NEED TO KNOW
Emma Keteler plans to visit all 89 Texas state parks in 2026 despite her November wedding shortening her timeline
She follows three rules at each park: camp, swim if possibleand try the park’s signature activity
Keteler shares her journey with thousands of followers on social media to inspire local exploration over popular tourist destinations
For someone who’d only been camping one time before turning 21, Emma Keteler has an ambitious goal for 2026.
Over the course of the calendar year, the 29-year-old social media manager plans to visit all 89 of Texas’ state parks. The Austin resident tells PEOPLE she’s been to 49 thus far, but her November wedding makes her deadline even shorter.
“Recently, I did 11 parks in seven days, so that worked out really well,” Keteler says. “But I will say now some of the parks I have left are all very far from each other, like I still have to make it out to El Paso and Big Bend.”
The idea came to her after spending years focusing on international travel. Once Keteler had her own “adult money,” she would make plans to be out of the country for a month or two every year. But Keteler quickly realized she’s hardly even seen her own backyard — including the abundance of national and state parks in her home state.
“Up until I was old enough to make my own decisions, I think I’d been to one state park one time and that was pretty much it,” she says.
Combining her desire to see all sides of Texas and her disdain for her mundane day-to-day life, Keteler quit her corporate job and began her journey in January. But before her adventure could begin, she laid out three rules she’d have to follow to check each park off her list.
Emma Keteler paddle boards at a Texas State Park.
Credit: Emma Keteler
“One rule is if it’s known for camping, to camp there,” Keteler explains. “If there’s a body of water that you’re allowed to swim in, to swim in it. And then to try and do whatever the park is most known for,” like hiking, horseback riding, paddleboarding or fishing.
Keteler says the rules are to ensure that she is actually experiencing the best of what each park has to offer. It’s forced her out of her comfort zone, like going for 35-degree plunges in the winter or tent camping during 85-degree evening temperatures.
Emma Keteler hikes at a Texas State Park.
Credit: Emma Keteler
Despite the remaining 40 parks, Keteler already has a short list of favorites.
At Caprock Canyons State Park in the Texas Panhandle, she navigated through red-rock cliffs and came face-to-face with free-roaming bison herds. Over in east Texas, Daingerfield State Park was a “little oasis” with tall pine trees and a spring-fed lake covered with lily pads.
Emma Keteler visits Caprock Canyons State Park in Texas.
Credit: Emma Keteler
Along the way, Keteler is capturing footage to share with her nearly 16,000 followers on Instagram and over 34,000 followers on TikTok. She’s using her platform to encourage her followers to take advantage of what their community has to offer.
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“National parks are lovely, but it feels like this Disney World sort of destination rather than something that has been created for you,” Keteler says. “It’s about connecting with your own history and what is right here, 10 miles from you.”
“Again,” she adds, “I never went to State Parks as a kid. There’s four or five that were within an hour drive of where I lived for 15 years and I didn’t realize that we have these beautiful natural experiences.”
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