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Two Day Trips From Austin, TX

June 19, 2013 by

Austin is full of enough culture to keep you quite busy, but if you're interested in venturing outside of the city, there are a few places worth visiting just a short distance away. Take a break from the hustle and bustle with one of these great day trips. Have a little fun, and explore all that Texas has to offer. 

Splish-and-Splash
Cool off with a visit to Schlitterbahn Water Park. Kids and adults can enjoy the numerous rides like water slides and raft rides. There is even a pool with a swim up bar for grown-ups. From April to September take a fun filled day trip to this amusement park located in New Braunfels.

Enjoy Great BBQ
Treat your stomach to something delicious, and visit the barbeque capital of Texas in nearby Lockhart. Stop by each of the four famous BBQ joints for a taste test, and see which is your favorite. Digest your food as you stroll through the nearby park, or play golf on the 9-hole course. Come during wildflower season to enjoy your food with beautiful scenery. 

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Reimers Ranch Park

May 10, 2013 by

Looking for a place to chill out in under the big Texas sky? Head to Reimers Ranch Park, a huge, pristine swath of parkland that’s the largest in Travis Country at 2,427 acres. Three miles of continuous beach frontage on the Pedernales River makes it a great spot for fishing and swimming on hot summer days. There’s no shade, so bring an umbrella and sunscreen. It’s also a premier destination for world-class rock climbing. More than 18 miles of trails in varying lengths and levels of strenuousness make for excellent hiking and biking opportunities. Port-a-potties are the only amenities. Leashed dogs are allowed.

Open sunrise to sunset. Car admission is $10.

Reimers Ranch Park
24100 Hamilton Pool Rd
Austin, TX 78798
(512) 854-7275
http://www.yelp.com/biz/milton-reimers-ranch-park-austin

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Ballet Austin: On Point

February 27, 2013 by

Austin is a culturally rich city, boasting a fair number of highbrow performance groups. One of the most long-lived and praised is Ballet Austin, which has been putting on impressive performances for over 50 years. Under the direction of Stephen Mills, the company encompasses 20 professional dancers recruited from a nationwide talent search, staging five productions yearly, including an extremely popular presentation of The Nutcracker. The productions are uniformly elegant and sensual, with talented dancers and engrossing choreography. Regulars rave about the avant-garde spin that Mills and company put on staid classics. In addition to their professional performances, Ballet Austin hosts a number of educational programs which draw locals in droves. The classes are held on a drop-in basis at The Butler Center, ranging from traditional ballet and tap to more unique offerings like hip-hop, Pilates and “Broadway Fit.” Prices are reasonable and the instructors are top notch. It’s a great resource for anybody interested in dance.

Ballet Austin
501 W. 3rd Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 476-9151
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ballet-austin-austin

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Violet Crown Cinema: King Of Film

January 23, 2013 by

One of Austin’s oldest nicknames is “The City Of The Violet Crown,” and that unlikely moniker gives this exceptional independent movie theater its name. Austin has long been known as a city that fiercely supports the arts, and the Violet Crown Cinema is one of the city’s best places to catch independent, foreign and documentary films on their first run. And they offer a number of amenities to make seeing movies here even more pleasant. Most interesting is reserved seating for every show – when you buy your ticket, you can pick your seat. Buy early enough and you can snag the super-comfortable front row seats. Prices are on par with other city theaters, and the concession stand is excellent. In addition to the typical popcorn and soda, the café features some truly awesome food, including the ginger pork tapas and some really good paninis. They also have a full cocktail bar with a top-notch beer and wine selection.

Violet Crown Cinema
434 W. 2nd Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 495-9600
http://www.yelp.com/biz/violet-crown-cinema-austin

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Zilker Botanical Garden: A Jewel In The Heart Of Austin

November 6, 2012 by

Austin, Texas, has a very different environment than much of the rest of the state—it’s moist and verdant, with heavy forests covering much of the city. For a wonderful immersion in the botanical glory of the area, head into the Zilker Botanical Gardens. Located in the center of Zilker Park, which was deeded to the city of Austin in 1917, the Botanical Garden is a spectacular collection of themed gardens. One of the most notable is the Hartman Prehistoric Garden—in 1992, a group of paleontologists discovered more than 100 dinosaur tracks in Zilker Park, and the area was then transformed into a garden populated with plants that would have grown there during the Cretaceous era. If you’re looking for some peace and serenity, head over to the Isamu Taniguchi Oriental Garden, a wonderful location to sit and commune with nature in front of a burbling koi pond. It’s a fantastic oasis in the middle of the city.

Zilker Botanical Garden
2220 Barton Springs Road
Austin, TX 78746
(512) 477-8672

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Support Local Farmers and Sustainable Foods at Austin Farmers’ Market

September 5, 2012 by

Support local farmers and small businesses while buying the freshest produce and gourmet foods at Austin Farmers’ Market. Opened in 2003, the Market has since become the place to go for sustainable food in Austin, with numerous vendors offering organic goods—many eagerly offering samples to try! Besides fresh foods, Austin Farmers Market holds a number of events and programs, from cooking classes by master chefs to seasonal festivals and celebrations. The markets also strive to environmentally conscious by placing compost bins for visitors to bring their trash from home, as well as water stations for filling up bottles with clean water for a few cents ($2 to start). Austin Farmers Maret is open year-round; for locations, days, and times, visit the Austin Farmers’ Market website at www.austinfarmersmarket.org.

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Austin Summer Fun: River Tubing on the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers

August 7, 2012 by

People don’t often connect rivers with Texas, but the central part of the state around Austin is remarkably lush and green, criss-crossed by a number of pleasant bodies of water. The most popular choice for innertubers is the San Marcos River; about a 40 minute drive from downtown Austin, it’s fed by underground springs, making it a pleasant 70 degrees during the floating season, which lasts from April through September. Starting below the Spring Lake dam, you’ll be on the river for between two and six hours. At certain points, you’ll cross over small dams with chutes to speed your ride up, which add a little bit of excitement. The Guadalupe River is another popular destination, with water that flows a little faster and colder but still very comfortable. There are a handful of companies that rent tubes and provide transportation to and from start and end points. Here are a few to check out:

Austin Float Trips
(512) 963-5628

Rockin "R" River RIdes
(830) 629-9999

Texas Tubes
(830) 626-9900

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Explore the Natural World at the Austin Nature & Science Center

July 31, 2012 by

Austin is widely regarded as the intellectual center of Texas, so it should come as no surprise that a world-class natural science museum rests inside its borders. The Austin Nature & Science Center was incorporated in 1960 to bring the natural world to Austin residents, and it has since become a very popular destination for families. One of the biggest attractions is the animal exhibits—it is stocked with over 90 native Texas animals that have either been recovered, injured, or abandoned, and can't be returned to the wild. Each animal has a story that goes along with it, some of which are quite heartbreaking. Other public exhibits include the Dino Dig area, which lets kids get into paleontology as they excavate for prehistoric fossils; and an outdoor raptor enclosure that lets visitors get amazingly close to some spectacular birds of prey. The best part about the Austin Nature & Science Center is that admission is completely free.

Austin Nature & Science Center
301 Nature Center Dr.
Austin, TX 78746
(512) 974-3888

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Experience the Best of Music With the Austin Symphony

July 24, 2012 by

With sweet-sounding music filling the air, family-friendly concerts, and school and public programs, the Austin Symphony has something for everyone. As Austin’s most seasoned performing arts group, the Symphony has provided countless seasons of brilliant music from talented musicians—it was founded way back in 1911! Symphony performances take place at The Long Center for Performing Arts, and include the Sarah & Ernest Butler Pops Series, an array of special family and children’s concerts, as well as a season of eight classical concerts from the Symphony. There are also a number of free concerts put on for the community, as well as seasonal performances like the Halloween Children’s Concert and the July 4th Concert and Fireworks.

Not a seasoned symphony go-er? Make sure to check out the Symphony website's special section on Tips for Beginners—find out what to wear, what to expect, and anything else you may need to know. You can also purchase tickets and see what concerts are coming up, here.

The Austin Symphony
1101 Red River
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 476-6064

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Pinballz Arcade: Full Tilt

July 3, 2012 by

Everything may be bigger in Texas, so imagine the size of the venue that avows to have the biggest stock of Pinball machines in the entire state! That’s the claim made by Pinballz Arcade of its 13,000 square-foot pinball and video game arcade and its 150-large stock of plugged-in pinball machines that span from a 1972 Lost World machine to a machine released in just 2011 for the TRON remake. And while pinball machines may be the eponymous hallmark of Pinballz Arcade, the place is replete with traditional and contemporary arcade games, like Mortal Kombat 3, Tekken 5, and Dance Dance Revolution. Pinballz Arcade is an obvious choice for birthday parties and it offers packages geared towards the young group looking to get lost in a cyclone of lights and sounds.

Pinballz Arcade
8940 Research Boulevard
Suite 100
Austin, TX 78758
(512) 420-8548
 

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