The Atlas Obscura Guide To Texas

428 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Texas

Updated October 10, 2026

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Unusual Attractions in Texas

Dripping Springs, Texas

Hamilton Pool

An emerald-green grotto just a short trip from Austin.

Museum of the Weird, May 2018

Austin, Texas

Museum of the Weird

Continuing the tradition of the dime museum in style.

Cathedral of Junk

Austin, Texas

Cathedral of Junk

This unique structure in suburban Austin is made up entirely of other people's castaways, and constantly changing.

Austin, Texas

Uncommon Objects

One part antique store, one part curiosities hodge-podge.

Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth Water Gardens

A modernist landscape of water and sci-fi concrete.

Crowds gather to watch the bats fly out as the sun sets.

Austin, Texas

Congress Bridge Bats

Home to the largest urban bat colony in North America, estimated at 1.5 million bats.

December 2008

Amarillo, Texas

Cadillac Ranch

A sculpture made of 10 Cadillacs as a monument to the “Golden Age” of the American automobile.

See All 428 Things To Do in Texas

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Texas

It’s a hidden gem of one of the busiest streets in Houston.

Houston, Texas

The Hobbit Café

A taste of Middle Earth, in the middle of the Bayou City.

Pecan Pie Vending Machine

Cedar Creek, Texas

Pecan Pie Vending Machine

A 24-hour vending machine restocked daily with homemade full-sized pecan pies.

The artesian bottling factory that now houses the Dr Pepper Museum.

Waco, Texas

Dr Pepper Museum

Housed in a century-old building, this museum's dedicated not just to soft drinks, but to the free enterprise system.

See all 34 Places to Eat in Texas

In partnership with GetYourGuide

Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

7 Places to Experience Big Wonder in Texas

Sponsored by Travel Texas

Texas is a wide-ranging, diverse, and expansive state. Even the barbecue you’ll get from one county to another is never the same, and the music sounds a little different in the depths of West Texas than it does in the panhandle. Texas is huge—you’ve probably heard that—and it offers attractions to match its size. We’ve rounded up our favorite places to see the heights and depths of Texas—from its tallest peaks to its heftiest steaks. Put on your ten-gallon hat and your tallest boots, and set out on a road trip that’ll help you get a sense of just how big the state really is.

Explore Texas

Museums 45

Art 39

Architecture 34

Statues 28

Sculptures 26

Collections 23

Animals 23

Architectural Oddities 23

Restaurants 21

Outsider Art 20

Roadside Attractions 19

Parks 18

History 18

Music 18

Cemeteries 17

Graves 17

Water 15

Monuments 14

Geology 14

Abandoned 13

Unique Restaurants & Bars 6

Places To Stay 3

Texas Leaderboard

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Places Visited

Recent Texas Activity

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Stories About Texas

The Haunted Jail Trail:

A Road Trip Through Texas’s Spookiest Cells

by Annette King, Community Contributor

October 10, 2026

Class Dismissed:

A Road Trip to Texas’s Haunted Schools

by Annette King, Community Contributor

October 10, 2026

Stone Walls and Restless Souls:

The Hauntings of Fort McKavett

by Annette King, Community Contributor

October 9, 2026

Fenway Park at night

How Was Your First Trip With Your Significant Other?

When your new partner shows up without luggage, or, worse yet, turns out to be a morning person.

by The Podcast Team, Atlas Obscura

Kolaches

How Texas Became an Unlikely Epicenter for Czech Pastries

The kolache is a traditional Czech pastry with sweet or savory fillings. The Texas kolache is bigger, fluffier, and sometimes filled with an entire Hershey chocolate bar.

by The Podcast Team, Atlas Obscura

The first photo of the “woolly devil” made a stir among botanists when Deb Manley uploaded it to iNaturalist in March 2024.

How the Woolly Devil, Member of a New Plant Genus, Was Discovered on a Hike in Big Bend

On an ordinary walk around Big Bend National Park, a park ranger and volunteer made a rare scientific discovery: an entirely new kind of plant.

by The Podcast Team, Atlas Obscura

The first photo of the woolly devil made a stir among botanists when Deb Manley uploaded it to iNaturalist in March 2024.

A Devilish New Species Discovered in Big Bend National Park

This tiny, fuzzy sunflower relative has been hiding in plain sight—it represents the first new genus identified in a U.S. national park in nearly 50 years.

by Andrew Coletti, Atlas Obscura

Jose Contreras is one of only a handful of artisans who still make cowboy boots the old-fashioned way.

The Last Cowboy Boot Masters of El Paso

In West Texas, artisans known as "Golden Needles" preserve the craft of making boots by hand.

by Ashley Stimpson, Atlas Obscura

January 15, 2025

Lists Featuring Texas

Target Marathon

Prada Marfa.

30 Places to Go Deep in the Art of Texas

Saddle up for the state's ultimate creative road trip.

Including Stonehenge II, Target Marathon, and Robert Bruno’s Steel House

Winter Solstice 2019

The Spiral Jetty

Double Negative’s north trench

A Tour of Spectacular 1970s Art Made From the Landscape Itself

Eight places to witness the incredible ambition of the Southwest land art movement.

Including Sun Tunnels, The Spiral Jetty, and Complex City