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Do you need some help planning your next road trip? Enjoy the sights and sounds of summer on the Great Texas Wildlife Trails. Discover bat colonies, sea turtles, birds, butterflies and more at over 900 wildlife viewing sites across Texas!

A Reason to Celebrate! 

The Great Texas Wildlife Trails were the first of their kind in the nation when they launched in 1996. This year we celebrate 25 years of the trails! Since their creation, more than 40 states have followed Texas’ example with similar projects to expand wildlife viewing opportunities.

The 3 original coastal birding trail maps ⁠— the Lower, Central, and Upper Texas Coast trail maps⁠— have been updated this year for the first time since 2013, with assistance from Texas Master Naturalist chapters along the coast. In celebration of the 25^th Anniversary of the trails, we are offering a special sale through the end of 2021 – get the updated 3-map set for just $10 (a $15 value)!

This is Bat Country!

Texas boasts the most bat species of any state – 32! We also have the highest diversity of bat species in the country. Summer is a great time for bat-watching across the state. 

• Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin houses the largest urban bat colony in Texas and is host of the 16th Annual Bat Fest in August.
• Bracken Cave, near San Antonio, is home to the world’s largest bat colony. Bat Conservation International is offering both in-person and virtual bat flight experiences this summer.
• Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston is home to the Waugh Drive Bridge bat colony. Unlike the other bat-viewing locations listed, bats can be found here year-round.
• Caprock Canyons State Park is offering bat tours throughout the summer.

Turtle Power!

Summertime in Texas means nesting season for sea turtles, including the Kemp's ridley sea turtle, the most endangered sea turtle species worldwide. The nesting beach at Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas, Mexico is the primary nesting site for these turtles. Thanks to the work of a large team of scientists over the past 40 years, a secondary nesting population has been established on Padre Island National Seashore to help save the species.

• See a sea turtle for yourself at Padre Island National Seashore near Corpus Christi. Get updates on upcoming hatchling releases or watch previous releases.
• Find out when the next Sea Turtle, Inc. hatchling release occurs on South Padre Island or watch the releases virtually from home.
• Learn about all 5 species of sea turtles found in the Gulf of Mexico.

Fly with the Monarchs!

The long-anticipated Monarch Butterfly conservation license plate launched June 21. 

• Plates are only $30/year and can be added to your car, truck, RV, trailer or motorcycle.  
• $22 of every purchase goes directly to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to help fund wildlife research and activities benefitting the monarch butterfly and the state’s native, most at-risk wildlife species.

The Great Texas Wildlife Trails are supported by Toyota.