Texas: The Ultimate Family Vacation Destination

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas offers natural wonders, exciting attractions and educational experiences for every visitor, and has recently added even more museums, family-friendly resorts and outdoor activities.

Western and Outdoor Adventures

From ranches in Bandera and the historic King Ranch in Kingsville, to the semi-annual Longhorn Cattle Drive in Big Bend, families can relive the Old West.  State parks offer hiking, camping and rock climbing adventures from Palo Duro Canyon to the Piney Woods.

Beaches, Lakes and Rivers

Boasting hundreds of lakes, Texas is ideal for swimming, boating and fishing.  New paddling trails – Austin's Lady Bird Lake Paddling Trail, Houston's Buffalo Bayou Paddling Trail, and the Limestone Bluffs Paddling Trail near Waco – join 15 existing state trails.

Families can float Texas' many rivers, including the Comal, Frio and Guadalupe, or enjoy lazy rivers at numerous resorts.  The JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa – the world's largest JW Marriott – opened in January 2010, featuring over 1,000 guest rooms, a lagoon-like pool and luxurious amenities.

Family fun is found along more than 600 miles of Texas Gulf Coast beaches.  From Galveston and Corpus Christi to Port Aransas and South Padre Island, activities include parasailing, dolphin watching, sand castle building and fishing.

Theme Parks

Texas is home to SeaWorld® San Antonio, plus three Six Flags® parks: Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in Arlington, and Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio.  Amarillo's Wonderland Amusement Park is one of Texas' largest privately owned theme parks, and El Paso's Western Playland features the 37-acre Wet n' Wild Water World.  Schlitterbahn® Waterpark Resorts are located in New Braunfels, Galveston and South Padre Island.

Zoos and Aquariums

From the Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston Zoos, to Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch in New Braunfels and Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, visitors can see animals from around the globe.  Underwater creatures abound at The Dallas World Aquarium, Houston's Downtown Aquarium and Corpus Christi's Texas State Aquarium.

Museums

The Waco Mammoth Site opened in December 2009, showcasing prehistoric mammoth fossils. In November 2009, the remodeled Fort Worth Museum of Science and History debuted a planetarium, dinosaurs, 3-D films and more. In Austin, visit the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and Austin Children's Museum, and in Houston, the Museum of Natural Science, and NASA/Johnson Space Center.  Abilene's Frontier Texas! mixes the Old West with state-of-the-art technology, transporting visitors to a prairie thunderstorm, a buffalo stampede, and more.

For more information about family-friendly travel in Texas, visit http://www.TravelTex.com.

About Tourism in Texas

Tourism is one of the largest industries in Texas, supporting 544,400 jobs across the state.  In 2008, travelers spent an estimated $60.6 billion in Texas.  Travel expenditures generated $2.9 billion in state taxes and $1.0 billion in local taxes.  For more information on Texas travel events and vacation destinations, visit TravelTex.com or for a free Travel Guide call 1-800-8888-TEX.

SOURCE Texas Tourism