Day Trippin' › Texas › From College Station
From College Station, the Sam Houston Memorial Museum is under an hour away, Huntsville State Park about an hour, Bastrop State Park and Stephen F. Austin State Park under an hour and a half, Waco's Magnolia Market about an hour and a half, and Houston's museums about an hour and a half. The best day trips from College Station, by drive time.
104 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
Museum · 52 min east
A 15-acre complex in Huntsville once owned by Sam Houston, with a museum, two homes where his family lived and the Republic of Texas Presidential Library.
Family fun · 1 hr 23 min northwest
Busy shopping and food complex in Waco with shops, places to eat and a big turf lawn.
Swimming · 1 hr 50 min west
A three-acre spring-fed pool in Austin's Zilker Park that stays around 68-70 degrees all year. It is home to the endangered Barton Springs salamander.
Museum · 1 hr 56 min southeast
Space museum and visitor center by NASA's Johnson Space Center with exhibits, The Moonwalkers show and NASA tram tours.
State park · 1 hr 4 min east
Pine forest park around 210-acre Lake Raven with a swim area, kayak rentals, 21 miles of hiking and biking trails and access to the Lone Star Hiking Trail.
National park · 1 hr 30 min northwest
See mammoth fossils left where they were found, on a guided tour of the dig shelter in Waco.
Zoo · 1 hr 34 min southeast
Big zoo in Houston's Hermann Park.
Bike trail · 1 hr 46 min west
A 2.8-mile hard-surfaced trail inside McKinney Falls State Park that suits road bikes, strollers and easy walks.
State park · 1 hr 17 min southwest
A park in the Lost Pines forest with 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps cabins and buildings. You can see the forest regrowing after recent fires.
Town · 2 hr 16 min southwest
A 15-acre historic district on the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels, with old township buildings, local shops, food and free live music daily.
Swimming · 2 hr 19 min west
A swimming hole under a roughly 50-foot waterfall in a box canyon west of Austin. A short, steep, rocky trail leads down to it.
Theme park · 2 hr 20 min southwest
A big riverside waterpark in New Braunfels with about 45 rivers, rides and slides in four sections, each with a lazy river and kids' area.
Cave · 2 hr 34 min southwest
Big show cave near New Braunfels named for the natural limestone bridge at its entrance. Two guided cavern tours plus zip lines, a maze and gem mining above ground.
Historic site · 2 hr 38 min north
Fort Worth's Old West district, where the Fort Worth Herd runs the world's only daily cattle drive and rodeos fill the historic Cowtown Coliseum.
Town · 2 hr 42 min southwest
A walkway below street level along the San Antonio River, lined with restaurants, shops and hotels downtown. It runs about 15 miles in all.
Historic site · 2 hr 44 min southwest
Four Spanish colonial missions on the south side of San Antonio, Concepcion, San Jose, San Juan and Espada. The Espada Aqueduct and Rancho de las Cabras are part of the park too.
State park · 2 hr 52 min northwest
Walk in real dinosaur tracks in the Paluxy River bed near Glen Rose, with about 20 miles of trails for hiking and mountain biking.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 77840 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.