Texas State Parks Scavenger Hunt Returns This Summer

AUSTIN, TX – The Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine’s Great Outdoor Scavenger Hunt (GOSH) returns for another year of summer fun across Texas. Travel to various locations regionally or statewide, take a selfie and post it with the hashtag #GOSH2021. Discover history, wildlife, parks, waterways and quirky attractions — plus iconic Texas food stops as a “bonus” to enjoy along the way. The GOSH 2021 challenge ends at midnight on Labor Day, Sept. 6.

Select from six regions, including Dallas, Central Texas, Houston, Panhandle, South Texas and West Texas. Register on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine website or the TPWD Facebook Page, then find the spot, take a smiling selfie and tag it on Twitter or Instagram. Participants can also post and tag it on the TPWD Facebook Page with #GOSH2021. Partakers can visit locations regionally or statewide and complete one or all GOSH activities.

"We are so ready to have fun outdoors again," says Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine editor Louie Bond. "GOSH inspires those day trips that make lifelong memories. Pack the ice chest and your swimsuits and hit the road for a summer of fun. Share selfies everywhere you go, and you’ll have bragging rights at Thanksgiving for being great Texas adventurers."

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, take selfies with wading pools and waterfalls at Airfield Falls Conservation Park and with vintage farm equipment or the Penn family home at Penn Farm at Cedar Hill State Park. Stop in at Czech Stop Bakery and take a gander at the State Fair’s mythical Texas Woofus. Enjoy the views at the scenic overlooks at Lake Mineral Wells State Park & Trailway and match your grin to the fish in  the 26,000-gallon Dive Theater aquarium at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens. Check out more locations for the Dallas area at GOSH 2021 Dallas Region.

In Central Texas, take a refreshing break at the waterfalls at McKinney Falls State Park and find the dwarf palmettos at Palmetto State Park. Snap a selfie with Park Road IC signs and another in front of any of the four missions south of the Alamo on the San Antonio Missions Trail. Do some Texas time travel with ‘Henge or one of the Easter Island Heads at Stonehenge II. Snap a drooling selfie at Blue Bonnet Café with a slice of any of their piled-high pies. Visit GOSH 2021 Central Texas Region for more information.

In the Houston area, avoid being devoured by a carnivorous plant at Big Thicket Natural Preserve and take a selfie splashing in the water at Lake Livingston State Park. Grab a photo outside any of Moody Garden’s three glass pyramids and climb the tower observation deck at Sheldon Lake State Park.  Find the geyser at Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum and take a top-notch self-portrait in front of La King’s Confectionary taffy pull. GOSH 2021 Houston Area has more details.

In the Panhandle, snap a selfie in front of the iconic Alibates Visitors Center at Alibates Flint quarry and pose in front of a bison statue at Caprock Canyons State Park & Trailway. Pack a lunch for a visit to one of Copper Breaks State Park’s iconic pyramid-style picnic shelters or brave the dark and try a nighttime starry selfie. Look great in front of Lake Meredith with the Panhandle plateaus in the background. For more information about GOSH 21 locations in the Panhandle, check out GOSH 2021 Panhandle Region.

In South Texas, snap a selfie at one of the park’s wildlife watching or nature trails at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. With the Gulf of Mexico in the background, take a breezy break at the wooden beach picnic shelters at Mustang Island State Park. Grab a photo in front of the Republic of the Rio Grande Museum’s seven flags or holding a copy of the Laredo Morning Times, with seven flags on its banner. Visit GOSH 2021 South Texas Regionfor more information.

In West Texas , turn the camera around to catch a snapshot below the CCC water tower at Abilene State Park and take a selfie from the CCC group pavilion on the top of the hill at Big Spring State Park. Take a photo inside the courtyard at Indian Lodge at Davis Mountains State Park Indian Lodge. Wade into the lake, then snap a selfie at Lake Colorado City State Park. Visit GOSH 2021 West Texas for more information.

See how to enter, rules, where to upload your selfies and more information on challenge locations regionally or statewide at TPWD GOSH 2021.

Those who complete activities regionally will receive a TPWD certificate and a shout-out in a future issue of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine. If participants complete all 30 activities (36 with bonus activities in each category) on this year’s TPWD Great Outdoor Scavenger Hunt, they will receive a downloadable certificate and a two-year digital subscription to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine, plus some epic bragging rights.