Texans spend a lot of time enjoying outdoor activities, despite the intolerably hot summers. For sports, football is the undisputed king, but baseball, basketball, and golf are also popular since they can be played year-round. The state’s mild climate also allows nonprofessional (recreational) sporting activities to continue throughout the year. Campers, hikers, and mountain bikers flock to state and local parks year-round—in summer for the lower humidity and higher altitudes of far West Texas, and in winter for the warm tropical climate of the Gulf Coast and Rio Grande Valley. The Sports and Recreation and Camping sections for specific cities in this guide provide detailed information about available resources.

Professional sports are a major attraction in Texas (the Sports and Recreation sections in the metropolitan areas contain detailed information). Most Texans are fans of the Dallas Cowboys, but loyalties are divided by region when it comes to professional baseball (the Houston Astros or Arlington’s Texas Rangers) and basketball Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, or Houston Rockets).

High school football is a religion in Texas (it’s the inspiration for Friday Night Lights after all), but the most passionate fans in the state follow college sports. The University of Texas vs. Texas A&M University rivalry is one of the fiercest in the nation, and Texas’s sheer size allows for serious intrastate competition among several large schools (Texas Tech University, Baylor University, University of Texas at El Paso, Texas State University, etc.).