AUSTIN, Texas — Get away from the bustle of Austin and Central Texas and escape to the serenity and the grandeur of nature, Texas style.
Our state's constantly changing landscapes, from Gulf shore beaches to towering mountains to gently rolling grasslands, offer variety and contrast, perhaps best captured in the 76 state parks located in every corner of Texas and in lots of places in between.
The park system is 100 years old in 2023, a gift to the people of Texas and their neighbors from former Gov. Pat Neff, who signed the law creating the Texas park system in 1923.
“Gov. Neff saw a need to establish public spaces and public campgrounds so that people who were traveling across the state, especially in some of the more remote, rural [parts] of the state, would have a place to stay,“ said Aaron Friar with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “He started the state parks board in 1923 so that Texas could start getting donations of land to help fill that need of having places for people to rest and camp out as they were visiting the different areas of the state.”
The 100th anniversary of the parks system is getting special recognition at Austin’s Bullock Museum, which is celebrating the centennial with an exhibit of paintings by artists from around the state. Texas Parks and Wildlife commissioned 30 Texas artists to share their views of our parks, natural areas and historic sites that make up the state park system.
The selection of the 34 paintings on view are as varied as the parks themselves, from landscapes, to nature studies, to capturing everyday folks enjoying the state park experience.
The exhibition will available to view at the Bullock Museum through April 30, 2023.