Senior-Friendly Fun Retirees Can Have In Texas

One of the best parts about Texas is that there's so much of it, and for a retiree, that means lots and lots to explore. The largest contiguous U.S. state is known for its wide-open prairies, but there's also hill country, desert, a 367-mile-long coast, and some of the biggest and busiest cities in the country. If you've left the 40-hour workweek behind, Texas seems made for slow travel: It takes nearly 11 hours just to drive straight from Houston to El Paso. 

Luckily, many senior travelers are looking for that kind of freedom, especially folks who have retired and are on the hunt for warm weather and big skies. Waves of retirees have migrated to the Lone Star State in their golden years, in part because there are plenty of affordable places to retire in Texas. Even if you're not planning to relocate, post-career visitors have a lot of activities to choose from. Here is a sampling of distinctive Texas pastimes — engaging, locally significant, and generally accessible, especially for seniors looking to experience all the state has to offer.

Texas is a verdant state: Spring erupts with wildflowers, and roughly 6,000 native plants represent about a quarter of the biodiversity in North America. Admiring this floral majesty can be as easy as driving a country road in April, but for a true sensory feast, consider a visit to one of Texas's many botanical gardens. There's the 66-acre Dallas Arboretum, with its art installations and after-dark walks. There's the San Antonio Botanical Garden, with its many displays and "Adventure Garden" for grandkids. And there's the spectacular Fort Worth Botanic Garden (pictured above), which is composed of 23 smaller gardens.

More and more retirees are forgetting Florida in favor of Texas' warm beaches and better cost of living. And visitors often forget about Texas' Gulf Coast and its 367 miles of beaches, which are mostly wide and low-lying, so they're easy to pad across in sandals or bare feet. Standouts include the endless sands in San Padre Island, which seem conjured from a Jimmy Buffett album, as well as the walkable Seawall in Galveston, which overlooks the sand and surf. Between these hotspots, you'll find a constellation of lesser-known coastal communities and scenic dunes. 

Get those binoculars ready: The Lower Rio Grande Valley is home to more than 500 bird species. As the famous river wiggles its way toward the Gulf Coast, the Rio Grande serves as a major stopover for migrating avian species, from buff-bellied hummingbirds to Texas's iconic green jay. The valley has attracted ever-growing numbers of elder ornithophiles, who often tote cameras with massive telephoto lenses. Many are drawn to the Rio Grande's verdant, semi-tropical climate; the "RGV" covers more than 5,000 square miles, with trails for all levels of mobility.

When most Americans think of golf courses, they picture PGA hubs like Pebble Beach in California and Pinehurst in North Carolina, names that are synonymous with top-tier players. Yet Texas is crazy for golf, and iron-swinging retirees can pick from 856 courses across the state. The warmer climate means a very long season, which is a boon for snowbirds in search of a quick nine in the winter months.

The Texas State Fair is held in Dallas each autumn, lasting a whopping 24 days and drawing in more than 2 million people. For retirees who are exploring Texas, the fair is a low-stakes opportunity to walk around, play games, and take in the local culture. The State Fair is huge and busy, but it's only one of countless festivals across the state. Whatever your interest — food trucks, crafts, crawfish, country music — you can probably find a few thousand people to celebrate with in Texas.

No one will forget the Alamo, which is why almost 1.6 million people visit this ersatz fortress from the Mexican-American War each year. The Alamo is a striking structure and point of pride, and it's the only UNESCO Heritage Site in the whole state, so it's no wonder the heroic battleground ends up on so many bucket lists. Yet Texas is speckled with other historical sites and museums as well, from the 1,200-year-old mounds of the Caddo people to the birthplace of President Eisenhower. Retired history buffs could spend years crisscrossing the state in search of significant landmarks.

"Texas wine country" isn't a phrase that pops up as often as "Napa" or "Sonoma," but the vine-laced hills of Central Texas are far from obscure. This is the fifth-largest viticultural region in the U.S., and senior oenophiles can pick from more than 75 wineries. There are other wine regions to explore as well, like Texas's delectable Bluebonnet Trail, which guides travelers through the best wineries in the state's sunny southeast. A road trip from one vintner to the next appeals to anyone of legal drinking age, but many retirees can take the "slow travel" approach, touring vineyards and sampling vintages at their leisure.