The 100 degree days are gone and it's time to practice singing in the shower, shake the dust off the sleeping bag, grab a musical instrument, and head out to one of the upcoming outdoor music festivals.  

Three upcoming events that we'll be attending include:

• Larry Joe Taylor's Rhymes & Vines - Stephenville - September 20th to 23rd - camping, BYOB, fun crowd, and 18 bands/musicians some of which include: Billy Joe Shaver, No Justice, Tejas Brothers, Walt Wilkins, Kevin Fowler, Larry Joe Taylor, and more
• UTOPiAFest - Utopia - September 28th & 29th - we've heard lots of great things about UTOPiAFest (lively and family friendly crowd, free camping, BYOB, great music, etc.) so we're excited about attending and reviewing our first UTOPiAFest
• Tommy Alverson's Family Gathering - Grand Prairie - October 3rd to 7th - this is Tommy's 15th annual Family Gathering and it's going to be a good one with over 22 bands (Johnny Bush, Gary P Nunn, 1100 Springs, Black Top Gypsy, Kevin Deal, Brandon Ryder, and lots more), BYOB, camping, lots of dancing, and good times
• Walking Woody's Road - Pampa - October 5th & 6th - A year long international celebration of the artist's birth 100 years ago includes concerts in Washington, D.C., and even Vienna, but the real party will be Woody Guthrie Days in Pampa with Jimmy LaFave

There are lots of other fun event coming up over the next three months - check out our Upcoming Events Calendar and add some to your calendar.  Don't forget to plan to stuff your face with fried twinkies, fried snickers, and lots more at the Texas State Fair or dress up in period outfits and join the fun and festivities at any of the nearby Texas Renaissance Festivals or clean the beer stein and participate in the dancing at an Octoberfest near you - Wurstfest in New Braunfels is a fun one!

This year we attended a couple new music festivals that were fantastic - Cherokee Creek Music Festival and Thomas Michael Riley's Red Neck Riviera - and we can't wait to do it again next year - add them to your calendar.  Here is a link to our Music Festival Reviews page.  

Huge Golf Course Discount Deal

For a limited time Texas Outside is able to offer our visitors the VIP GOLF CARD for $99 and it includes a free Blue Sky Pass - normally the VIP GOLF CARD is $199! Some of what the card includes is 10 rounds of golf, range balls, plus 20% off merchandise or food!!!!   The Blue Sky Pass includes weekend 2 for 1 green fees and weekday 4 for 3 green frees at over 20 north Texas golf courses.  What a deal - check it out.   

 Fun Things To See & Do This Fall

• Ziplines & Challenge Courses - if you've never zipped or tried a challenge or ropes course, now is a great time of year. Go to our Zipline Page and Challenge Course Page we have added two of the newest in Texas - Lake Travis Zipline Adventures  (zip across incredible canyons and Lake Travis inlets on the longest zipline in Texas and save some money with this Lake Travis Zipline Adventures Coupon) and Natural Bridge Caverns which has a new zipline tour plus a challenge course as well as one for the toddlers and young kids
• Fall Colors - Fall is here and it's time to take a drive and awe at the brilliance of the fall colors during the autumn in east Texas -Angelina National Forest, Boykin Springs Recreation Area, Davy Crockett National Forest, Big Thicket National Preserve, and Daingerfield State Park are the best places to go. 
Safari & Wildlife Parks - the wild and exotic animals love the cool Texas weather and fall is a perfect time to observe, feed, and pet a wide variety of wildlife.  Check out our Safari & Wildlife Parks Page and our two articles on a tour with Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch and Exotic Zoo Resort. 
Hiking and Biking - the cool weather in the fall is perfect for hiking and biking, so break out the gear and hit the road.  Our Hiking Page has lists of the best places to hike and the best trails in Texas.  Texas Outside's Biking Page has lots of good information on biking in Texas and Trails.com's list of the best mountain biking trails in Texas.  
• Kids Activities - if you've got kids or grandkids, then check our this Kids Activities Page for some ideas on things that kids would love to see and do this fall.

It just doesn't get much better than camping in the fall - hiking, biking, roasting marshmallows, playing games, cooking some good meals, and enjoying the great outdoors.  Over the last three months we added some new campground and RV park reviews to our Campground Reviews Page - check out Guadalupe River State Park, Blanco State Park, Buckhorn Lake RV Resort, Barefoot Bay Marina, Lockhart State Park, Bob Sandlin State Park, and more. 

We haven't tried it yet, but Abilene State Park is the first Texas State Park to have a "Mongoloian Herdsman Yurt" with a fold out futon for two and a bunk bed with a double and a single.  Give it a try for a different experience. 

And we've added lists of what we consider the Best Texas State Parks, Best Texas RV Parks, and lots more to the Camping Section of Texas Outside.  No excuses, go camping and if you don't have a tent or RV, rent one for an unforgettable weekend. 

The weather's cooler, the rain has helped improve the greens and fairways, and the courses are just waiting for you to try for a hole in one!  Visit Texas Outside's Golfing Section and use one of the City or Regional maps to quickly find a course or pick a city and read our reviews and course ratings to find a course to play.  Check the Golf Coupon Page for a special. 

Recently added to Texas Outside is our list of the:

• Texas' Best Private Courses
• Best Public Texas Courses
• Best Resort Courses in Texas
• Best of the Best in Texas - from Texas Outside, Avid Golfer, Dallas Morning News, and Golf Digest

Why not take a staycation or mini vacation or overnight it to a local Texas resort (read our reviews of several Texas Resorts and check out Texas Outside's Favorite Texas Resorts) to enjoy all the amenities they offer, some of which include: lazy rivers, excellent restaurants, boating, beaches, biking and hiking, ziplines, music, nightlife, golf, hunting, and lot more.

Or pick a Cabin or Cottage, a Dude Ranch, some Lake Lodging, a Fishing Cabin, Hunting Lodge, or a Romantic Getaway for a fun weekend.  For example, give Selah Springs in Brady on the San Saba River a try - they offer unique lodging and lots of fun things to see and do like bird hunting, photo safaris, hiking, fishing, horseback riding and more. 

Here is some interesting stuff from several sources to add to your fall bucket list: 

• The A Position (the worlds leading golf travel website) lists Brandon Dunes, Pinehurst, and Pebble Beach as the "Best Golf Resorts in the US"
• Texas Parks & Wildlife's list of 10 overlooked State Parks includes: Village Creek, Seminole Canyon, Copper Breaks, Caprock Canyons, Kickapoo Cavern, Estero Llano Grande, Fort Richardson, Golliad, Meridian, and Purtis Creek
• Golf Digest's 2012 list of the Best Texas Courses includes Dallas National, Whispering Pines, Champions, Colonial, and The Club at Carlton Woods as the top 5
• Outside Magazine:
• winner of the most progressive, adventurous, and livable river towns was not San Antonio or Austin, it was Richmond, Virginia followed by Nevada City, California - no Texas towns made the list, let's start a protest
• the two best budget mountain bikes are Diamonback Overdrive ($500) and the $1000 Jamis Exile Comp and the two best budget road bikes are the $500 Specialized Sirrus and $1000 Scott Speedster

The weather is perfect, the lake water is still warm, the lake campsites and cabins aren't as crowded, the fish are biting, so head to the lake, hire a fishing guided, or rent a boat. Use this Map of Texas Lakes to find a lake and click on the red sailboat icons to read Texas Outside's review of the lake.  Or go to the Lake & Boating Section to find a lake by region, name, or city.  And these Clickable Lake Maps make it easy to find lodging, ramps, restaurants, party coves, boat rentals, and lots more fun stuff on the lake. 

If you're headed to the lake, make it a weekend and stay in some Lake Lodging, Fishing Cabins, or pitch a tent at a Lake Campground. 

Bring your fishing poles, this is a good time of the year to catch some big ones.  State Parks still let you fish without a license at 50 State Parks and most of them have gear and bait and some have boat rentals.  Speaking of boat rentals, here is a list of Boat Rentals on several lakes that have pontoon, waverunner, ski boat, party barge, houseboats, or fishing boats for rent.  Or rent/charter a Sailboat for a day sail or sunset dinner cruise. 

If you don't have a boat and want to go fishing, here is a list of Fishing Guides as well as some Kayak Fishing Guides and some Fly Fishing Guides.  Lake Fork and Lake Amistad remain the best fishing lakes in Texas.  

With over 6000 pages, multiple navigation menus to confuse you, little organization, and lots of new stuff, we highly recommend that you visit Texas Outside's What's New Page to find what we've been doing and to quickly find all the fun new things that have been added to Texas Outside each month. You'll find fun and informative vacation and adventure articles; exciting things to see and do; and our reviews of golf courses, lakes, campgrounds, music festivals, resorts; and lots more good stuff.

We also recommend that when you're looking for something new to see and do on Texas Outside that you use the top navigation tabs which will quickly get you to your area of interest.

And we value your input and would love to hear about your adventures, favorites (golf courses, resorts, lakes, cabins, etc.), and fun things to do. Send us an email.