Texas is getting its very own long-distance cross-state thru trail thanks to one ambitious outdoorsman with a vision. The Cross Texas Trail (xTx) would extend 1,500 miles from Orange to El Paso, winding along some of the Lone Star State’s most scenic landscapes, passing towns and many historical sites, gaining roughly 56,000 feet in elevation along the way.
The nonprofit organization behind the xTx describes it on its website as “the future Pacific Crest Trail of Texas.”
Veteran trail hiker, bike-riding adventurer, and Texas native Charlie Gandy is leading the charge in establishing the xTx. The former Mesquite and East Dallas resident first had the idea when he was hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) in June 2024. He saw the power that cross-state trails had to connect people, uplift communities, and transform the individuals on them. He was a few days into his hike when it hit him.
“I could see a route across [Texas],” Gandy told GearJunkie. “I just wasn’t sure how I was going to get it done at that point.”
While people could technically hike the route now, Gandy hopes to have it officially established by the spring of 2025. At that point, it will be open season for thru-hikers, bikers, and horse riders who want to traverse the state of Texas by trail.
xTx: The Pacific Crest Trail of Texas
Gandy graduated from the University of Texas and worked under the governor before starting several businesses of his own. He’s a serial entrepreneur, but he also has a history in the nonprofit world. He founded BikeTexas.org, the first statewide bike advocacy group in Texas. Now, he’s also founded xTexas.org. He’s also an avid and fairly accomplished hiker in his spare time.
“I’ve hiked all of the fourteeners in Colorado and almost all of them in California and elsewhere,” he told me.
He revealed his plans for the xTx at the Texas Trails and Active Transportation Conference in September. He called the initiative kind of a wild ride, but said the response from both the hiking community and most of the locals he’s heard from has been positive.
“This is a big hairy goal that I get to undertake,” Gandy said. “It kind of has a life of its own.”

The trail will be a mix of singletrack and about 40% gravel roads. It will showcase the diverse environments, scenic landscapes, and cultural variety that span the largest state in the contiguous U.S. And, Gandy hopes, the xTx will also draw visitors who will bring business to the communities it passes through.
“It’s a new opportunity to have a different type of customer in town,” he said.

Crossing Texas: No Easy Endeavor


Getting xTx Across the Finish Line
