Texas

Texas sits in the south-central region of the United States, bordered by New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas and Louisiana to the east, and Mexico to the south along the Rio Grande. The state capital is Austin. As of July 2025, Texas is home to an estimated 31,709,821 people, making it the second-most populous state in the country, right behind California. It is also the second-largest state by land area, and anyone who has driven across it knows that both facts hit differently once you are behind the wheel.

Driving Directions to Texas

Whether you are using Google Maps driving directions, pulling up MapQuest, or mapping out a road trip on paper, Texas demands more planning than most states. The distances between major cities here are not trivial. Houston to El Paso alone runs over 740 miles on I-10, roughly the same as driving from Chicago to New York. Getting your directions to Texas sorted before departure is not just helpful; it is essential.

Landmarks Worth the Drive

San Antonio anchors the south with two stops that belong on every Texas itinerary. The Alamo is a 300-year-old mission that became the defining symbol of Texan independence, and standing inside its walls carries a weight that photographs never quite capture. Just steps away, the River Walk winds through the city along the San Antonio River, lined with restaurants, bridges, and the kind of unhurried atmosphere that makes it effortless to lose an afternoon. Austin runs on live music and outdoor energy—Lady Bird Lake for kayaking and running trails; Sixth Street for nights that stretch longer than planned; and the Texas State Capitol rising above it all. Houston's Space Center brings visitors face to face with genuine NASA history, from Apollo-era mission control rooms to full-scale rockets. Out in West Texas, Big Bend National Park delivers canyon landscapes and Rio Grande river trails under some of the darkest night skies in the entire country.

Food That Defines the State

Texas BBQ is not a meal; it is a commitment. Slow-smoked brisket is the undisputed centerpiece, cooked over post oak wood for up to 18 hours at legendary pits across the state. Beef ribs, pulled pork, and jalapeño cheddar sausage round out a BBQ culture that attracts food writers, chefs, and road trippers from every corner of the world. Tex-Mex runs a close second in the hearts of locals: breakfast tacos in Austin, cheese enchiladas in San Antonio, and queso that Texans will defend with remarkable intensity. Chicken-fried steak, chili con carne, and kolaches — a Czech-origin pastry now permanently embedded in Texas roadside culture, complete a food identity that belongs to nowhere else on earth.

Key Highways and Driving Directions

Before you search for directions to Texas on any maps app, understanding the highway network saves real time on the road.

I-35 is the backbone of the state running north to south. It begins at the Mexican border in Laredo and pushes through San Antonio, Austin, Waco, and Dallas before crossing into Oklahoma. Anyone looking for driving directions between San Antonio and Dallas will spend most of that trip on I-35. The Austin corridor is one of the state's most congested, so plan your route accordingly.

I-10 is the longest highway in Texas at 877 miles, crossing the entire state from El Paso in the far west through San Antonio and Houston before reaching the Louisiana border. Travelers getting driving directions from Los Angeles or Phoenix to Texas enter the state on this route.

I-45 connects Houston directly to Dallas on a straight north-south line, linking the two largest cities in Texas in one clean shot. If your Google Maps is routing you between these two cities, I-45 is the road it puts you on.

I-20 serves as the main east-west corridor across West and Central Texas, running from El Paso through Midland, Abilene, Fort Worth, and Dallas toward the Louisiana state line. Road trippers driving from New Mexico or beyond will recognize I-20 as their primary entry point into the heart of Texas.

I-30 connects the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area eastward through Texarkana into Arkansas, handling heavy freight and commuter traffic across the DFW area daily.

Rush hours in Houston and Dallas both follow the same pattern: 7 to 9 AM and 4 to 7 PM on weekdays. I-35 through Austin deserves extra attention because congestion there builds well outside traditional peak hours, especially on weekend afternoons when the city's population and its visitors all seem to be on the road at the same time.