Texas State Parks holds photo contest for centennial

Visitors of Texas’ 89 state parks are encouraged to take and share photos of their adventures throughout the year, according to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. The organization is holding a yearlong photo contest to celebrate 100 years of Texas State Parks.

The contest features four themes—one for each season of 2023—and a winner will be selected quarterly. The year kicked off with the winter theme of “New Year, New Adventure,” according to a news release.

A grand prize winner will be selected at the end of the year after the submission deadline of Nov. 27. The grand prize winner will receive a Texas State Parks Pass, a $500 H-E-B gift card and a curated experience at a state park. The four seasonal winners will each receive a Texas State Parks Pass and a $100 H-E-B gift card, the release said.

Members of the public will vote for the grand prize winner in December, while the seasonal winners are selected by judges from the TPWD.

“We can’t wait to see the parks through our visitors’ eyes,” TPWD Social Media Coordinator Whitney Bishop said in the release. “There are so many special moments to capture, from watching a beautiful sunset to catching your first fish. This contest is about more than taking pictures. It’s about making memories.”

Photos must be taken at a Texas state park or natural area. Texans can share their entries on social media with the hashtags #TexasStateParks and #TexasParks100 or upload them to the contest website.

The complete contest rules can be found here, and more information about Texas State Parks centennial events can be found here.