monument
The Houston Zoo provides a fun, unique, and inspirational experience fostering appreciation, knowledge, and care for the natural world.
Houston Zoo
Next to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the glass-enclosed butterfly habitat includes a simulated rainforest and thousands of colorful butterflies.
Cockrell Butterfly Center
Bayou Bend is the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's house museum for American decorative arts and paintings.
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
This is a great place to visit when in Houston, a nature walk with a river, small lake, many many trees and different birds.