where to travel right now

11 top Texas travel ideas before going back to school this August

Back-to-school is just around the corner, and there's still time to plan a last-minute summer escape. From a recently opened glow-in-the-dark immersive experience in Dallas, to a pur-fect traveling cat expo in Austin, there are plenty of ways to plan a fun-filled August getaway. Houstonians can "escape" closer to home by visiting a popular water park resort after taking advantage of a one-day-only flash sale, or by booking a stay at a historic bed and breakfast in nearby Galveston.

Here are our top picks for summer travel events, hotel deals, and more in August.

Throughout Texas

Great Wolf Lodge, which has resorts in Dallas and Houston, is gearing up for the biggest sale of the year for one day only on Monday, August 4. The annual flash sale offers discounted stays starting at $84 per night for the first two guests, and additional guests will only cost $24 extra per person. The promo code "84DEGREES" will be valid for single- and multi-night stays booked through December 18, 2025. Sale prices include resort fees and unlimited access to the indoor water park.

History buffs who want to immerse themselves in Texas lore will find a home among these six bed and breakfasts. Among the legendary lodgings are Elvis' "home away from home" in Waco, Georgia O’Keeffe’s favorite hangout in the Panhandle, and Ulysses S. Grant’s East Texas escape. Find even more storied stays through the Texas Historical Commission's Historic Overnights program, which helps guests discover details about historic places and experience history in an immersive way.

Elvis House, Waco Elvis became friends with the radio DJ who owned this Waco home in the 1950s. Photo courtesy of The Elvis House

Texas thrill seekers who purchase or renew Six Flags Entertainment Gold ($95) or Prestige Passes ($170) from now until September 1, 2025 will receive unlimited access to every Six Flags park in North America, which includes six Texas properties. Season passes are currently available for purchase for Schlitterbahn Galveston, Schlitterbahn New Braunfels, Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, and Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington. Season passes for Hurricane Harbor Arlington and Hurricane Harbor Splashtown go on sale on Monday, August 4.

The Hill Country

Wine trade association Texas Hill Country Wineries (THCW) has partnered with the educators at Wine Folly to develop a free online guide exploring the Hill Country region's many vineyards and tasting rooms. The guide serves as a one-of-a-kind database for the area, with six main topic pages spanning wines, wineries, terroir (growing conditions), history, region, and travel. It also includes overviews of 62 local wineries to help visitors make an itinerary for their next journey to the Hill Country.

Austin

The Stephen F. Austin Royal Sonesta Hotel is celebrating Austin Pride Month with the unveiling of its new Rainbow Room and a "Rainbow Room Experience Package" from August 5-31. The hotel collaborated with local LGBTQIA+ artists Bode Robinson and Hailey Gearo to create themed decor and original artwork for the room. The experience package includes a waived destination fee, two complimentary Pride-themed cocktails, breakfast for two at Café Fuller, and late checkout. The hotel will additionally donate a portion of proceeds from each Rainbow Room booking in August to Central Texas LGBTQIA+ nonprofit Out Youth.

Domesticated cats are taking over Austin's Palmer Event Center from August 16-17. Pop Cats, a touring annual expo for cat-lovers, will feature several cat-themed activities including cat cosplaying, making cat toys, and more. Attendees can bring their own cats, but must follow guidelines to keep everyone safe. Tickets (starting at $25 for adults and $15 for children) are available at popcats.co.

Cat at Pop Cats expo This cat got to experience the expo firsthand...or firstpaw. POP Cats/Facebook

The Downright Austin hotel restaurant Swim Club is helping visitors prepare for back-to-school season with its free Dive-In Movie Series during the first three Thursdays in August. Screenings will include Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Aug. 7), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Aug. 14), and Clueless (Aug. 21). Guests can arrive as early as 7 pm and order movie-themed cocktails, and screenings will begin at 8:30 pm.

San Antonio

As the Hill Country continues to recover from the devastating July floods, The Westin Riverwalk Hotel is supporting the community by extending its "Visit San Antonio" discount on standard king and double rooms for anyone affected by the floods or helping with recovery efforts. Guests can use promo code "T4973" to receive 30 percent off stays from now through August 31. Room rates with the discount begin at $132 per night.

Several Pearl retailers will host a "Sidewalk Sale" event from August 14-15 to help visitors prepare for back-to-school season. Participating shops include clothing stores Niche, Adelante, and Dos Carolinas; footwear and accessory shop LeeLee; jewelry and gem store Ruby Road Gems; home goods sellers The Tiny Finch and Rancho Diaz; gift shop Feliz Modern Pop, and The Twig Bookshop. The sale will run from 10 am to 5 pm both days.

Dallas-Fort Worth

Glow or Go, a recently-opened glow-in-the-dark immersive experience in Dallas' Design District, offers visitors the opportunity to bond over several team-based challenges such as obstacle courses, reflex games, and coordination tests, all set in a pulsing, LED-lit environment. Tickets prices depend on your group size, starting at $28 per person for groups of eight, up to $42.80 for groups of three, and are available through the Fever website

Glow or Go in Dallas. Glow or Go

Don't let heat exhaustion ruin an otherwise nice summer day: CultureMap has rounded up several new and unique things to help North Texans beat the heat this month, from a new waterpark attraction to a glacial facial at a lavish spa. There are also affordable ideas on the list, from visiting the UTA Planetarium to cooling off with a "chimney cake"-style ice cream cone at Crispy Cones in North Richland Hills.

Visitors can learn about grape varieties, history, wineries, and more before arriving in the Hill Country.

Texas Hill Country Wineries (THCW)/Facebook

Visitors can learn about grape varieties, history, wineries, and more before arriving in the Hill Country.

travel summer vacation hill country wineries great wolf lodge dallas houston austin san antonio fort worth entertainment hotels movies

HISTORY CORRECTED

Houston documentary maker helps correct biased Texas historical marker

Photo by Virginia Diaz-Laughlin

Medrano stands in front of the Karankawa marker while filming 'Truly Texas Mexican.'

It's not often that a film has an impact past the box office, but one documentary has helped tell the truth about the Texas Gulf Coast's long-disparaged Karankawa people.

For years, the Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend and the Karankawa Tribe of Texas have fought for a corrected Texas Historical Commission marker in Corpus Christi. Houstonian Adán Medrano’s 2021 film, Truly Texas Mexican, helped finalize a push that will lead to a long-due correction on July 25.

The old marker was plainly offensive. Not only did it say the Karankawa people had "gained a reputation for savagery," but it repeated the long-discredited claim that they practiced cannibalism — a contention born out of the colonial need to justify violence against the tribe.

Medrano, a San Antonio native who currently lives in Houston, became part of the fight when he stood in front of the marker and made a direct appeal to correct the sign.

"I call upon the historians who live in Texas to come up and stand up and say, 'Take this down. This is a lie,'" he said during a scene in Truly Texas Mexican.

Two of them heard the call. Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi history professor Dr. Peter Moore and historian Dr. Tim Seiter of the University of Texas at Tyler joined the years-long Indigenous effort following the film's release. Led by the Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend and the Karankawa Tribe of Texas, the academics helped research and draft a replacement that honors them as one of Texas' first peoples.

The marker not only replaces racist mythmaking with scholarship and tribal knowledge, it presents the fact that Karankawa descendants aren't a historical footnote but a living community still present in South Texas today.

Medrano's advocacy here continues his work with the T exas Indigenous Food Project, a nonprofit dedicated to celebrating the Indigenous foodways of Texas and the Americas. But in many ways it is a continuation of a career devoted to amplifying voices rarely heard in popular culture. In 1976, he founded San Antonio's CineFestival, now the nation's longest-running Latine film festival.

At 10 am on July 25, representatives of the Indigenous Peoples of the Coastal Bend and the Karankawa Tribe of Texas will unveil the corrected marker, joined by Medrano. Visitors can find it at 6001 Ennis Joslin Rd.

adan medrano film indigenous history history