7 finest day journeys from Austin, Texas

The town of Austin is a destination in and of itself.

However the metropolis’s location within the Texas Hill Country makes it simple for vacationers to entry different distinctive locations and not using a lengthy drive. The realm is filled with phenomenal hiking spots, standard lakes and rivers, small cities with cute downtowns, and wineries galore. If you happen to’re going to journey all the best way to Austin, you may as effectively pattern what the broader area has to supply, too. 

We’ve made an inventory of our favourite day journey locations from Austin inside a two-hour drive. If you happen to schedule your travels effectively, you’ll be able to benefit from the metropolis and some of Texas’ most magical spots multi functional trip.

1. Discover the River Stroll and go to the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas

Journey time: 1 hour and quarter-hour

If you happen to can spare just a few days to go to San Antonio, don’t miss the chance. Its Spanish colonial structure makes it some of the stunning cities within the US. If you happen to solely have the day, nonetheless, the 15-mile River Walk connects a number of districts like Downtown to the favored Pearl District, house to a meals corridor, farmers market and procuring. 

A go to to San Antonio wouldn’t be full with out experiencing the town’s historic Spanish previous and its vibrant Mexican tradition as we speak. The San Antonio Missions National Historic Park options 5 historic Spanish missions, together with the Alamo, that are all linked by a motorbike path. Don’t miss an opportunity to expertise San Antonio’s Chicano neighborhood at El Mercado, a conventional Mexican market full of retailers with Mexican-made merchandise, artwork, conventional meals stalls, eating places, bakeries, and musical and inventive performances.

Find out how to get to San Antonio from Austin: The best approach to get to San Antonio from Austin is to drive down I-35. Nonetheless, you may additionally take the bus through Greyhound and MegaBus or hop on the Amtrak Texas Eagle prepare. An Amtrak coach ticket from Austin to San Antonio is reasonable, however the journey takes about 3.5 hours – about 3 times longer than a bus trip or automotive drive.

2. Fredericksburg is a shocking wine vacation spot

Journey time: 1 hour and half-hour

Folks could not affiliate Texas with being a wine vacation spot, however the small city of Fredericksburg has actually made a reputation for itself in the previous few years. Over 100 wineries and vineyards (and one distillery!) encompass Fredericksburg, providing several types of tastings and experiences that wine fans will love.

Whilst you might skip a visit into city and simply go to the wineries, it’s definitely worth the effort and time. The town’s German heritage is distinguished within the delicacies of native eating places, the Pioneer Museum, and the structure of the Vereins Kirche. German tradition apart, the downtown space is full of clothes outlets and reward shops which might be value exploring.

Find out how to get to Fredericksburg from Austin: Most vacationers drive from Austin to Fredericksburg and spend the day exploring the city and wineries earlier than returning to ATX within the night. Nonetheless, a Greyhound bus is essentially the most reasonably priced transportation choice.

If you happen to plan to go to a number of wineries and interact in wine tastings, you’ll be able to e book half-day wine excursions from Austin with Austin Detours or Texas Wine Tours. They may probably not cease in Fredericksburg itself although, so if you wish to spend a while within the city, you’ll have to e book a personal tour or drive your personal automotive.

3. Hit the paths at Pedernales Falls State Park

Journey time: 1 hour

Austin is surrounded by a few of the finest state parks in Texas, however our favourite is the Pedernales Falls State Park. It’s house to an attractive river and a mixture of mountaineering, biking and horseback using trails that take you alongside rocky outcrops, by means of forests to overlooks and even to a waterfall.

Sure, you’ll be able to go swimming within the Pedernales River, in addition to kayaking or canoeing on it. Spend just a few hours on the park or camp in a single day, however simply make certain to e book your reservation (to go to or for a campsite) effectively upfront because the park typically reaches its capability by mid-morning and can near these with out permits and reservations.

Find out how to get to Pedernales Falls State Park from Austin: You’ll want a automotive to get to Pedernales Falls State Park as there’s no bus or prepare service. 

4. Eat in Lockhart, the Barbecue Capital of the State

Journey time: 35 minutes

They are saying you’ll be able to’t go to Texas with out tasting the barbecue, so it’s a very good factor that the barbecue capital of Texas is only a brief drive from Austin. Lockhart was given the Barbecue Capital honor in 2003 by the Texas Senate, and since then vacationers have been making their approach to the small city to style the most effective smoked, fall-off-the-bone meats.

The 4 hottest BBQ spots in Lockhart are Black’s Barbecue, Smitty’s Market, Kreuz Market and Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Q. You possibly can count on slow-roasted meat over oak wooden and a few phenomenal German-inspired sausages. We extremely advocate happening a BBQ crawl between the eating places tasting totally different cuts and sides. Certain, you’ll be full by the top, however you’ll be capable of say you had a real old-school barbecue-tasting expertise.

Find out how to get to Lockhart from Austin: You can simply drive or get a cab to Lockhart, however when you’re on a price range, take the 1516 Orange Route Interurban Coach CARTS bus line from Austin to Lockhart and again. Get off on the Lockhart H-E-B cease, because it’s inside strolling distance of the city’s finest barbecue joints.

5. Tube the river in San Marcos, Texas

Journey time: 40 minutes

River tubing is an excellent standard exercise in Texas in the summertime, and the 72°F San Marcos River that runs by means of San Marcos is among the many high two locations for it within the state (the Guadalupe River is the second). So, seize some snacks and a floating cooler stuffed with drinks and spend a half or full day tubing the river.

When you’ve got your personal tube, you should use the free drop-in spot from San Marcos Metropolis Park. In any other case, hire a tube from the Lion’s Club, which incorporates a vast shuttle move. The shuttle will choose you up downstream and return you to the launch spot as many instances as you’d like. There are many different rental tube outfitters situated at totally different components of the river.

If you happen to’d reasonably discover the river at evening, you may take a fast journey to San Marcos for a Crystal Kayak Glow Tour with Paddle SMTX. It makes use of clear kayaks with coloured lights for its evening excursions.

Find out how to get to San Marcos from Austin: If you happen to don’t have a automotive to get from Austin to San Marcos, you’re in luck – the Interurban Coach is a public bus service that connects Austin with surrounding cities together with San Marcos. Vacationers can take the 1510 Yellow Route or the 1517 Specific Gold Route from Austin to San Marcos, each of that are about an hour-long trip. An all-day move on the Interurban Coach is simply $6. One other transportation choice is the Austin to San Marcos Amtrak line on the Texas Eagle. A coach ticket will be as low-cost as $5, and the trip is simply 45 minutes lengthy.

In case your essential goal is to go tubing in San Marcos, you’ll be able to all the time e book an tour from Austin. ATXcursions has a shuttle service from central Austin to San Marcos. A tube rental and ice chests (with ice) are included within the worth of the ticket. Plus, you’ll be able to drink and snack on the shuttle there and again.

6. Social gathering on the water in Lake Travis

Journey time: 35 minutes

Lake Travis could be very standard amongst Austin locals and has a little bit of a status as being the town’s “social gathering lake.” The lake itself is 63.75 miles lengthy and has over 271 miles of shoreline, making it a unbelievable vacation spot to hire a ship, jet ski, kayak or canoe. Satan’s Cove is the place the social gathering is at – boaters of every kind tie their boats collectively, and folks hang around, drink and benefit from the Texas solar. 

If you happen to don’t wish to hire a ship, you’ll be able to all the time go fishing at Lake Travis, take a look at your self on the Waterloo Adventures on-the-water problem course or go ziplining at Lake Travis Zipline Adventures. Don’t overlook to seize a chew at the Oasis, the biggest out of doors restaurant in Texas with gorgeous lake and sundown views. It has stay music, too!

Find out how to get to Lake Travis from Austin: The one approach to get to and from Lake Travis is by taxi, Uber, Lyft or your personal automotive.

7. Get pleasure from small-town enjoyable in Wimberly 

Journey time: 50 minutes

The Hill Nation is filled with small cities, and any Austinite will inform you that Wimberly is a superb day tour. Spend a while procuring amongst boutique shops and artwork galleries within the Historic Downtown earlier than grabbing a meal on the CreekHouse Kitchen and Bar or a wine tasting on the Hill Country Wine Shoppe.

Expertise the Wild West at Pioneer Town, an old-timey city with cool buildings that the entire household will love. If at some point isn’t fairly sufficient, the Wimberly space is filled with cabin leases and accommodations with spas. It gives journey like horseback using and ziplining, artsy actions like glass blowing and even tastings at a rum distillery.

And when you journey to Wimberly in the summertime, don’t overlook to go to the Blue Hole Regional Park, Cypress Falls Swimming Hole or Jacob’s Well Natural Area. These swimming holes supply a cool respite from the sweltering Texas warmth.

Find out how to get to Wimberly from Austin: Belief us after we say {that a} automotive is important to go to Wimberly. You can take the Texas Eagle Amtrak prepare from Austin to San Marcos after which get a 25-minute taxi, Uber or Lyft trip from San Marcos to Wimberly, however you’ll discover it troublesome to get to all of the locations round Wimberly with out your personal automotive.