Texas area with nature AND proximity to a city?
 

I'm from the east coast and have never been to Texas. I have about 4/5 days and would love to explore 1 or 2 parts of the state.

I'm not looking for big cities, in fact I'd like to stay away. Where can I fly into and then get out of the city to be by a lake, nature, etc AND come back to the city at night?

Are there any areas such as that in Texas? Thank you.

Try the Hill Country. Fly into Austin or San Antonio or into one and out of the other.

If you like desert, fly to El Paso and drive north into New Mexico or east to Ft Stanton, Marfa, Big Bend. I wouldn't necessarily go to this area in the summer.

On the north side of Love Field http://www.dallasparks.org/230/Bachman-Lake
You might also like the area around Corpus Christi which has both the Gulf Coast and a large lake to the west.

What to see with Corpus Christi as a base - http://www.visitcorpuschristitx.org/...ounding-areas/

I second the Austin/San Antonio idea, as well as the Big Bend area; however, Big Bend will be hard to get "back to the city" at the end of the day.

Austin or San Antonio for sure!

I'd say San Antonio has more beautiful state parks around it (Lost Maples, Garner, Enchanted Rock), though all are over an hour away, but Austin has much more beautiful nature in the city, and surrounding areas. If you start hiking the Violet Crown Trail in Austin at Zilker Park, you will feel like you're miles away from the city, and can spend an entire day exploring the trails throughout the Austin Greenbelt. Right in Austin also is McKinney Falls State Park, and not too far away is Pedernales Falls SP. Spending an afternoon/evening just next to Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin can be really nice.

Having never been to Texas, I'd probably recommend San Antonio, because the surrounding parks are little bit more 'spectacular' than Austin, but also because the traffic coming in and out of the city will not be nearly as bad as in Austin. 5 days may even be enough time to visit both! Natural Bridge Caverns near San Antonio is also pretty cool.

Tomfuller, have you actually been to Dallas? And yet you'd make that suggestion? SMH.

I would not travel all the way to Dallas to see Bachman Lake. That's just a waste of your time and money. It's a man-made water feature that's little more than an oversized pond and it is NOT a wildlife/naturalist area. It's fine as a greenbelt for walking and outdoor activities but it is NOT a reason to visit Dallas. Neither is White Rock Lake, which is far larger, in a less urban setting and part of which borders the excellent Dallas Arboretum.

Ackislander's suggestions are on point. If you're trying to come down here during the Spring, the Hill Country is likely to top your list.

If you need to be near a big city, then Dallas has this: http://www.dmagazine.com/publication...allas?single=1

And Houston has this: http://www.everytrail.com/best/hiking-houston-texas

My favorite water feature in Texas is the Riverwalk in San Antonio. I've been there several times.
If I ever go back to Texas it will be to the Corpus Christi area.