New Blooms Across Texas map pinpoints roadside wildflowers

How it works: Head to the Statewide Planning Map website and select "Blooms Across Texas" under Basemaps. And voilà.

• The map shows the locations of four types of blooms: Prairie verbena, Texas paintbrush, Indian blanket and bluebonnets.
• It also includes locations of annual wildflower festivals and other floral attractions across the state.

Zoom in: Mapping experts with the Texas Department of Transportation used a decade's worth of verified crowdsourced data from iNaturalist to find the blooms and make the user-friendly map.

• TxDOT says its goal is to make it easier for folks to plan where they can park and get the best photos. The agency recommends drivers park away from traffic and not on top of the blooms.

Pro tip: Adding a previously released map layer pinpointing Texas Monthly's top-50 barbecue spots could help you plan the ultimate Texas weekend for photos and fare.

• To do that, select "Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ Joints" under the Additional Overlays section after setting the base map.

What's next: Blooms Across Texas is the first of several themed maps TxDOT plans to release in 2026 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Statewide Planning Map.