What to Bring on a Road Trip Through Texas

Bring more water than you think you need, real sun protection, a full tank whenever you can get one, and offline maps for the stretches where your phone gives up. Texas is less a state you drive through and more a state you drive across, and the distances change what belongs in the car.

Crossing on I-10 from El Paso to the Louisiana line takes most of a day of hard driving, and that's if you don't stop, which you will, because Texas is good at making you stop. What follows is what actually earns its seat in the vehicle.

Water, and then more water

This is the one item people underpack. West of the Hill Country, towns thin out fast. Between Fort Stockton and Van Horn on I-10, or anywhere near Big Bend, you can go a long time between places that sell anything. A gallon jug per person in the trunk is not paranoid. It's just Texas.

Add a cooler. Not for luxury — for function. Gas station ice is cheap and everywhere, and a drink that was cold in Junction will be warm by Ozona without it. The cooler also becomes your leftover-brisket vault, which matters more than you'd think. More on that below.

Sun protection that you'll actually use

The Texas sun does not negotiate. It comes through the driver's side window all afternoon and it will cook your left arm to a different color than your right. Locals call it a trucker's tan and nobody is embarrassed by it, but you can avoid it.

• Sunscreen in the door pocket, not buried in a bag. If it's not within reach, it doesn't exist.
• A hat with a real brim. Ball cap minimum.
• Sunglasses you'd be sad to lose, plus a cheap backup pair, because you will sit on the first pair somewhere around Abilene.
• A long-sleeve layer for when the sun is winning. Counterintuitive, but shade you can wear beats bare skin in August.

If you're driving in July or August, accept the situation early. There's a reason we make a Hot in Texas Tee. It's not a joke so much as a weather report.

Clothes for a state with four climates

Texas doesn't have one weather. The Panhandle can be spitting sleet while South Padre is beach weather. Big Bend swings hard between a hot afternoon and a genuinely cold night, especially outside of summer. So pack in layers, not outfits.

A few t-shirts, one warm layer, one rain layer, and shoes you can walk a caliche road in will cover almost every situation. If you want the shirts to say where you've been, the Texas collection exists for exactly this trip — the Lone Star Longhorn Tee makes sense once you've watched actual longhorns ignore you from behind a fence on a farm-to-market road, which will happen within the first two hours.

One note on footwear: whatever you wear, expect it to pick up dust. West Texas dirt is a fine pale powder that gets into everything and it's part of the deal. Don't bring shoes you're precious about.

The food plan

Half the point of driving Texas is eating your way across it, so the packing list here is mostly about supporting the mission.

• Napkins and wet wipes, a lot of them. Barbecue in Lockhart or Luling is served on butcher paper and eaten with your hands. The car will smell like smoke for two days after. This is a feature.
• The cooler, again. You will over-order brisket. Everyone does. Leftover brisket at a rest stop the next morning is better than most planned meals.
• Cash, a little. Some of the best food in the state comes out of small-town spots and roadside stands where the card reader is a rumor.
• Restraint at Buc-ee's, which you will not use. The giant beaver-branded travel stops are a legitimate Texas institution. Go in for gas, come out with Beaver Nuggets, jerky, and a brisket sandwich. Budget twenty minutes minimum.

If you're on I-35 between Waco and Hillsboro, the town of West is the kolache stop. Czech settlers left the area with a pastry tradition and the exits are built around it. Get the sausage-and-cheese kind and also a fruit one. Don't try to pick.

What the car itself needs

Distances out west turn small car problems into big afternoon problems. Before you leave a real town, check the basics.

• A full tank whenever you're below half, west of I-35. The rule out there is simple: gas is where gas is, not where you want it.
• Offline maps downloaded for your whole route. Cell coverage drops out in the Davis Mountains, along the River Road near Terlingua, and across long stretches of US-90. Highway 170 along the Rio Grande is one of the best drives in the country and your phone will be a brick for most of it.
• A spare tire you've actually looked at, and the jack that goes with it. Ranch roads and shredded truck-tire debris on the interstate are hard on rubber.
• A phone charger that works, plus a backup cable.
• A windshield sun shade. Park anywhere in a Texas summer without one and the steering wheel becomes a branding iron.

Timing changes the packing list

Spring is the famous window. From roughly late March into April, bluebonnets take over the roadsides in the Hill Country — the stretches around Ennis, Burnet, and along US-290 between Austin and Fredericksburg are the classic runs. Bring a camera and the patience to pull over safely, because everyone else is pulling over too. It's the season the Texas Bluebonnet Tee was made for, and it's worth planning a trip around at least once.

Fall means football. If your route crosses a small town on a Friday night, the stadium lights are on and the whole town is under them. It's worth stopping for. Winter is the sleeper season for Big Bend — cool days, cold nights, pack the warm layer. Summer is for people who read the water section above and took it seriously.

Small things people forget

• A paper map or road atlas. Not nostalgia — redundancy. See above regarding cell service.
• Bug spray if you're headed toward the Gulf Coast or East Texas. The Piney Woods are beautiful and the mosquitoes there know it.
• A trash bag for the car. Texans take Don't Mess with Texas seriously. It started as an anti-litter campaign and became a personality trait. Respect it.
• Quarters or a card for car washes. After the ranch roads, you'll want one.
• Something to read out loud. The stretch between Ozona and Fort Stockton is long and the conversation will run out before the road does.

Common questions

How long does it take to drive across Texas?

Crossing east to west on I-10 is a full long day of driving at minimum, and most people should split it over two. North to south, from the Panhandle to the border, is a similar commitment. Plan the state like a region, not a stop.

When is the best time for a Texas road trip?

Late March through April for bluebonnets and mild weather, or October and November for cooler days and football. Summer works if you stick to early mornings, air conditioning, and a serious water supply. Winter is the best window for Big Bend.

Do I need to worry about gas and cell service?

West of I-35, yes to both. Fill up whenever you drop below half a tank, and download offline maps before you leave a city. Long stretches of US-90, the Big Bend region, and the Davis Mountains have little or no coverage.