Austin Area Links

Things To Do

Three Popular Lakes in the Austin Area:
Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake) http://www.highlandlakes.net/townlake/
Lake Austin http://www.highlandlakes.net/lakeaustin/
Lake Travis http://www.highlandlakes.net/laketravis/

Austin City Limits
For over 33 years, Austin City Limits has presented live music to audiences across the world. The award-winning series spotlights artists of every musical genre; from rhythm and blues to rock, jazz, and alternative music.
http://www.pbs.org/klru/austin/

Austin Duck Adventures
Tours in the unique Austin Duck vehicles.
http://www.austinducks.com/

Austin Galleries
http://www.austingalleries.com/

Austin Ghost Tours
Walking tours in downtown Austin on Friday and Saturday nights.
http://www.austinghosttours.com/

Austin Museum of Art
http://www.amoa.org/

Austin Overtures Sightseeing Tours of Austin and the Texas Hill Country.
http://www.austinovertures.com/

Austin's Park
Mini golf, bumper boats, go-karts, rock climbing, kiddie play area, laser tag, batting cages, game pavilion and more on 22 acres of outdoor fun and more than 50,000 square feet of indoor fun.
http://www.austinspark.com/

Austin Steam Train
The Austin Steam Train offers you a year-round choice of excursions. The trains are operated by the dedicated staff and volunteer crews of the Austin Steam Train Association, a community-based non-profit organization.
http://www.austinsteamtrain.org/

Austin Zoo
Austin Zoo is a rescue zoo and provides sanctuary to displaced animals from a variety of unfortunate and often neglectful situations.
http://www.austinzoo.org/

The Bats at the Congress Avenue Bridge
Watch thousands of bats leaving the bridge and soaring in the sky.
http://www.batcon.org/

Bear Creek Stables
Horseback riding lessons, hay rides, guided rides, parties, horse camp, BBQs and more. http://www.bearcreekstables.com/

Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
Texas museum with an IMAX and Spirit Theatre.
http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/

Cabela’s Buda
Retail Store is located just off I-35 between Austin and San Antonio. In addition to offering quality outdoor merchandise, the 185,000 sq. ft. showroom is an educational and entertainment attraction, featuring a décor of museum-quality animal displays, huge aquariums and trophy animals interacting in realistic re-creations of their natural habitats.
http://www.cabelas.com/retaistores-buda.shtml/

Capital Cruises
Boat tours of Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake) in Austin, lunch and dinner cruises, boat rentals, bat excursions, group outings, special events and entertainment.
http://www.capitalcruises.com/

Chaparral Ice Centers
Ice skating, hockey program, skating classes, figure skating, summer camps and more.
http://www.chaparralice.com/

Clean Air Limo
Car service in luxury hybrid cars: airport pickups, city to city, winery tours & more. http://www.cleanairlimo.com/

Cruises
http://www.cruisesforless.net/

The Dinosaur Park
Educational and fun place for everyone to learn about the majestic animals.
http://www.thedinopark.com/

Experience Austin
ExperienceAustin.com

Free Tours of the Texas Capitol
Self-guided tours of the State Capitol building in Austin. It is a replica of the U.S. capitol building in Washington D.C. but is a few inches taller. Tours are in several foreign languages. http://www.tspb.state.tx.us/SPB/Plan/Tours.htm

Highland Lakes
Stay in a lake rental cabin or a lake house on one of these lakes and enjoy boating, swimming, waterskiing, jet skiing, fishing and more.
http://www.highlandlakes.com/

Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory
Hornsby Bend is open to visitors 7 days a week from dawn to dark. Free monthly birding fieldtrips take place on the third Saturday of each month.
http://www.hornsbybend.org/

Inner Space Cavern
Just 24 miles north of Austin, Texas, a natural cavern formed millions of years ago. http://www.innerspace.com/

Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farm
Classes in harvesting, quilting, blacksmithing, woodworking, fiber arts, cooking, rope making and many more.
http://www.pioneerfarms.org/

Kiddie Acres
An amusement park for children 10 years old and younger with rides and miniature golf. Rides for children. A great place for birthday parties, too.
http://www.kiddieacres.com/

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
The Wildflower Center's Native Plant Information Network allows you to search for native plant info by plant traits or names, browse through their collection of 17,000 native plants.
http://www.wildflower.org/

Lonestar Riverboat
This true, old-fashioned, paddle-wheeler on Lady Bird Lake is sure to charm you with nostalgia and Austin's gorgeous city skyline; experience the exhilaration of the outdoors, the abundant waterfowl, and beauty that is Austin.
http://www.lonestarriverboat.com/

Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library holds more than 45 million pages of manuscripts and an extensive audiovisual collection.
http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/

Mount Bonnell
Have a picnic with great views of Lake Austin from this 785 foot limestone hill.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Bonnell

Millinium Youth Entertainment Complex
Experience a state-of-the-art entertainment complex. Bowl, roller skate, see a movie, play arcade games. Have a birthday party!
http://www.myec.com

Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch
Visit Africa – in the picturesque Texas Hill Country. Home to over 50 species of animals from all over the world, Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch allows you to explore the wilds of many continents a little closer to home. Take a safari drive thru Texas style. New Braunfels, Texas.
http://www.nbwildliferanchtx.com/

Natural Bridge Caverns
View more than 10,000 different formations in underground chambers. Texas' largest natural attraction U.S. Natural Landmark, tours daily. Near San Antonio.
http://www.naturalbridgecaverns.com/

Parks and Recreation
The Austin Parks and Recreation Department oversees more than 16,682 acres of land containing 206 parks, 12 preserves (sanctuaries for native plants, native animals and unique natural features), and 26 greenbelts (parkland on creeks and canyons). Parks are open for public use each day from 5am - to 10pm unless otherwise posted.
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/adadocs/visitdocs/outdoor.htm

The Performing Arts Center at the University of Texas
http://www.utpac.org/

The Paramount Theatre and State Theatre Company
http://www.theparamount.org/

South by Southwest Festival
Make your reservations early for this popular festival.
http://www.sxsw.com/

Sunshine Machine Boat Tours
They run a charter boat service on Lake Austin near City Park, that takes 1 to 30 passengers on scenic cruises up a beautiful part of the lake. The Sunshine Machine multi-level party boat is great for office parties, entertaining out-of-town guests, birthdays, team building, and other special occasions.
http://www.sunshinemachine.net/

Texas Natural Science Center
The Texas Natural Science Center is the home of the Texas Memorial Museum, the Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory, the Non-vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory and the Texas Natural History Collections.
http://www.utexas.edu/depts/tmm/index.html/

Texas Hill Country Vineyards
Many of these wineries on this web site offer wine tasting and tours of the wineries. Many are within a 90 minute drive of Austin.
http://www.hill-country.net/wineries.htm

Texpert Tours
Customized trips in Austin and the Hill Country to wild places & weird sites
http://www.texperttours.com/

Tours of the Tower at the University of Texas
The 307-foot tall UT Austin Tower offers a spectacular view of the UT Campus and the Austin area in all directions. It is a famous landmark in Austin.
http://www.utexas.edu/tower/

Travis County Parks
The parks of Travis County are great for softball and soccer, family picnics, hiking, nature study, or just leaning back to view a spectacular Hill Country sunset.
http://www.co.travis.tx.us/tnr/parks/

Volente Beach and Waterpark
Water rides and beach on Lake Travis
http://www.volentebeach.com/

Wonder World
Petting zoo, train ride, anti gravity house and more in San Marcos, Texas.
http://www.wonderworldpark.com/