Texas travel

Texas coasts to No. 1 on new list of best states for summer road trips

Who wants to take a road trip to Palo Duro Canyon State Park?

Houston is already at the top of the list when it comes to the best summer travel destinations, but the expansive Lone Star State is leading the rest of the nation as the No. 1 state for for summer road trips in 2024.

Texas' superior traveling potential was recognized in WalletHub's annual list of the best and worst states for summer road trips, which ranked all 50 states based on their road trip costs, safety, and activities. Over 32 metrics were considered for the study, including each state's average gas prices, road quality, and variety of attractions.

The top states are the ones that have plenty of fun things to do at relatively low costs, and provide "the best driving experience," according to WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe. Texas was also No. 1 in 2023.

Texas earned 58.59 out of 100 total possible points, barely edging ahead of Minnesota (No. 2) and New York (No. 3), which earned 58.48 and 58.44 points, respectively.

Out of the three main categories in the report, Texas performed the best for its numerous attractions, ranking No. 5 nationwide. WalletHub specifically highlights zoos, botanical gardens, and amusement parks, but you can't forget about Texas' beautiful state parks, lakes, family-friendly resorts, or the beaches.

"There are plenty of things to make stops at for a day or even just a few hours while taking a road trip," the report said. "Even in between activities, the act of being on the road in Texas can be very enjoyable, since the state has over 9,500 miles of scenic byways."

Texas ranked just outside the top 10 for its costs of taking a road trip, landing at No. 11 nationally. Planning affordable meals and accommodations is a big factor on travelers' minds this summer, and WalletHub revealed Texas has the second-cheapest three-star hotel prices within a 10-mile radius of city centers during mid-July. The Lone Star State is also leading the U.S. with the highest number of lodging accommodations and restaurants per capita.

Unfortunately, Texas fell far behind other states when it comes to safety, coming in at No. 39. The report doesn't explain why Texas ranked so low, but it examined each state's road quality, car thefts per 1,000 residents, the number of uninsured drivers, and traffic "indiscipline" (also known as the number of accidents due to phone use, speeding, aggressive acceleration, and others). Poor safety rating aside, Texas still came out on top.

"Taking a summer road trip can be a very exciting way to experience a new place, but with the prices of gas, food and accommodations heavily impacted by inflation, you’ll want to be in a state that makes this type of vacation affordable," said Happe. "Safe roads are also key, and so is having plenty of worthwhile attractions to stop at along the road."

The top 10 states for summer road trips in 2024 are:

No. 1 – Texas
No. 2 – Minnesota
No. 3 – New York
No. 4 – Louisiana
No. 5 – Florida
No. 6 – Ohio
No. 7 – North Carolina
No. 8 – Wyoming
No. 9 – Maine
No. 10 – Pennsylvania

texas wallethub rankings reports road trip vacations

Cream of the Crop

Michelin-starred Houston restaurant collabs with acclaimed Austin eatery

Photo courtesy of Tatemó

Tatemó is kicking off this summer's collaborative dinners at Hestia.

A returning dinner series is bringing together Michelin-recognized restaurants from across Texas in a unique sustained effort. Hestia, the most formal of Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group's Austin restaurants, will host three collaborative dinners in its Lone Star Dinner Series this summer: one each with restaurants from Austin, Houston, and newly, Dallas.

This is the second year for the series, which started with all-Austin collaborations, sold out, and later extended to work with March, a restaurant from Houston. Although it is not new for the Michelin-praised crowd to work together, this summer's efforts expand the series into something much harder to find, an ongoing project to connect the growing class of fine dining honorees across the state.

The three dinners on deck are:

June 16: Hestia and Tatemó from Houston
July 21: Hestia and Mamani from Dallas
August 25: Hestia and InterStellar BBQ from Austin

“The Lonestar Series allows us to tighten our relationship with other Michelin-starred restaurants in Texas,” said Hestia chef de cuisine Paul Wensel in a press release. “It is great to share experiences and different techniques across other incredible restaurants. Additionally, it's just fun to bring other chefs into our space for one night and do a different style of service; our team loves it, and it makes the summertime more interesting.”

Menus are not yet available for any of the dinners, but it is easy to guess that Tatemó's will heavily feature masa, the cornerstone ingredient that led to the restaurant's formation and still informs nearly everything it does. It's even in Tatemó's mission statement: "Our mission is to restore the cultural value of maíz, and its nutritional value in Houston, Texas by showcasing the diversity of heirloom corn, from different landscapes and purveyors of Mexico via masa products like tortillas."

“The passion behind why they do so much with masa and trying to teach people the importance of it all is something that I really look forward to learning more about,” said Wensel.

The next two dinners with Mamani and InterStellar will focus on French cuisine and barbecue, respectively.

Mamani, led by Parisian chef Christophe De Lellis, combines the culinary influences of Paris and the French and Italian Rivieras. Its Michelin Star was awarded just 60 days after it opened in 2025 (and it won Restaurant of the Year at the CultureMap Dallas Tastemaker Awards this spring).

Most Texans who follow barbecue at all know InterStellar, which is known for mostly traditional barbecue with some unexpected culinary twists like peach tea glazed pork belly, lamb tacos, and brown butter mac and cheese. That makes it well-suited to the collaborative format, where it can once again run with ideas that hardly cross paths with barbecue.

"They do a lot of cool interpretations of classic BBQ dishes," said Wensel. "It's going to be really interesting to see what they create in a tasting menu format."

Appropriately for this diverse set of culinary perspectives, Hestia is more attached to a technique — live-fire cooking — than to any one place or ingredient. Executive chef Kevin Fink and partner Tavel Bristol-Joseph have developed a tasting menu that responds to the seasons and utilizes Texas ingredients above all.

Reservations for each dinner are available on OpenTable, with seatings ranging from 5:30-10 pm. Each menu costs $225 per person, with optional wine pairings for $125 per person. Hestia is located at 607 W. 3rd St.

michelin guide fine dining tasting chefs dinner dinner series news-you-can-eat