Vacations Blog

Austin skyline at night

If you have ever been to Austin, Texas, then you have probably been to Zilker Park. If not, then I suggest you make this a destination spot when you come. This crown jewel of Austin is over 350 acres just south of Lady Bird Lake (formally Town Lake) right next to downtown. The park is full of activities that you and your family will enjoy!

To start the day off there is nothing better than a swim in Barton Springs Pool. The pool is a natural spring-fed pool with an average temperature of 68 degrees all year long. Even in the Winter there are people in the water so don’t be shy about bringing your swimsuits!

Barton Springs Pool

Outside of the pool there is a giant playground for the kids to burn off some energy and a snack bar for lunch when everybody gets hungry. After lunch you can jump on the Zilker Zephyr miniature train that takes you around the north and east side of the park. While on the train you will more than likely see Wood Woode playing guitar and harmonica for the passengers near Lou Neff Point.

Lou Neff Point overlooks Lady Bird Lake towards downtown Austin. Ducks, swans, turtles, squirrels, people in canoes that they rented upstream on Barton Creek, joggers, and families walking around with their kids congregate here to relax for a moment and take in the beauty of Austin. Rent a canoe while you are there and bring a loaf of bread to feed the ducks!

Canoes and ducks at Lou Neff Point

There are many things to see at Zilker Park depending on what time of year you come. If it is in the Spring then bring a kite and participate in the Zilker Park Kite Festival. The 4th of July fireworks show is also great time to be here. In September you can see three days of live music at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. During the Christmas season there is the Trail of Lights – a magical wonderland of lighting displays and a giant campfire next to the Zilker Tree.

Do you like to play disc golf? Zilker Park has a 9-hole course that is perfect for families to enjoy. This course is not the most challenging in Austin, which makes it a great place to take your kids who are just getting the hang of the game.

After a round of disc golf you can head across the street to the Austin Science and Nature Center where you will find nature trails, Texas wildlife, and activities for the kids.

Zilker Botanical Gardens

One of the most beautiful places at the park is the Zilker Botanical Gardens. The gardens and trails are open year-round and always have a plethora of flowers blooming. There is a Japanese garden with many goldfish swimming around in the ponds. The Botanical Gardens is a popular place for weddings and other events. It is also an amazing spot for family photos.

If you want to see great art at Zilker Park then head over to the Umlauf Sculpture Gardens and Museum. There are over 100 sculptures there and the Gardens can be rented out for special occasions. Charles Umlauf was a 20th century American sculptor that taught at the University of Texas. Some of the work there is from his students.

Are you coming to Austin in the Spring or Summer? Check the schedule for the Beverely S. Sheffield Zilker Hillside Theater to see if a production of Shakespeare in the Park, the Austin Symphony or Civic Orchestra, or the Summer Musicals happening during your visit. Admission is free!

No matter what time of year you come to Austin, Zilker Park has something for everyone! Bring your family, pack a lunch, and don’t forget your camera.

Photos by James Grayson

Know the best dive bar in New Orleans, the most romantic spot to watch the sunset in San Diego, a place to buy a cowboy hat in Dallas, or what to pack when visiting Boston in spring?

The beauty about travel is that anyone can be an expert or a valuable and trusted source.

Most people have a place they know inside and out –a place that they can speak of with both authority and enthusiasm–whether it be their hometown or favorite vacation destination, frequented year after year. We here at the UpTake blog embrace the collective wisdom of the traveling community and recognize that this is made up of the unique and personal experiences of individuals like you!

So, we have invited friends and bloggers from across the country to share their expertise…give us the “inside scoop” on different travel destinations. We hope you enjoy this insider’s look at Austin, Texas. It is the first installment of many!

Interview with UpTake Employee and native Austinite: Alison Osborne

1. Give five adjectives that you would use to describe the “feel” of Austin and its residents?

natural, funky, creative, liberal, and vibrant

2. What is your favorite neighborhood/area of Austin?

There are a lot of great neighborhoods in Austin—Hyde Park with its pecan tree-lined streets, old porched houses and small neighborhood restaurants, is terrific. There is also the funky South Congress area with hip restaurants, great antique and clothes shopping. But, I would have to say, my top choice is Clarksville. It is a small pocket of residential on the edge of downtown Austin….you can ride your bike downtown or to Zilker Park and the lake. The houses are small, full of character, and surrounded by old gnarled oak trees. There are small neighborhood shops like Fresh Plus grocery and Nau’s pharmacy, where you can sit at the soda fountain in the back and eat a greasy cheeseburger after you buy your Advil and Band-Aids. Or you can walk to one of Austin’s finest restaurants, Jeffrey’s, and sit next to Mac Brown (coach for Texas football), local politicians, or whichever celebrity happens to be in town. Best of all, you are a five minute walk to the flagship Whole Foods (it started in Austin) and this location is the largest (and best) one in the country.

3. Which cuisine do you think Austin does best? What is the runner-up?(feel free to share your favorite restaurant)

Austin has excellent food, across the board. There is a big focus here to support small local businesses, so you don’t get many chain restaurants and you do get a lot of unique and creative food establishments. Hence the city motto- “Keep Austin Weird”. That being said, Tex-Mex and BBQ are most prevalent. My favorite thing to do when I come back home is get a big Mexican breakfast at either Cisco’s or Las Manitas, downtown. Freshly made tortillas are my bench mark for a good Mexican restaurant and there are plenty of establishments that make their own here. As for BBQ, everyone has their favorite joint. I would pick House Park or Green Mesquite in town and Salt Lick if you are willing to drive a bit further out.

4. What is the best free thing to do?

During the day—Zilker Park and the hike and bike trail that circles Town Lake (10 miles of trails). You can people watch, feed the ducks, visit the Botanical Gardens, swim in Barton Creek, or go for a hike. In the evening, make your way over to Congress Bridge where over 1,000,000 Mexican Free-Tail bats have their home and depart every evening at sunset. It is a sight to see! Sit on the grassy lawn of the Four Seasons and bring a picnic. The bats stream out for quite some time and their swarming masses resemble a Chinese dragon, undulating across the evening sky.

5. What is your favorite type of entertainment?

I often take it for granted…but, Austin truly has an amazing ‘live music’ scene. On any one night you can find live shows all across the city. There are some great venues downtown along Red River, 6th Street, and the Wharehouse District. (Stubbs, Antone’s, La Zona Rosa) But, there are also some great dives along South 1st , Lamar, and Congress. (Saxon Pub, Continental Club, etc.)

6. List the best family friendly activity?

Most of the year, Austin is either warm or hot. So, swimming is a great family activity. The two best places for this are Barton Springs Pool, in the middle of Zilker Park. (probably better for older kids). This natural spring gushes out of the ground at 68degrees year round and has been made into a giant pool with grassy hillsides and towering pecan trees for shade. It has a very natural feel, resembling a river or creek rather than a pool. Deep Eddy Pool is off of the Town Lake hike and bike trail. It is also a natural spring, but looks more like a traditional swimming pool and has a large shallow end for kiddos. During the summer, they have movie nights where kid’s movies play on a giant projector and you can sit in the cold water to watch the film. (Austin nights are HOT in summer, so this feels great!).

7. What spot would you send a couple, looking for a romantic weekend?

Dinner at Jeffrey’s or Fino. Stay at the Driskill, downtown or Hotel San Jose on South Congress and then see a comedy show at Esther’s Follies, or have a glass of wine by the pool in the dreamily lit courtyard at Hotel San Jose.

8. Describe the perfect day…one that captures what your area/city is all about? In three sentences or less.

Migas breakfast at Cisco’s. Lay-out and swim at Barton Springs. Dinner outside on a restaurant deck with a margarita, served ‘on the rocks’.

9. Tell us about a place that you love to go whether it is in the guidebooks or not.

Ok, I have to pick two(of the dozens I want to mention). One is Shoal Creek Saloon—great neighborhood restaurant and bar on a creek and greenbelt. You can sit on their back patio and drink $2 Pearl Light beer, eat a fried crawfish po-boy or chicken fried steak and watch a Longhorn football game. The other is the Lauterstein-Conway Massage Clinic…..graduating massage students give these surprisingly good massages for $30/hour (no tip allowed as they aren’t yet certified). I don’t know where else you can get a massage this cheap, outside of Southeast Asia! My back and neck miss it immensely!

10. What question did we not ask that we should have (and answer it, of course!)?

I would ask, “What did you not get to mention in this interview that you wanted to talk about?

The East Austin art movement. East Austin is an old and beautiful part of the city that has been a bit run down and dangerous for the last several decades. In the past, you only ventured there for some of the best Mexican restaurants in town. But, there is a big movement to refurbish this area. This movement has been brought about by Austin’s vibrant local art scene. Many galleries and studios are popping up everywhere (and housing prices are going up). The East Austin Studio tour is something not to be missed. Organized by the artists themselves, over 200 artists from 100+ studios from East Austin participate. It is free and occurs every November. It’s a wonderful way to keep up with the creative side of Austin.

Want to share your local expertise. Send us an email or tell us in a comment and we will be in touch.

I flew back home to Austin this weekend for a friend’s wedding. Knowing that I would write this blog entry upon my return, I spent a lot of the weekend interviewing friends about their favorite things to do in Austin. Everyone had extensive and varied lists, however, I did notice several themes that repeatedly surfaced: Parks, Water, Live Music and Food.

If you weave the above experiences together, you are sure to soak in all the best that Austin has to offer. So, I have had fun putting together an ideal day in Austin, combining these four themes.

I would suggest getting a room downtown at the historic Driskill or the Hyatt, which is right on the water. This way, most places are just a short drive or a stroll away.

The food in Austin truly is exceptional, from gourmet to greasy spoon and everything in between. However, Tex-Mex is one cuisine that stands out above the rest, so, begin your morning with a great Mexican breakfast at Las Manitas. It is a small eatery started by two sisters in 1981. The service is fast and the food is excellent…walking through the busy kitchen on the way to your table, grab an Austin Chronicle or a newspaper. I usually get the migas and cinnamon coffee. Mmmm.

Once breakfast is over (and you are swearing off food until dinner) grab your swimsuit and a towel and head to Barton Springs Pool. It is located downtown in Zilker Park, a natural spring that churns out water at a consistent 68degrees, year round. It has been built up to create a very large swimming pool. The pool is long and surrounded by sloping green hillsides with large leafy pecan trees. You can laze in the sun and when you are warm and sun-baked, dive into the refreshingly cold water. Doggy paddling in the middle of the pool, you can look out at the Austin skyline.

After you have soaked up enough sun, head back downtown and spend some time browsing the South Congress Avenue shops. This strip of Congress, south of Town Lake is lined with funky shops and great eateries. Then, as dusk approaches and your tummy starts to grumble, head back up to Town Lake and get a table at Shoreline Grill, which is located right on the water, next to Congress Bridge. You can nibble on Shoreline’s inspired Southwestern cuisine, sip a cocktail, and watch from the back deck as one million Mexican free-tailed bats rouse themselves and swarm out into the night, their large procession undulating across the sky like a Chinese dragon. Viewing the Congress Bridge bats is a classic Austin experience, not to be missed. After dinner and the “show”, head downtown to Antone’s, one of Austin’s best music venues. Here you are certain to catch a great concert any night of the week. Listen to some live music and dance the night away.

This mix of Austin’s parks, water, food, and music is sure to leave you relaxed, happy, and truly enamored of Texas’s capitol city.

What are some of the best things to do in your hometown?