Trails Through Texas History
Each trail is a hand-picked set of historical markers that tells one story. Read them here, then drive them.
Texas Revolution Trail
14 stops · 9 counties · 1,132 miles between stops
The war for independence in the order it happened, from the 1832 unrest at Anahuac to the victory at San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. The route runs through Gonzales, San Antonio, Washington-on-the-Brazos, and Goliad.
Heroes of the Texas Revolution
12 stops · 10 counties · 1,310 miles between stops
Markers for the people who made 1836: Stephen F. Austin, William B. Travis, Juan Seguín, José Antonio Navarro, George Childress, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, and Sam Houston, with the men who fought beside him at San Jacinto.
Historic San Antonio
10 stops · 1 counties · 9 miles between stops
The old town and the San Antonio River: the Alamo, San Fernando Cathedral, the Spanish Governor's Palace, La Villita, the Menger Hotel, and the four missions south of downtown.
Civil War in Texas
7 stops · 6 counties · 1,383 miles between stops
The war on the Texas coast and home front: the recapture of Galveston on January 1, 1863, the fight at Sabine Pass that September, the prison camp at Camp Ford near Tyler, and Palmito Ranch, the last battle of the war, in May 1865.
Spanish Colonial Texas
10 stops · 6 counties · 872 miles between stops
Missions and presidios from west to east along El Camino Real: Ysleta and Socorro near El Paso, the presidio at San Sabá, San Antonio, Goliad, and the first missions among the Tejas in East Texas.
Cattle Trails and Ranching
10 stops · 10 counties · 2,610 miles between stops
The trail drives and the big ranches: the Chisholm, Western, and Goodnight-Loving trails, Charles Goodnight, the King, XIT, JA, and Matador ranches, and the Fort Worth Stockyards, where the drives met the railroads.