It’s preferable to visit a college when it’s in full swing but that’s not always possible. To be realistic, pre- application visits have limited value in many cases. Let’s say if it’s between visiting Harvard and a match school, I would rather visit match school because Harvard is ultra selective so no point in wasting time until I have acceptance.
You are in Texas so start there and try to get the feel if you prefer small or big schools, rigorous or relaxed, urban or suburban, liberal or conservative, diverse or monochromatic, sports craze or Greek life, residential or commuter etc. These experiences would help you trim your out of state list. If you hate UT’s size, no point in going to UC Berkeley, if you don’t like UNT’s lack of high stars students, you are not likely to enjoy LSU either. If you don’t like Rice’s residential system, you are not likely to appreciate Yale’s residential system.
The most important visit is your ED school, don’t lock yourself without visiting. It may look good on paper but a trip can tell you that you’ll have to hop on a 6 hr flight to see your family or have no good internship/research opportunities are available in quintessential small college town or six months of harsh winter isn’t as appealing as it looks in a 2 hr movie.