You know where to stay in Austin, and you know where to eat and drink. But surely there's more to life in the capital of Texas than sleeping, grubbing and juicing? Of course there is cowpoke, as you'll see in our guide to What to See in Austin...
Barton Springs Pool
2101 Barton Springs Rd. (located in Zilker Park)
(512) 476-9044
• Austin's beautiful all the time, but it gets a touch "warm" in the summer months (as in a 96-degree average high in August warm), which is where Barton Springs Pool comes in. Located in Zilker Park just across the Colorado River from downtown, Barton Springs is fed by natural springs that keep the waters a brisk 68 degrees even in the summer. It's also open year-round (except Thursdays and a couple weeks in March for maintenance), so your refreshing August dip can become an invigorating October swim (average high: 81 degrees) or a nut-shrinking January splashdown (average high: 60 degrees).
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Congress Avenue Bridge
Congress Avenue/Colorado River
• Leave shooting dope under bridges to Los Angelenos, in Texas they go to 'em to look at bats, 1.5 million of them to be exact. That's right, during the summer months, there are more than twice as many bats as humans in Austin, and some 100,000 tourists visit to watch them do their thing. Did we mention Austin has good drugs?
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Texas State Capitol
Congress Avenue/11th St.
• It's the largest state capitol, but not the tallest (Louisiana gon' fuck around and get itself in a heap of trouble). Capitol fact no. 1: the rotunda is a whispering gallery; capitol fact no. 2: you will be shot on sight if that's where you choose to try out your Yosemite Sam impression.
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Hippie Hollow, Lake Travis
7000 Comanche Trail
Hippiehollow.com
• A reservoir formed on the western edge of the city, Lake Travis is a great place for fishing, boating, hiking and picnicking, and it's home to Texas's only clothing-optional swimming area, Hippie Hollow, which might explain why beer is always preferable to tap water within Austin's city limits.
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Mount Bonnell
Mount Bonnell Road
• After a long day of swimmin', bat-watchin', gallery whisperin', and hippie oglin', you're probably gonna want to smoke a joint and watch the sunset, and there's no better place for that in Austin than Mount Bonnell just northwest of downtown. Bring your own reefers and be sure to share with the locals (just don't tell 'em you've been oglin' their hippies).
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