Texas presents some significant technical challenges to developing bikepacking routes. Perhaps the most difficult is simply the lack of public lands in Texas (ranked 45th in US with less than 5%). Most established routes rely on state parks or private campgrounds with some exceptions for the small amount of nationally managed public lands (for example: Sam Houston National Forest and Big Bend National Park). This means the vast areas of Texas are without areas where dispersed camping is allowed. One exception to this is islands in navigable water ways and large stretches of the coastal shoreline. With this in mind, I decided to get a packraft and try to establish a long distance bikepacking route on the Texas coast.
In the following articles I will discuss various aspects of this route and hopefully provide usable information for anyone who decides to set out on a similar adventure.
- Part 1: Intro (You are here)
- Part 2: Terrain and Environment
- Part 3: Rio Grande to Mansfield Channel
- Part 4: Mansfield Channel to Port Aransas
- Part 5: Port Aransas to Matagorda Beach
- Part 6: Matagorda Beach to Bryan Beach
- Part 7: Bryan Beach to Galveston
- Part 8: Galveston to Sea Rim State Park
Notice: Outdoor activities such as those described on this site are inherently dangerous. Effort has been put forth to present factual information but no guarantee is made that it is complete or represents current conditions. You assume all risk with any use of the information on this site.
