travel and rhum

Not judged just by having great parks, but also the system itself and the management? I recently saw an article claiming Texas won an award by some organization for having the best in the country. (I haven't visited many other state's parks to compare, but I do think TPWD is a solid organization)

Like me, I'm sure alot of y'alls hiking takes place in state parks! So which has the best system in your experience? Pros/Cons? Things you like about how they're run? And lastly what's your favorite state park you've been to?

I hear some states have free park entry for residents which sounds awesome, but isn't a thing in Texas. My favorite state park is Palo Duro Canyons in Texas. Very cool place!

Hi all! I'm fairly new to hiking, so you can probably imagine where this is going. My friend and I decided to go on an out-and-back hike this weekend and we misread the Alltrails description–we thought it was 2.5 miles round trip, but instead it was 2.5 miles out and 2.5 miles back. After we got up to the lake on the way up, I noticed the front of my right hip where my leg meets my pelvis was almost screaming in pain. I could barely move my right leg up and down without shooting pain going down that area. I worry I didn't stretch enough before the hike, but is this a common hiking injury? I think what I might have done is strained my right hip flexor pretty bad, but I'm not sure how to prevent this in the future so that I can successfully go on hikes this long or longer in the future.