Bandera joins the xTx Trail at its 2nd Anniversary!
For Immediate Release Thursday, June 4, 2026
Bandera joins the xTx Trail at its 2nd Anniversary!
From: Melissa Balmer Melissa@xTexas.org Cell (360)265-2883 (please text first)
Images + video content for the media can be found HERE.
Charlie Gandy, Diana Walters, and Tony Soupley are available for interviews upon request. Please contact Melissa@xTexas.org to make arrangements.
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(Austin Texas) The xTexas Trail Association (nicknamed the xTx) is excited to announce the Cowboy Capitol of the World, Bandera Texas, has just been added to the 1,500-mile cross state hiking, biking and equestrian adventure route. The timing is perfect. Friday, June 12th is the second anniversary of xTx founder Charlie Gandy dreaming up the trail.
“I saw the possibility of creating an Appalachian type trail across Texas, and I realized that I might be the right guy to do it.” Gandy said, references his years in government, founding BikeTexas, and then moving to consult on biking, pedestrian, and trail projects across the country.
What’s even more exciting? The request to add Bandera to the existing xTx route has been completely community-driven by members of the Bandera Equine Posse. This local non-profit is dedicated to the preservation of the horse and cowboy way of life in Bandera.
Further, it’s just the beginning of the Posse working with the xTx team to bring horse-friendly facilities to this section of the xTx trail. A completely off-road, horse-focused section of the xTx trail around Bandera is in the planning phase, along with what will be the first modern livery barn in the U.S.
Find the overview of the full xTx map on Ride with GPS here: xtexas.org/xtexas-trail-map
Find the xTx Ride with GPS » Lockhart to Bandera here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/55460233
Find the xTx Ride with GPS » Bandera to Sanderson here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/55475350
When complete, the long-view vision of the xTx is a living model – a continuous, horse-friendly, bike-friendly, hike-friendly corridor to explore the entire state.
At roughly a forty-five minute drive from San Antonio, and two hour drive from Austin, Bandera and the xTx route through the Hill Country is the perfect rustic, rural, and romantic taste of the young cross-state adventure route.
Diana Walters, a member of the Bandera Equine Posse, and co-owner of both The Old Spanish Trail and The First National Ice Haus businesses on Main Street Bandera reached out to pitch bringing the trail directly through the historic town. Walters shares:
“As soon as I heard about the xTx, and realized where the trail originally traveled through the Hill Country–close but not through the town of Bandera–I knew I had to reach out. The xTx simply had to come through Bandera. You just can’t have a cross-Texas trail without including the Cowboy Capitol, can you?”
She further notes, “Where else can you ride your horse onto Main Street and tie up to a cedar post while you grab lunch or a beer? The xTx effort is going to be a multi-generational asset to our citizens, providing an opportunity for Texans 100 years from now to enjoy the natural beauty and special rural geography of our expansive state.”
After successfully connecting with the xTx team, Walters quickly got the full Bandera Equine Posse engaged. Bandera Equine Posse President Anthony Soupley says:
“With all of the work that the Bandera Equine Posse has been doing recently, it feels like a perfect partnership to have xTx come through Bandera. We have been coordinating with the City of Bandera to update our trailhead with better parking and new signage. We have been adding more hitching rails for horses throughout the city at the request of businesses. We are currently working on trying to add a livery in the historic center of Bandera so that visitors on horseback can have a secure place to keep their horses while they visit all of the great bars, restaurants, and shops. In Bandera, it's all about keeping the cowboy culture alive and this is another great way to help make that happen.”
How the xTx Got Started
On June 12th, 2024 xTx founder Charlie Gandy came up with the idea of a thru hiking and cycling trail in his home state of Texas while hiking in the snow in Lake Tahoe California. The 5th generation Texan and former state legislator, is an avid thru hiker and cyclist. He realized his home state would be the perfect place for late fall, winter, and early spring adventures when many of the other long distance trails in the United States are still grappling with snow conditions or other weather challenges.
When Gandy called to pitch the idea to his wife Melissa (who he’s worked with for the past fifteen years on various active mobility projects) she had one requirement: The trail had to include her first love, horses. Frankly, she felt a Texas trail wouldn’t be complete without it.
However, neither Charlie or Melissa realized quite how fantastic an ambassador the horse would be.
Horse lovers have bought land near the trail (with the hopes of offering horse friendly overnight camping in the future), businesses and churches along the route have been more excited and welcoming as soon as horses were mentioned, and several landowners have been even more open minded about the possibility of allowing the trail to cross their property once they found out horses would be included.
It will take years to create a truly horse friendly trail from East to West. For now the xTx team is focused on creating horse friendly corridors like the one Bander’s Equine Posse is working on.
Gandy is excited by how quickly everything’s coming together in Bandera. He shares:
“We see Bandera as the first official ‘Trailhead Town’ and a prototype for the xTx. It’s a welcoming place where the local community understands what innovative rural Texas economic development looks like in 2026.
Towns with unique culture, character and local customs are key reasons mature trails like the Appalachian, Arizona, Colorado, and Pacific Crest Trail thrive. It’s not just about outdoor adventure. A big part for travellers is about where you can enjoy terrific food, and a comfortable, charming place to sleep for the night.”
The xTx Travels Through Some of the Most Gorgeous and Remote Sections of the Hill Country
Gandy designed the entire xTx route to be rural and remote, and through the Hill Country it doesn’t disappoint.
Once you put the I-35 corridor in the rearview and launch into Bandera County, it’s easy to understand why the area is holding onto its cowboy identity. The low rolling terrain west of the Balcones Fault leads to a gentle and sparsely-populated climb into Bandera itself, where rugged karstic hills frame the view just beyond the city limits. Prior geologic uplift spawned beautiful hills and valleys just begging to be hiked, biked and ridden.
As everyone knows, water is a scarce resource in our state. However, this particular area is fortunate to have both the Guadalupe and Frio Rivers traverse multiple county lines serving for the enjoyment of many waders, tubers and fisherfolk. Nearer to Bandera, the smaller Medina River winds through the limestone hills and marks an important historical boundary that actually separated old Mexico (Coahuila during Spanish colonial times) from the province of Tejas area prior to Texas’ Independence from Mexico in 1836 at which time it became the Republic of Texas.
Fossils of ancient marine species can be found, underscoring the area’s geologic history and giving clues to the formation of the deep limestone canyons and underground spring-fed streams that make it vibrant today. After all, this area of Texas was once completely covered by a massive ocean.
Native trees and plants anchor the land and the visual experience, from bunch grasses, prickly pear, and agarita shrubs to canopies of Ashe juniper and live oak. In various seasons from late fall to early spring, wildlife encounters may include camouflaged Texas spiny lizards, elusive ringtails or even bobcats, migrating tarantulas, white-tailed deer or the iconic nine-banded armadillo. The Texas hill country is the only place in the United States where the endangered Golden-cheeked warbler can be found – it nests only in the bark of the Ashe juniper tree.
About the xTx Trail
Gandy mapped out the original xTx route on Ride with GPS while still at home in the Pacific Northwest. He created a wandering, target-rich route from East to West to include many of his favorite places to hike, cycle, and wander.
The xTx begins near the Texas/Louisiana border on the south end of Toledo Bend reservoir. It travels through the heart of rural Texas, and includes bayous and piney forests, the most remote part of the Hill Country, the Big Bend region, the Chihuahuan desert, the Davis Mountains, Guadalupe Mountains, and the Franklin Mountains before ending in El Paso on the New Mexico border.
In its current iteration, the xTx route utilizes public paved, gravel, and dirt roads and singletrack, as well as state and national parks including the Sam Houston Forest, and Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks.
For thru hiking the xTx is meant to be traveled seasonally from late fall through early spring due to heat and water considerations. At this time it is only recommended for seasoned, skilled hikers and cyclists knowledgeable about self-supported adventure travel.
Gandy completed his full inaugural thru hike of the xTx with two friends on March 29, 2026. xTx trail friend and supporter Rhea Wallace bike packed the entire route in 2025.
Texans are already showing tremendous support for the xTx. The project already has 4,138 Instagram followers, 2,100k+ email subscribers, 500+ FaceBook followers, 150+ people have volunteered their time, talent, and treasure, and it’s been featured in 40+ media stories including CNN’s 5 Good Things podcast, the Good News Network, NPR’s All Things Considered, and the Texas Monthly and Texas Public Radio. Learn more at xTexas.org.
About Bandera and the Bandera Equine Posse
Bandera is about forty-five minutes from San Antonio and two hours from Austin. Located on the Medina River it’s nestled into one of the most remote regions of the Texas Hill Country.
Founded in 1853, Bandera was a major staging area for the 2,000 mile Great Western Cattle Trail in the early 19th century, from 1874 to 1893. This helped earn the town the title of the “Cowboy Capital” of the world, and this horse related DNA remains a part of the town today.
The Bander Equine Posse is a non-profit group launched in 2025 and is dedicated to preserving the heritage of horses and the cowboy way of life in Bandera, a town officially known as the Cowboy Capital of the World. Their mission includes partnering with relevant agencies to identify, establish, and maintain an Equestrian Trail System that promotes trail riding in Bandera. We aim to recognize horses in Bandera as a valuable asset to our community and to visitors alike. After all, horses need to have a voice.
Learn more at: banderaequineposse.org
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