Kickapoo Cavern State Park
P.O. Box 705, Brackettville 78832
Phone: (830) 563-2342

Containing nearly 6,400 acres in the southwestern Hill Country, the park is relatively undeveloped - a natural open space where visitors find solitude. The emphasis is on resource protection and management. Public access is limited to scheduled tour dates, which showcase the area's great bird diversity, a primitive cave experience, and a chance to view thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats emerging near dusk. Check the TPWD Web site or call the park for reservations.

Devils River State Natural Area
HCR 1, Box 513, Del Rio 78840
Phone: (830) 395-2133

Twenty-thousand remote and wild acres provide access to the pristine Devils River with its unique angling opportunities and its put-in for whitewater float trips. But this river can be unpredictable. It changes from a wide, flat, lake-like flow to a rapid stream flashing through high-walled canyons foaming with Class Three white water and 12-foot waterfalls. Advance preparation is a must and reservations are required for the limited primitive camping or rustic bunkhouse accommodations.

Balmorhea State Park
P.O. Box 15, Toyahvale 79786
Phone: (432) 375-2370

Dive into cool waters of the world's largest spring-fed swimming pool, which covers 1.75 acres and stays at 72-76 degrees year-round. Scuba divers love the clarity even at a 25-foot depth. In addition to swimming and camping, the San Solomon Courts offer motel-style retro lodging built by the CCC in the 1930s with a Southwestern adobe look; most units have kitchens. Canals along the Courts lead to a restored cienega (wetland), where a window built below ground provides a fish-eye view of the underwater world.

San Angelo State Park
3900-2 Mercedes Rd. San Angelo 76901
Phone: (325) 949-4757

The park is located at the transition between the Edwards Plateau ecoregion, the Rolling Plains natural region and the Trans-Pecos desert. It embraces a diverse mixture of vegetation including riparian bottom-land trees such as pecan, hackberry and mesquite, which are more common in the arid plains. Its location on the O.C. Fisher Reservoir (5,440 surface-acres) provides access to great fishing and all forms of water sports. The heated and air-conditioned limited-service cabins, open-air group pavilions and equestrian campsites offer a range of options to complement the more than 50 miles of equestrian, hiking and biking trails.

Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site
P.O. Box 820, Comstock 78837
Phone: (432) 292-4464

Jagged canyons have cut through the Chihuahuan Desert wilderness out where the Pecos River flows into the Rio Grande. People of antiquity once lived in these natural rock shelters carved into the canyon walls by the river. They painted distinctive ancient symbols on the walls that tell us of their passing. Walk the rugged landscape; climb down into the canyons to see the renowned pictographs in Fate Bell Shelter.

Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area
P.O. Box 678, Rocksprings 78880
Phone: (830) 683-3762

Peer into the depths of Devil's Sinkhole, then watch as millions of bats emerge into the Texas evening sky. The natural area is home to the largest single-chambered cavern and third deepest in the state. Evening flight tours are offered Wednesday through Saturday to witness the bat emergence. Access to the natural area is limited to tours and reservations are required. Make reservations through the Devil's Sinkhole Society, (830) 683-2287.

South Llano River State Park
1927 Park Road 73, Junction 76849
Phone: (325) 446-3994

This delightful riverside park, known for water and wildlife, is located on the western edge of the Edwards Plateau just south of Junction. Visitors can hike and go birding on the trails or head back to the river deemed by the Lower Coloroda River Authority to be one of the "most pristine water bodies in the staet." Wildlife watechers can also hike trails through the park and into the 2,200-acre wooded hills of the Walter Buck Wildlife Management Area that abuts the park to see wild turkey, jackrabbits, deer and various bird species.

Monahans Sandhills State Park
P.O. Box 1738, Monahans 79756
Phone: (432) 943-2092

Fun-loving travelers surf the sand dunes that rise as high as 70 feet in the geologic wonderland. These sand dunes are only a small part of a larger 200-square-mile dune field that stretches into New Mexico. Rent sand boards and disks, then visit exhibits that explain the dune dynamics and desert wildlife.